sales tips & articles

Harvard Business School came up with 3 factors that makes salespeople successful.

• Sales Skills
• Attitude
• Product/Industry knowledge

It seems quite straight forward, right? What is interesting to note, is how much each of these factors contribute to overall success:

• Sales skills contributes 10%,
• Product knowledge        10%, and
• Having a positive attitude contributes 80% to your success.

I see many people with little to no formal sales training or industry knowledge and are consistenly  high achievers, why? Because they believe in themselves, stay positive and have a fantastic attitude.

I see many people with years of experience in sales and lots of training but they fail to be successful, why? Because they let negativity get in the way, think they know everything, don't like change and things just become too hard. In other words - bad attitude.

It's important to remember these factors when recruiting salespeople; it's not always the most experienced person that will be the most successful or the right fit for your business - it's the person who has the right attitude and shows the right behaviours.

Having a positive attitude is easy when times are good and sales are being made but the true test of success is the attitude you have when things get hard - challenging economy, targets not being met, surrounded by negativity and underachievement.

What attitude do you have today?

This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach and Sales expert that works with businesses and sales teams to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.


 

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Following on from my article "Solving the Salesperson Puzzle", I thought I would look at some of the characteristics and attributes that high achieving salespeople tend to have over their mediocre and poorer performing salespeople.

Many people believe great sales-people are born, not made but I disagree. Sales is a process that can be taught to anyone and it is simply how the process is applied that separates good from great. Success in sales comes from skill development, attitude, confidence and behaviour.

Personally, I recommend you spend more time interviewing on attitude, behaviour and whether someone has an achievement mentality rather than focusing on skills.

The following list has been compiled based on my own sales experience, observations in dealing with hundreds of sales people and my what I have always known to be true.

• Believe you can
• Have a great attitude and great environment
• Surround yourself with successful, like minded people
• Continue to learn and grow, learn something new every day
• Plan for the day
• Become known as an expert who has valuable knowledge and is willing to help
• Have the answers your customers and prospects need, before they ask
• Recognise and act on opportunities
• Take responsibility for your actions
• Stop talking, start doing. Take Action !
• Make mistakes
• Be willing to take risks
• Stay focused on your dreams and goals
• Ensure you have balance in your life
• Be persistent, don’t give up
• Have a positive attitude, every day
• Avoid negativity and negative people

How do you or your staff compare to this list?

Do you agree with what I have listed, disagree or have I missed some things? I would love to get your feedback.

This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.


If you liked this article, subscribe to our monthly Sales Success ezine. You will learn...

* Easy ways to increase your sales and grow your business
* Simple strategies to sell yourself, even if your not in sales
* How to generate sales easier and quicker!

Enter your details at the top of the page or click here