Sales Tip Of The Week - SalesTrainingCamp.com

What does it take to be successful in sales? Certainly effort, hard work and dedication is important. An excellent understanding of the sales process is also essential. But it's more than that. The most successful people I know have a slightly different outlook than their coworkers and associates.

I recently worked with a group of people who, collectively, had an extensive amount of sales experience. And, for the most part, they all boasted a pretty successful career. Even though they expressed some frustration that they didn't close as many sales as they would like to, or that prospects didn't always return their calls, they didn't bitch, moan, whine or complain about it. In fact, I didn't hear a single complaint during the entire session. After more than a decade of conducting sales training workshops and programs, I can say that this mentality is rare.

It was evident that this group of people possessed a winners attitude. And I believe that this attitude contributed to their success. So, just what is a winner's attitude?

A winner's attitude is the ability to focus on your long- term goals even though your short-term results are not on track. This is more difficult than it seems. Too many people take their eyes off their long-term goal when they experience a slow month or two and end up focusing on their lack of results. As a result, they get sidetracked and their sales continue to suffer. In the words of Earl Nightingale, "You become what you think about."

A winner's attitude means resisting the temptation to blame the economy, competition, or current market conditions when sales are soft. Winners focus on what they can control unlike the average sales person who redirects the blame to take the heat off himself.

A winner's attitude means exploring different options and approaches to selling. The best sales people constantly hone their skills. They read books and articles. They listen to CDs or Podcasts. They take advantage of every training program they can including webinars and tele-seminars. Winners know that business gets more competitive every day and they take action to improve their knowledge and skill. They work at incorporating new techniques into their existing style.

A winner's attitude means focusing on showing the value of your product or service. Unlike average sales people, winners don't focus on price. They know that most buyers and customers are more concerned with solving their problems and getting a complete solution rather than getting the cheapest or lowest price. While average sales people are quick to offer a discount, winners concentrate on showing customers how their product is different than their competitors.

A winner's attitude is accepting the fact that you won't close every sale. Winners recognize that a series of 'no's' brings them that much closer to a 'yes'. Winners may not enjoy losing a sale to a competitor but they're not going to beat themselves up when it happens, providing, of course, they can say that they did everything in their power to capture that business.

A winner's attitude means learning from every sales interaction to improve your future results. Winners take every opportunity to learn. A sales manager once told me that he evaluated every single sale when he first took on a new territory many years earlier. This brief analysis and self-critique helped him improve his performance so he didn't repeat his mistakes. Plus, in each subsequent sales call, he modified his approach slightly, and in a few short years, sales in his territory increased many times over.

A winner's attitude is one of optimism and enthusiasm. The most successful people I know all have a great outlook. They know that every cloud has a silver lining, and when 'stuff' happens, they recover quickly. They look for ways to prevent 'stuff' from occurring because they learn from every situation (see above point). Winners don't dwell on the past-they focus on the future because they realize that they can't change what has already happened. However, they do know that they CAN influence what happens from that point forward.

Sales managers who possess a winner's attitude work with their sales reps instead of chastising them for a lost sales opportunity. Winning sales managers coach their team, go on sales calls with their reps, and provide on-going training for their sales people. They also go to bat for their team and support help in every way possible. Sales managers with a winner's attitude celebrate individual and team results and they foster a strong sense of pride within the organization. Ultimately, they lead by example and create a team of winners.

What are you doing to develop a winner's attitude?

© 2008 Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved. Kelley Robertson, author of The Secrets of Power Selling helps sales professionals and businesses pinpoint what they need to do differently to improve their sales. Receive a FREE copy of "100 Ways to Increase Your Sales" by subscribing to his free newsletter available at www. kelleyrobertson.com. Kelley conducts workshops and speaks regularly at sales meetings and conferences. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.

Most salespeople, sales managers and sales trainers know that sales training seldom has a lasting beneficial effect. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and other research organizations state that less than 25% of the people who take sales training courses obtain a sustained increase in their sales performance. Why not?

The vast majority of organizations that conduct sales training teach the subject the same way they would teach a Philosophy or Literature class. They outline their beliefs about the basic outline of their sales methods and invite the students to fill in the blanks. However, for every product, service, industry, market and salesperson there are myriad ways to fill in the blanks. Furthermore, the students are encouraged to "think creatively" in each situation; to "adapt their sales methods" to each individual prospect. Almost all of them find that selling that way is too complex, and too difficult, to implement in the real world with real prospects.

Creativity is extremely important to artists, researchers, consultants, parents, and in many other fields. In sales, a consistent process that seldom varies is far more important. Then, making changes to parts of the process should only be done when you discover something that consistently works better.

Top salespeople look at their selling skills as a craft. Like carpenters, surgeons, accountants, and other skilled practitioners, they strive to do what works best the vast majority of the time. That means they constantly hone their craft. Working from a process outline, they fill in each section with what works best. Most of the best salespeople seldom deviate from their complete sales process. Rather, they work with written questionnaires and check lists during their conversations with prospects and customers.

1. Only meet with prospects that are ready, willing and able to specify or buy your type of product. Confirm the facts before the first meeting.

2. At the meeting, or telephone appointment, agree on the rules of engagement for the sales process.

6. Demonstrate how you will fulfill the prospect criteria and consummate the sale.

For a lasting beneficial effect from sales training you must develop or find a consistent sales process, comprised of reality-based measurable steps and written questionnaires. Then, you can develop the skill to utilize the process for consistent, long lasting sales improvement.

About the Author:
High Probability Prospecting® is the first phase of the High Probability Selling® system. High Probability Selling is a leading sales training and sales consulting company founded in 1989. While High Probability Selling principles may seem quite radical, they have been proven to be highly successful on hundreds of thousands of sales calls by salespeople in over seventy industries.

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