I thought this month's Complete Selling newsletter was particularly helpful, because it gave a concise but thorough overview of the basics of selling . . . definitely a good read as we head into the fourth quarter!
Welcome to this month's Complete Selling newsletter.
This month we will go back to some of the basics of selling as your ability to sell is only as good as your foundation.
Part 1 - How to Sell - Eleven Factors that can Guarantee Your Success in Sales
Whether you’re just learning how to sell, or you’ve been in sales for years, focus on the following eleven factors to help guarantee success in sales.
Eleven Factors for Success in Sales
1) Positive attitude – enthusiasm, drive, competitiveness, and confidence
Top salespeople have a positive, can-do, winning attitude. Specifically, it calls for enthusiasm, drive, competitiveness, and confidence—the four most critical aspects of a top salesperson’s personality. Top salespeople do whatever it takes to win, ethically, and they do not quit. They never give up, ever. Top salespeople have a win-win attitude. They are genuine and they truly like and care about other people.
2) Action oriented
Top salespeople are people of purposeful, focused, well-thought-out action. They are not frozen by fear or paralyzed by indecision. They may occasionally feel fear, yet they act in spite of it. Top salespeople are clear about what they are doing and why they are doing it. They don’t procrastinate. They are protective of their time and use it wisely. Top salespeople have a plan every day.
3) Preparation
Top salespeople are prepared for anything and they over-prepare for everything. They never wing it. They have prepared scripts, presentations, answers to objections, and proposals. They practice, drill, and rehearse. They are always looking for ways to improve. They are familiar with all the paperwork and other, more detailed aspects of their job. They make sure they have all the tools of their trade with them, ready to go.
4) Being businesslike and business-savvy
Top salespeople partner with customers and build a compelling business case based upon what’s best for the customer. They know the customer’s business and problems intimately. They ask intelligent questions that both set them apart from other salespeople and let the customer know they understand the business. Top salespeople embrace technology, know where to use it, and how much of it to use.
5) Ability to stand out from the crowd
Top salespeople differentiate themselves from other salespeople. They don’t sound or act like other salespeople —they are original. A top salesperson doesn’t come across as someone trying to sell; he or she comes across as an interested and informed party there to help. Top salespeople have an aura of respect around them. The way they walk and talk demonstrates to others that they are professionals and they, in turn, are treated professionally. Top salespeople are real, human, and down to earth, and people like them for this reason. Their caring, sincerity, and helpful dispositions stand out. They are memorable.
6) Likeability, trustworthiness, and the ability to build relationships
Top salespeople do everything necessary to build solid, loyal, long-term relationships. This is true even in businesses such as real estate and car sales where the frequency of sales can be years apart. Top are able to establish a connection and build rapport quickly and effectively. They build trust and credibility. They are kind, caring, and most important, trustworthy. They are also genuine, open, and honest. They convey a sincere interest in other people. Top salespeople become personally involved with their clients and truly like to serve people.
7) Effective communication
Top salespeople are great communicators. They actively listen to people and are able to hear them well and read between the lines. They ask many questions and listen well to the answers. Top salespeople are clear and concise in the information they convey. They have frank, direct conversations with people and talk to them the way they want to be talked to.
8) Empathy
Top salespeople have empathy for their customers and prospects. They are able to put themselves in other people’s shoes and become emotionally involved. Top salespeople genuinely like people and people feel their understanding and compassion. Top salespeople enjoy helping people.
9) Professionalism, integrity, and work ethic
Top salespeople are complete professionals with complete integrity. In addition, they have a great work ethic. Everything about them is nothing but professional. Top salespeople are always on their best behavior because they’re aware that they never know who is watching them and who is taking inventory of them. Top salespeople are honest, work both hard and smart, and they go the extra mile.
10) Team player and leader
Top salespeople are team players. They look for ways to contribute to the team. They pull for their peers and colleagues. They are focused on becoming better as individuals and believe that by doing so, they help the people around them improve and make their company stronger. Top salespeople work well with other departments and develop strong professional relationships with co-workers. They lead prospects and customers to the right decisions.
11) Continuing education and training
Top salespeople are committed to being the best they can possibly be. They are always getting better at selling. They read sales books, listen to sales information at home and in their car, watch videos, and talk to other successful salespeople. Top salespeople constantly look for ways to improve, add to, and build upon every tool in their selling arsenal.
While eleven factors may seem like a lot, being a top salesperson really comes down to having a great attitude, a sincere interest in helping people, and a burning desire to succeed. With those elements in place, you will achieve success in sales.
Part 2 - Six keys to a successful career in sales
Foundational Key #1: Be in sales for the right reasons.
The desire for money, a top reason many people get into sales, can lead to at least short-term success in sales. Provided your desire for money is strong enough, it will motivate you to work hard and do all that’s necessary to initially succeed. In order to have long-term success and become a top achiever, however, genuine caring and a desire to serve your customers must back your motivation for money.
Foundational Key #2: The right attitude and beliefs.
Do you stay positive in the face of all challenges? If so, you will be far better off in work and in life. While you may have some tough days, you must try your best to find some positives, keep a good attitude, and ultimately resolve any difficult situations. To get to the top in selling requires high self-confidence and high self-esteem, you must be a self-starter, and you must be a consummate professional and every ounce of your being must exude integrity—at all times. You also need to be highly motivated and ready to work as hard as you have to in order to reach the top and remain there. In addition, you need to see yourself as a person who is completely responsible for your life and what happens in it.
