Sales Superstars & What They Do for Success
I’ve written before about how to identify successful salespeople so managers don’t get “sold” by salespeople who are really under performers. But monitoring sales numbers isn’t the same thing as knowing what salespeople do to become a sales success. Here are 3 ideas for you to become successful in sales.
1. They work harder than the rest.
Forget about sales success if you think selling is a 9 to 5 job. Yes, you can work those hours and be moderately successful. Even working smarter during 9 to 5 will produce more sales. The sales superstars that I see work longer hours than that. They are open to getting sales calls on the weekends and nights. Sales success won’t come to you if that’s not what you want.
They don’t begrudge their customers for asking questions during off hours either. I’ll never forget one Sunday morning when I got a call from a very important customer. This customer worked at a power plant and called to ask for a spec on one of the products he bought. I remember thinking, “Why do you want to know the flash point on Sunday at 9am?” I still can’t figure that out. It was a mystery why he didn’t need to know it during the week.
I didn’t say a word about what I was thinking. I simply went to retrieve the information he needed. Working hard isn’t enough. You must be nice when you work with others.
Use call screening for those of you with a family and responsibilities after work hours. You don’t have to take every call when it comes. You can call back later after your children go to sleep or even the next day at your discretion. Just be gracious about the return call and grateful that a customer thinks enough of you to call you and not your competition.
2. They work on what’s important.
All accounts are not created equally. The larger more important accounts deserve your time and energy. Successful salespeople know who is and who isn’t as important. They devote their most valuable resource, their time, to their most important accounts. It’s not that they ignore the smaller or less important accounts. They know how to allocate their time effectively so they meet each client’s needs in the most cost effective way.
Being organized is an important trait. Successful salespeople often have their sales call schedule created for months in advance. How do they do that? They know how much time is allocated to each account on an annual basis. Then they schedule their time so they maximize the travel time to the accounts they need to see face-to-face. Yes, the pandemic will end one day and face-to-face calls (along with Zoom) will be normal again.
Successful salespeople know what is not important. They don’t feel obligated to do every little thing. Just remember, even your manager can create requirements that don’t contribute to your sales success. Learn how to manage your manager so he understands what that work is taking you away from doing.
3. They are valued for becoming a shortcut.
Many customers have multiple supplier choices. Why would a customer pick and stay with you? You make his job easier. Don’t direct a customer to the web even if the information is there when a customer calls for information at odd hours. He’s calling you because it’s easier and faster for him to get the information.
Salespeople who are smart and knowledgeable about their products, business and competition are resources that make a customer’s job easier. They know a lot of people so they can get quick answers for customers through the connections they have. Successful salespeople make it easier for their customers to do their job. Start thinking about what you can do that contributes to making your customers’ job easier.
Sales is a great career for those who want limitless possibilities of success. These ideas will start you well on your way to success.