The good news is, there is a clear, proven path to becoming great at selling. The bad news is, there are no short-cuts or magic bullets; it’s going to take some time, effort, and energy to get there.

Steps to Sales Greatness

• Do what the top salespeople do.

This is the most important step to becoming a top salesperson. It’s simple: If you take the same actions as the top salespeople, you will eventually also be a top salesperson. If you do the same things as a mediocre salesperson, you will be a mediocre salesperson. Find the top salespeople in your company and pick their brains. Next, find top salespeople in other industries. Call these people on the phone, e-mail them, take them to lunch or dinner, do whatever you have to do to find out what they do and then do the same things.

Note: You also want to find out what they did to initially build their businesses. For example, top salespeople may not be doing massive cold calling or working crazy hours anymore, but that’s initially how they got to the top. Initial actions like these are some of the ones you want to copy.

• 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. Be a sponge and absorb as much information as you can. Realize that no matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn.

• Learn everything you can about your industry and your prospects.

Join industry organizations. Read industry publications, newsletters, and magazines. Read “local” sources such as newspapers 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 pertinent information. Stay on top of the latest innovations and technology. Study the companies and individuals to whom you’re selling via the Internet and company websites.

• Work on yourself.

No one is going to put a gun to your head and make you develop yourself personally and professionally. You have to take responsibility for that yourself and you must push yourself harder than anyone else can possibly push you.

Note: It is important to own a knowledge library with sales and motivational books, audio and video programs, and other related information.

Note 2: Find a mentor, hire a personal coach, or do both. You need someone to give you direction and hold you accountable.

• Set goals.

You need goals to give your life direction and to give yourself a target. Your goals can be as simple as doing 125 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.

Note: While it’s nice to have material goals, it is more important to have goals in which you become something. “Becoming” goals do much more for your happiness, self-confidence, and self-esteem.

• Record new ideas and develop new information.

Always have a recorder and/or pen and paper 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. Once you’ve captured some good ideas, develop them further and review your notes regularly.

• Practice, drill, rehearse, and apply new ideas.

Take sayings, closes, and other information you like and make them your own. Practice them on peers, family members, and friends. Most important, look for places to use these new ideas in real-world selling situations.

• Review motivational and educational information often.

Actively listening to tape and CD programs while taking notes is the optimal way to learn; however, passive listening in the car or elsewhere will also work. To absorb tape and CD programs through passive listening, listen to them 10-15 times. With books and other written material, read them, take notes, highlight sections, and then review your notes and highlighted sections 10-15 times. With videos, watch them, take notes, and then review.

Again, you also want to be looking for ways to apply the new information.

• Work hard and smart.

Obviously it’s better to work smarter than harder and yet, there are some areas, especially when you are just starting out, where smart work won’t replace hard work.

That said, here are the best ideas for working hard and smart:

• 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.
• Stay organized.
• Come up with “smart” ideas and alternatives.

Note: Your overall objective early on is to be known as the hardest worker in the office. The fastest way to do this is by making more calls than anyone else and putting in more hours.

• Pick the right product and company.

To be successful takes a good product and good support. If you are missing one or both, any success will be short-lived. Pick a product you can believe in and a company with people and support that will back you up. It’s important to represent a product or service that works well, provides value to your customers, and makes you and your company look great. It’s also important to be able to get along with your manager and other people you work with.