Published by Niall Devitt, Btb Business Training
1. Start with a Great Attitude
The single biggest difference between success and failure is your attitude. While this might be a much talked about concept in all walks of life, the reality is that only a very few actually ever truly get it. Great attitude is the common denominator of success; everything else including talent follows or is learnt. Top sports people have got it, top business people have got it and top salespeople have got it.
It is a state of mind and a way of looking at the world. Some of its characteristics include the ability to see opportunity where others see lack off. It includes the ability to find solutions, when others continue to see obstacles and finding reasons to be positive, when others continue to find negatives. It is using one's intelligence to it's fullest. It is a heightened awareness around objectivity and reasoning. It's using talents while working on weaknesses.
2. Believe or Be Gone.
A salesperson asking a prospect to buy is the same as asking a prospect to believe in their products. Before a salesperson can honestly ask, it is therefore essential that the salesperson also believes' in what and who they are selling. Belief is not something you can turn on or off, nor can it be faked. Belief in what you are selling is an absolute prerequisite to success. If a salesperson is in a position of trying to sell products that they don't really believe in, they must leave and find a company and products that they can believe in.
3. A Key is Plan to Plan.
A salesperson being able to effectively manage their time is a key skill in achieving sales success. The objective is to invest more activity in tasks/conversations that generate sales return and less in task/conversations that don't. Planning is the tool that you use to ensure optimal activity and results. Good planning is researched, ongoing, structured and flexible. Remember, success requires you to plan and then act, failure only requires that you try.
4. Create Great First Impressions.
First impressions are massively important in how we judge others; experiments demonstrate that later evidence is only interpreted in light of these initial beliefs about someone. For a salesperson, this means that later actions/conversations are perceived by the prospect as positive or negative depending on whether the prospect's first impression of the salesperson was positive or negative. Therefore, it is critical that a salesperson learns and knows how to create good first impression with prospects.
5. Expertise Equals Trust.
People listen to and trust experts; we trust doctors with our health, accountants with our money, mechanics with our cars and so on. For a salesperson, becoming an expert requires that you develop an extensive knowledge of your sector, markets, products, customers, your customer's customers, competition, trends etc.
Constantly seek out ways to increase your overall knowledge and know-how. This means new qualifications, attending courses, going to seminars and reading books, journals, trade magazines and blogs. Then market your new-found expertise by offering advice in papers or media. Write your own blog or talk at industry events etc.
