Many of us don’t like the idea of sales. It sounds pushy, sleazy, and gross. But if we think about it, we’re all salespeople. We’re selling our skills in a job interview or selling an idea to a friend or family member. We’ve likely sold something on Craigslist or eBay or Etsy at least once in our life.
A career in sales can be the most profitable career in the world and it is not uncommon for the top salespeople to out-earn every other profession out there. Alarmingly, 80% of the commissions are usually only earned by 20% of the salesforce. There’s a reason why these salespeople are always handing their business cards. It’s because they are motivated, competitive, and passionate about making money. You certainly don’t want to be left behind!
In this article, we are going to share with you the five secrets to become a top salesperson and become one of the 20% that earn 80% of the commissions.
Find A Mentor
Have you ever watched an Olympic gymnast perform? How did they become so good at their sport? When we watch the Olympics, we’ll notice that every single champion has a support team behind them. It is this support system of coaches, family, and friends that help them to reach the podium.
We are all faced with adversity in our careers, but it is hard to overcome this on our own. We believe having a mentor is just as important as finding our dream job or reaching financial independence. We should have someone to encourage us and help us avoid making mistakes in our career. This person can lead us down the right path to success!
Exude Positivity
When we’re in a sales job, one of the most important things to master is how to sell ourselves. If no one wants to work with us, it doesn’t matter how good our product is — we’re not going to be successful.
But how do we become a top salesperson? How can we get people to like working with us and give us, their business?
The most important thing is to exude positivity. If people enjoy being around us, they will want to buy from us and do more business with us. People want to do business with those who bring them up, not those who bring them down.
Attitude is everything when it comes to sales. Selling ourselves means letting people know how much we care about our product, how great it is, and what it can do for them. But all of that is empty unless our attitude reflects that enthusiasm. When people see that we truly love our work and have a positive attitude, they will be much more likely to buy from us — and buy again later on.
Mastering body language comes with practice but also stems from having a positive attitude. Our body language tells just as much about us, as the words we say. Practice in-front of a mirror and keep an eye on what we are saying subconsciously when making our presentations. Which leads us to the next point.
Practice, Practice, and Practice
Do we know our product inside and out? Can we answer any objection a customer might throw at us? It’s time to practice.
Many salespeople are great at presentations and have the gift of gab, but they do not understand their product enough to make a sale.
We can practice with friends and family members, or make practice calls to our own company to gain experience.
The average salesperson spends about four hours per week in training. Work on getting better every day by continuously learning about our products, services, industry, and customers.
Become An Expert
They say knowledge is power, and this is true in sales as well. If we want to increase our sales, we must be knowledgeable about our product or service, as well as about our customers’ needs.
By focusing on providing high-quality information to our customers and prospects, rather than trying to sell them something, we will build a reputation for being trustworthy and valuable. This will help us stand out from the competition and increase our sales.
When we become an expert, people will start coming to us. We will no longer have to persuade them because they trust us.
How do we become a sales expert?
- Read books
- Hang out with experts
- Teach others
- Learn from our mistakes
- Join mastermind groups
We should always be looking for ways to improve our skills as a salesperson, as well as ways to improve the products/services we sell.
The more knowledgeable we are, the better we’ll be able to communicate with customers.
Most people don’t like pushy salespeople, so instead of using high-pressure tactics, focus on educating the customer about what we’re selling.
Focus On Building Relationships
In today’s highly competitive world, good relationships with customers can mean the difference between making a sale or not. Therefore, it is important that we get to know our customers and understand their needs so that we can provide them with a solution that meets those needs. By helping them solve a problem or achieve their goals, they will see us as someone who is worth doing business with and will be more likely to buy from us in the future.
Asking open-ended questions is a great way to get people talking about their problems and show how we can provide the perfect solution.
Bonus: Don’t Take Rejection Personally
It’s natural to take rejection personally. After all, we’ve just spent the better part of an hour trying to convince someone to buy something, only to have them say “no.”
In order to be successful in sales, however, we need to stop taking rejection personally. Otherwise, we’ll never be able to make a sale!
Don’t give up! Just because one person doesn’t want what we’re selling doesn’t mean that no one does. Besides, not everyone is going to like us as a person. We can’t take it personally.
Remember that we have to ask for the sale. Many people aren’t going to come out and ask us for details about the product or service we are selling, so don’t assume that they aren’t interested. If they seem interested but don’t ask for details about price or other information about our product, mention this first and see what their reaction is. If they seem uninterested, then it’s time to move on. Don’t waste our time asking every single person if they’re interested — only ask those who appear likely candidates for our products or services.
Many people are turned off by sales because they think it means having to hear “no” a lot. But that’s not true. If we’re good at selling, we’ll be hearing “yes” almost all the time.
The key is to learn to deal with rejection properly. Instead of taking it personally, consider it a learning opportunity. Maybe our approach needs some refining, or maybe we’re going after the wrong leads. Maybe we need to have a better answer for an objection that keeps coming up.
The best salespeople don’t take rejection personally or worry about what happens if they ask and get turned down — they just ask again.
Conclusion
Becoming a salesperson can be extremely rewarding, but only if we commit to the role. By practicing, being energetic and involved, and finding a mentor or teacher, anyone can become a top salesperson. Skills like listening and asking questions are conducive to making any professional sales process easier. And the possibility of generating income that far surpasses the minimum wage makes this a worthwhile goal for almost any individual.
Have these sales tips helped you? We would love to know what you think, let us know by sending us an email to info@drihk.com or if you want us to help you become the top 20% salesforce check out our Sales Mastery Program HERE!
The Destiny Team