Sales people are familiar with one thing more than any other: failure. As a salesperson, you will hear “no” far more than you will hear “yes.” And, believe it or not, the better salesperson you are, the more you will hear “no.” Why is that? Because the most successful salespeople aren’t afraid of failure. Failure does not deter the best sales professionals. Instead, they see it as a missed shot worth taking.
4 Things the Best Sales people Do
The idea of “setting yourself up for success” is flawed. You cannot just set a business up and expect it to magically succeed. It requires continual effort and an unwavering determination. The best salespeople understand this and embrace the following four behaviours that enable them to succeed.
1. Don’t Criticize Others
In Dale Carnegie’s long-lasting, best-selling book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, he emphasized the importance of not criticizing others. Don’t criticize the best. Don’t criticize your competition or their product. Admire others’ success and focus on your product’s benefits. This is what the best salespeople do, and this is what you should do.
2. Sharpen Your Skills
Your mind is your best tool. No matter how sharp you are when you start, you need to upgrade your skills continuously by learning new things. Think of it this way, if you became a lumberjack, you would buy the best saw you could to set yourself up for success. You start off and successfully cut down tree after tree. But what happens if you don’t sharpen the saw teeth? What happens if you don’t sharpen your tool? Trees will get harder and harder to cut, and you’ll get more and more tired. The same is true with your mind. Always sharpen your mind. Don’t stop learning!
3. Commitment to Success Despite Failure
In an inspiring video called Chasing Failure, a young man talks about how he had to change his mindsetto chase his dream of trying out for an NBA team. He looked at professional NBA players and had an epiphany that changed his life. He realized that NBA stars didn’t get upset when they missed a shot. They simply kept playing the game. He realized, “I had to kill that part of me that got down whenever I missed a shot.” That is exactly what salespeople need to do. They need to kill the part of them that gets hurt when they hear a “no.”
4. Overcome Your Fear of Selling
The best salespeople aren’t afraid of interacting with people. They aren’t afraid to pick up the phone or invite someone to lunch. They don’t hide behind emails and text messages when trying to make a sale. They put their best foot forward by putting themselves in front of the customer.
We can learn from Elizabeth’s advice to Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in the 2005 film adaptation. Mr. Darcy explains, “I do not have the talent of conversing easily with people I have never met before.” To which Lizzie coyly responds, “Perhaps you should take your aunt’s advice and practice.” The best way to overcome fear is to practice. If you do what scares you over and over, your fear will diminish with every attempt.
Spain: Madrid, Salamanca, Barcelona 2021
Conclusion
If you want to be the best, learn from the best. There is no reason to forge your own path when elite salespeople have already paved the way. And that path is paved with truths that will direct you to success: don’t criticize others, never stop learning, embrace failure, and overcome your fears. If you establish your career on these principals, you will have the greatest chance of success.
If you want to sharpen your mind and improve your business skills, you should consider business coaching. The most Successful People Have Coaches and you should too. Learn more about business coaching and how to become a successful salesperson.
“At some point, you just have to wake up and stop being scared.” “I’m about to fail, or maybe… I won’t.”
“In the moment that was one of my most embarrassing moments turned into one of the greatest moments of my life.” “Chasing failure took me further than chasing success ever did.”
