What is the Ultimate Indicator of Sales Success

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Written By : Dave Kahle, Total Views :1871

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Are You A Sales Professional? Really?

As a true Sales Professional you have to approach your career just like the professional athlete does. You have to continuously refine your sales skills, continue to search for new sales methods and new technology, adapt to an ever changing landscape and be open to learn new strategies from the leading sales experts.

Why do professional athletes work out in the off season and go to training camp every year? Don’t they already know everything? They are professionals right? They are the best of the best… there can’t be anything else they can learn and certainly, no way they can get any better - right? Wrong!

Any top professional that you meet is continuously learning, studying, training, reading, networking and attending seminars to learn more about their area of expertise. Why? Because they understand that things change, technology improves, new techniques are discovered, new products are developed and everything progresses as time goes on.

Do you consider yourself a top Sales Professional or, do you aspire to be an elite Sales Leader? If so… read on.

Let’s face it, selling today is a tougher career than it ever has been. I am sure you would agree that decision makers are getting smarter every day. They have more information at their fingertips, they are much more informed and more analytical in their approach and they have more options to choose from than ever before. In my personal experience over the past 5 years, it is not uncommon to have 8-10 companies in almost every deal that I am competing in!

So what do you do? Do you keep using the same old sales tactics and sales approach that you have used since you started your career? Answer: Not if you want to be successful!

As a true Sales Professional you have to approach your career just like the professional athlete does. You have to continuously refine your sales skills, continue to search for new sales methods and new technology, adapt to an ever changing landscape and be open to learn new strategies from the leading sales experts.

Are you getting better at your profession? Are you continuously improving your sales skills? Are you staying current with today’s trends (like social networking) and understanding why, where and when people buy products and services? Are you becoming the sales person that your competition fears?

If you’ve gotten complacent with your career, or think you may need to step it up a notch, here are some suggestions for you. A good place to start is to regularly visit some of the top sales blogs like; www.salesgravy.com, www.saleshangout.com or www.salesblog.com. These sites and other sales related blogs, offer a ton of great articles and resources on every aspect of sales. Identify your areas of improvement (your weaknesses) and find relevant articles and guides to help you improve in those areas.

Most sales people sort of slid into sales as a result of being “nice” people, and showing some skills or knowledge which their bosses considered helpful for sales. They found the increase in income and the freedom to organize their day as they saw fit to be attractive aspects of the job. The next thing you know, they were a sales person.

One of my clients recently mentioned to me that, when hiring prospective sales people, he looks for a “passion for sales” in their personality. The idea struck me. I had never really thought in those terms before. What is a ‘passion for sales?’ What does it look like? Is it really an indicator of a successful sales person? And, how do you identify it?

Perhaps the reason it struck me is that for 20 years I have been working with sales people who, for the most part, never really started out wanting to be sales people. I think that is true of the overwhelming mass of sales people. They really didn’t get there by following a well defined, intentional career path. Most sales people sort of slid into sales as a result of being “nice” people, and showing some skills or knowledge which their bosses considered helpful for sales. They found the increase in income and the freedom to organize their day as they saw fit to be attractive aspects of the job. The next thing you know, they were a sales person.

But a “passion for sales?” Rarely, in my experience. Here’s a test to see if you, or your sales people if you are a sales leader, have a passion for sales.

Do you (or they) invest in your own development as a sales person? I am convinced that only one out of 20 sales people has actually spent $25.00 of his own money on his own improvement in the last 12 months. I believe that is an indication of a person’s interest in the profession of sales.

Here’s an example. I am a mediocre golfer. But I really like it. Since I have a “passion for golf,” I invest in my golfing ability. I subscribe to the magazines; I buy a golf book every now and then; I follow a couple of golf websites; and I take lessons every couple of years. I go to the driving range and practice almost every week in the summer. This year, I did a bit of a study on which golf ball I should be using, and made an informed decision. While I readily admit that I am not a good golfer, at the same time I will absolutely assert that I am getting better, always better. If I live long enough, I will become an excellent golfer.

There is nothing unique in that. What’s true for me and my passion for golf is true for everyone and their passions. It is certainly true of sales people. If they have a passion for the profession, they will invest their own time and money in it. They’ll subscribe to the magazines and Ezines, they’ll buy the books, go to the seminars, network with other good sales people, and practice as much as they can. Their money and time will follow their passion.

Is it an indicator of sales success? I think so. It may be the ultimate indicator of eventual sales success. Just like me and golf. Eventually, I am going to be a good golfer. My passion for it will lead me to learn, and eventually I will figure it out. So, too, for sales people. Given a modicum of talent, their motivation will drive them to learn, and eventually they will absorb enough of the principles and practices of effective professional sales, they will incorporate them into their routines, and they will be successful.

How do you identify it? Pre-hire aptitude assessments can uncover it. I remember taking a battery of psychological tests as part of the hiring process for one of my employers. The report that resulted pegged me as having “a singular intense attraction for persuasive activities.” In other words, a passion for sales. The pre-hire assessments that we sell provide a measurement of a candidate’s sales inclinations.

But, probably the best way is to examine their investments in themselves. Have they invested in their own growth as sales people? A number of years ago, I discovered that my alma mater, the University of Toledo, had a world-class sales school in the college of business. Young people actually take a major in “sales” and learn to sell in college. For a number of years, I have been donating a day a year, speaking to the classes of this number one rated sales school. How encouraging! An academic institution devoted to developing young people who have a passion for sales.

But few are fortunate enough to have been educated in the sales profession in college. That doesn’t stop those with the passion. The ultimate question is, “Have they invested in themselves?” Have they bought the books, attended the seminars, read the newsletters, etc.? If they have, you can be pretty sure they are passionate about the profession. If they haven’t, the opposite is true.

As an experienced sales trainer who has educated tens of thousands of sales people and their leaders, I can tell you that my job is so much easier when I have a room full of committed, passionate sales people. And so much more difficult when they really don’t care.

As for me and my company, I’ll take a passionate sales person every day of the week.

Dave Kahle
		About the author:
		Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and seven countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Sign up for his free weekly Ezine, and visit his blog. For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime. .