8 Habits of The Highly Successful Salespersons
Marketing Articles
Submit Articles Back to Articles
There are numerous skills and traits that help define successful salespeople.
These traits are beneficial regardless of whether you sell tangible products,
services or your ideas. Developing these skills will benefit every entrepreneur
and business owner who must daily interact with others to transact business.
Consider the following as your personal assets inventory, each is well beyond
any amount of monetary value, yet each is capable of assisting you in generating
great financial returns.
1. Be sold on yourself.
You must believe in your gut that you are both worthy of success and capable
of achieving it. You must believe that you offer unique and substantial value to
others, confident of your worth in every transaction. You must confidently
accept yourself as the most capable person in your field, able to offer your
customers amazing value.
2. Develop and maintain a sales plan.
Just as you cannot hit a target you cannot see, you must have written goals
and a plan to achieve them if you are to have any significant direction and
success in your career. Once your plan is written, you can begin executing it.
In a logical, step-by-step manner, you will achieve those goals and fulfill your
plan. A plan gives you necessary direction to act upon.
3. Understand the value of a strong first impression.
Our customers begin to size us up within seconds of our first contact,
whether you are calling on the phone or visiting them in person. You must
impress them, convincing them that you alone offer the solutions they seek. You
must instill a seed of faith so that they will trust you for a continuing
relationship.
4. Pursue continuous learning and training.
If you want to earn more, then you have to learn more, first. Our world is
changing so quickly, demanding that we stay current with our existing skills
while concurrently developing new ones, allowing us to adapt to changing markets
and requirements. Continuously learning new skills is critical to your success.
5. Become an effective communicator.
Communication begins with our first exposure. It involves not only our
personal oratory skills, but even more importantly, our listening skills. We
must develop the art of effective questioning. We must also become skilled at
reading the body language of our prospects and customers.
6. Use time wisely. Become highly productive.
Many people tend to meander through their work day, floating from task to
task or simply doing what comes along. This is not the schedule of a successful
salesperson. You need to work your plan, scheduling appointments and complete
planned tasks in a timely manner. Non-productive time during the work-day will
cost you. Eliminate distractions. Focus and stay focused.
7. Realize that technology is a tool, not a crutch.
I enjoy using high-tech sales tools as much as anyone, but they do not define
my presentation. Are you capable of delivering your sales presentation if your
projector burns out or you experience other technological failures? If not, your
tools have become a crutch. Remember, you are the presentation. It is your
knowledge, skills and experience that will provide the solutions your customer
needs.
8. Genuinely care about others.
People sense disconnect. We sense dishonesty. We sense insincerity. If your
attitude is all about yourself, that selfishness will permeate the environment
you work in. However, if your desire is to genuinely help others, your customers
will sense that as well. You will be welcomed as the sort of person that they
want to do business with. This is not something you can fake.
These are not the only effective habits of successful salespeople. Additional
skills will develop and are built on the backbone of these core strengths. Being
successful in your ability to influence others begins with your belief in
yourself and the depth of your values.
Master these eight skills and you are well on your way to enjoying a
successful sales career.
About the Author
Daniel Sitter, author of both Learning For Profit and Superior Selling Skills
Mastery, has garnered extensive experience in sales, training, marketing and
personal development spanning a successful 25 year career. Experience his blog
at
http://www.idea-sellers.com.
Follow us @Scopulus_News
Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2007-12-10 16:59:41 in Marketing Articles