Foundational Key #3: A willingness to pay the price for success.
How far are you willing to go in order to be successful? There is a price for success and top salespeople have chosen to pay it. You must be willing to do whatever it takes, ethically, to get to and stay at the top.
Foundational Key #4: “Hanging out” with the right people.
You must hang around with successful people who are growing personally and professionally and who support your goals and dreams. Birds of a feather do flock together, and the wrong group of people can drag you down quickly. This doesn’t mean you need to immediately discard your friends and family if they aren’t completely supportive of you. However, as you progress toward your goals, you may find yourself gathering a new, different group of friends and hanging out with certain negative people less often. Let friends and family know the track you’re on and ask them to help or even to join you in the adventure.
Foundational Key #5: Good health.
It isn’t possible to operate at your highest levels both mentally and physically if your health isn’t good. If you are tired, run down, or frequently ill, you will not be motivated and you will not perform well. You need to get plenty of sleep, eat properly, and exercise on a regular basis in order to be a top salesperson with consistency. Good health also includes your overall mental condition. You must also develop the ability to handle stress, unexpected problems, and other similarly negative things that may affect your emotions.
Foundational Key #6: A life with balance and growth.
For short periods, you can devote an inordinate amount of time to one area of your life and neglect the others. However, if you do that for too long, your attitude will suffer tremendously. To be truly happy in the long run, you must find a way to balance work, family, recreation, personal time, and other important areas of your life. Finally, you must be passionate about what you are doing, and you must always be growing personally and professionally.
If you don’t have the six essential ingredients mentioned above in place, they can be learned. But, all are necessary to build a successful career in sales.
Part 3 - 9 Steps to Top Sales Performance
1) Do what the top salespeople do.
If you take the same actions as the top salespeople, you will eventually also be a top salesperson. Find the top salespeople in your company, and everywhere for that matter, and pick their brains. Ask if you can have some of their time to find out what makes them successful. Absorb as much information as you can. Write it down and record it if possible.
2) Learn everything you possibly can about the subject of selling.
Read, listen to programs, watch videos, and study everything you can get your hands on that relates to selling. If you are new in sales, there will a lot to absorb. Even if you’ve been in sales for a while, there are always new ideas coming out on all aspects of selling. Be open and curious and realize that no matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn.
3) Learn everything you can about your industry and your prospects.
Read industry publications, newsletters, magazines, and the like. Pay attention to “local” sources such as newspapers, Chamber of Commerce letters, and other news bulletins that are printed in the geographic proximity of the companies you’re interested in. Look for breaking news, new products, new laws, regulations, or changes in legislation, interesting articles, stories on people making an impact in the industry, and other interesting information. Stay on top of the latest innovations and technology within your industry. Study the companies and individuals to whom you’re selling.
4) Work on yourself.
To be a top salesperson, you must constantly improve personally as well as professionally. Make it a habit to think positive and stay motivated. Put as much positive information into your brain as you can and keep negatives out. Work on improving mentally, physically, spiritually, etc. You need to keep growing as a person. You’ll find that as your attitude about yourself improves, your sales ability will increase; and as you get better at selling, your attitude about yourself will improve.
5) Set goals.
Goals are important because they give you direction. Your goals can be as simple as doing 120 percent of quota and making the annual awards trip, or as complex as a list of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual goals in all the major areas of your life. Some people find a complete list of complex goals overwhelming. If this is the case, simply set one or two major goals at a time. Ask and answer the following questions: What do you want for all areas of your life five years from now? Ten years? What do you want for your family? What kind of person do you want to be?
6) Record new ideas quickly and develop new information.
Always have a recorder and/or pen and paper handy. Have them in your car, by your bed, at your desk, and everywhere you go so you can record good ideas as soon as they hit you. A recorder is also great if you hear someone say something that you’d like to use. You can either have them repeat it or record it yourself. Take notes on information you read, see, or listen to. This helps to further reinforce the idea. Once you’ve captured some good ideas, develop them further and review your notes regularly.
7) Practice, drill, rehearse, and apply new ideas.
Take sayings, closes, and other information you like and make them your own. Practice them on other salespeople, family members, friends, and practice them on yourself. Most important, once you’ve mastered them privately, look for places to use these new ideas in real-world selling situations.
8) Review motivational and educational information often.
Actively listening to tape and CD programs while taking notes is the optimal way to learn. However, this is not always possible, and when it’s not, passive listening in the car or elsewhere will also work well. With books and other written material, read them, take notes, highlight sections, flag pages, and then review your notes and highlighted sections ten to fifteen times. With videos, watch them, take notes, and then review. Again, you also want to be looking for ways to apply the new information you’re learning. Occasionally you will want to review resources you’ve already studied. As you need help in certain particular areas, you can return to several resources and get different ideas.
9) Work hard and smart.
Obviously if you’re given a choice, it’s much better to work smarter than harder. At the same time, when you are just starting out and don’t know anything about the business, you simply must work hard until you figure things out. In order to get the most out of your hard work and understand things as quickly as possible, do what the top salespeople do, as we’ve already discussed, make more calls and work longer than anyone else, be persistent, use your time effectively and stay organized. Your overall objective is to work smarter and harder than anyone else. If you combine brains with hard work, you’ll get to where you want to go.
Keep these nine steps in mind with regard to your sales career. The more you focus on them, the more successful you’ll be in sales.
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