7 HABITS OF HIGHLY
SUCCESSFUL SALESPEOPLE
If you want to
know what it takes to be successful in sales, here are some habits that
other successful salespeople have. It seems to work for them. Why not for you?
1. They have a
huge Rolodex.
Selling is
finding customers who need or want what you have to sell. Successful salespeople find their
customers differently than less successful salespeople. I spoke with an analyst who
researched the differences in salespeople's effectiveness. She found that salespeople were
more successful when they had more people resources to tap into. It didn't
matter if salespeople had much sales experience or came from a non-sales
area. If they had maintained
contact with their mentors, peers, and managers over the years they were
able to use their contacts as a source of sales leads and
information. They were also
more successful.
2. They read
fast.
Customers
value salespeople who possess knowledge and offer unique insights. To get
these insights, you have to be current on a variety of topics. Business and non-business reading
is essential. How do you
process all that you need to? You've got to read fast. Taking a speed-reading course can
increase your reading from 250 words a minute to almost 1000 words a
minute. You'll be able to
acquire much more information that can be of use to your customers.
3. They apply
technology.
How do you
use the information you acquire to serve your customers? Is it easy to access that
information when you need it? Having the information and being unable to
access it quickly is the same as not having it at all. Time spent looking for something
is time that could be spent supporting your selling. The sales greats use technology to
manage information. Their
databases make it easy to retrieve information. With the data they can see where
their sales are and what they need to do to meet their goals. They spend time selling with
information, not looking for information.
4. They're
naturally curious.
When
they talk with customers and prospects, they use the word 'why' a
lot. They intuitively know
when to ask why to get more information. They know that information is more
powerful if the reason behind it is known. They don't guess why a customer
is doing something. They ask
why and find out from the customer's point of view. In addition to why, they also ask
great questions learning far more about their customers than less
successful salespeople.
5. They love
what they do.
Ask a
sales great what they love about selling and they say, "Everything." Being around them is like being
around an energy source. Their attitude of optimism and belief in the value of their work
portrays this enthusiastic attitude to others. As Dr. Rohit Sachdeva, the founder
and Chief Clinical Officer of OraMetrix says, "Passion is infectious. It's more important than what you
know. Maintaining the passion
is the biggest challenge in business." Great salespeople are able to
maintain their passion.
6. They do the
unexpected and more for their customers.
Salespeople
can go out of their way to do something special for their customers. Getting customers for your
customers; making a personal delivery on a Saturday; and helping to fill
your customer's staffing needs are what some salespeople think is their
job, and not something extra. In fact, most salespeople don't make the extra effort.
7. They're
very creative.
Being
creative means the process of coming up with new ideas for business. Sales greats see
possibilities where others give up. Getting told 'no' by a worthwhile prospect is not the end for great
salespeople; it's just the beginning. Using their creativity they find
news ways to get to 'yes' with the prospects who are a challenge. Creativity is the foundation of
selling. It's useful for
questioning, presenting, and strategizing. Believing in your creativity is
the first step to being creative.
You
may have noticed these habits in other successful salespeople. When you adopt these 7 habits, the
success that others achieve can also be yours.
----------------------------------------------------------
Maura
Schreier-Fleming is president of Best@Selling (http://www.bestatselling.com/).
She works with business and sales professionals at company and trade
association meetings to make selling easier and more productive. She is
the author of the book Real-World
Selling for Out-of-this-World Results. She can be reached at 972
380 0200 or info@BestatSelling.com.
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