It's
Not Rocket Science!!
Dave's
Top 10 List For Sales Professionals
Dave Brock, Partners In EXCELLENCE
(Download PDF Version)
When
you look at the proliferation of
business books that purport to “help” sales professionals, you start
to become overwhelmed with the variety of approaches.
There are all sorts of clever titles promising the sales person to
become better at cold calling, to manage the complex sale, to become more
consultative, to call on important people, and the list goes on.
Let’s
face it, there is nothing new in sales!
Outstanding sales professionals have had the same characteristics
for years. The same
principles apply globally.
Professional
selling is not rocket science. Let’s
look at the top 10 areas in which true sales professionals distinguish
themselves.
Dave’s
Top 10 Characteristics Of Effective Sales Professionals:
Borrowing
shamelessly from David Letterman’s top 10, top sale professionals excel
in the following:
10.
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Effective
sales professionals are very disciplined:
Effective sales professionals have a systematic approach
to producing results.
They know what it takes to be successful and repeat that
process in every sales engagement.
They plan everything they do in advance and execute the plan. They know the selling is a process and focus on executing
the process well.
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9.
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They
are intensely focused: They
have specific goals. Not
only their quota, but they have goals for every situation they are
involved in, whether it is a sales call, a new sales opportunity, a
key account, territory, or a problem that needs to be solved.
The best sales professionals have a purposefulness in every
action they take. They concentrate their attention on the most effective and
efficient means of accomplishing their goals.
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8.
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They
seek simplicity: The
best sales professionals are very simple their approach.
They know tricks and techniques don’t fool the customer or
produce results. They
are direct and straightforward in providing value to their
customers. Professionals
seek to understand the critical issues and not cloud the situation
with fluff. They work
on clarity in their actions and communications.
There is an absence of pretense or affectation in what they
do.
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7.
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They
are interested, not necessarily interesting:
Sales professionals are genuinely curious about their
customers and business. They
are concerned about their customers’ businesses, their challenges
and seek to learn. Sales professionals are interested in people. They
continually ask questions to understand.
They listen to learn.
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6.
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Professionals
are persistence: They
refuse to give up. They
believe in themselves, their company, their products, and their
customers. With their persistence the are enthusiastic.
They are excited by what they do.
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5.
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Professionals
continually learn, seeking knowledge to improve: They constantly seek to learn and to improve.
They learn their customers’ businesses; sometimes they are
more knowledgeable about the business than their customers are.
They understand their company.
They know how to get things done for their customers in the
company. They
understand their products and solutions.
They know how their products create value to their customers.
They understand their competition.
They know how to differentiate their offerings from those of
the competition. They
continually learn about their profession-selling, seeking to
continually improve.
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4.
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They
value time: Time is
one of the most important things sales professionals manage.
First, they value their customers’ time.
In every interchange with customers, they seek to create real
value, using their time well. Sales
professionals set time-based goals.
They set deadlines for achieving all their goals.
They seek to be more efficient and effective in how they use
their own time. They
refuse to waste time on useless efforts.
They focus their activities on those that produce real
results.
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3.
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The
best sales professionals are ruthlessly fact focused:
Sales professionals do not confuse wish-ful thinking with
the real facts of situations. Regardless
of how bad the news is, they focus on facts.
They know they can only develop appropriate action plans
based on what is really going on.
They also are careful about assumptions.
They ask questions to determine what the customer really
wants and needs. Real professionals never guess, they ask their customer and
listen to the facts.
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2.
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They
are action oriented: Sales
professionals are dedicated to producing results.
They want to produce results for their customers, their
company, and themselves. Professionals
are problem solvers. They don’t make excuses, but rather determine
the actions they need to execute to accomplish their goals.
They know that talk is talk, and actions speak louder than
words.
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1.
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Their
highest value is integrity: They
will never compromise themselves just to “get the order.” Sales professionals know their reputations are dependent on
their integrity and honesty. They
know their success is based on their ability to meet their
commitments—to their customers, their company, and themselves.
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Becoming
a true professional:
Professional sales is
not rocket science! The
principles are very clear, but very demanding.
Executing these principles everyday is what separate true sales
professionals from “peddlers.”
Forget all the hype,
dedicate yourself to being a professional.
Build your abilities in each of the areas outlined above.
These
characteristics are a roadmap for building yourself as a sales
professional. Use them to
develop your own plan for achieving sales excellence.
Partners In EXCELLENCE provides many training
programs that help sales professionals sharpen and improve their skills.
For information on the
Dimensions Of EXCELLENCE training programs, follow the
link.
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2001 Partners In EXCELLENCE, All Rights Reserved.
Partners In
EXCELLENCE supports its clients in achieving performance and
organizational excellence. We
help our clients develop and implement high performance marketing, sales,
distribution, and customer service strategies, maximizing their impact in
achieving the desired business goals.
Much of this work begins with the Sales or Channel Audit.
For more information, please contact us at info@excellenc.com,
or by phone at (949)305-7146.
Dave Brock
is the founder and president of Partners In EXCELLENCE. He can be reached at dabrock@excellenc.com.
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