Have you ever found yourself wondering what exactly sets you apart from the best in the business?
What you can do to be in that top 5%, live the life that looks like it’s just about closing sales all day?
Before we dive into the sales habits of successful salespeople, we’ll give you one quick insight – it’s never as easy as it looks and it always involves a lot more work and discipline than you get to see on the surface.
It’s always a steep climb to the top in any field and sales is among the most competitive fields there is. The sales habits of successful salespeople go beyond just the purview of sales – some of these might actually require a lifestyle change.
So, if you’re ready, we’ve chosen the top few most effective insights that are guaranteed to pay off for you.
Here are some of the effective, not-so-secret sales habits of successful salespeople-
1. Successful Salespeople Are Disciplined and Have a Routine
You face plenty of highs and lows when in a Sales role – you could close a sale and lose a big client in the same week.
Discipline and a daily routine can help you stay balanced and create predictability in other areas of your life so you can better deal with the unpredictability in your time-consuming career.
A disciplined mindset is also a great foundation for perseverance and growth.
As the original billionaire CEO Warren Buffett puts it,
“We don’t have to be smarter than the rest; we have to be more disciplined that the rest.”
2. Successful Salespeople Self-Motivate Everyday
If there were ever a field where positivity is a pre-requisite, it’s sales. You need to be able to cope with whatever comes your way – a difficult client, a high-value prospect that just won’t close, a boss that keeps your nose to the ground and even that occasional deal that falls through.
That’s why the best salespeople know how to keep themselves motivated day after day after day, so they can always rebound into focusing on what’s needed next.
As sales magnate Zig Ziglar famously said,
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
3. Successful Salespeople Spend Time Every Day on Research and Learning
When you’re selling a product/service, it’s not enough to simply be armed with promotional content and a sales script.
Successful sales people understand that – they spend time everyday ensuring that they know every aspect of the product that they’re selling, researching the industries their customers come from and talking to customers to understand what’s really working and what’s not. This knowledge sets them apart from the rest.
As Siva Devaki, the co-founder of MassMailer, Inc. puts it,
“Sales is not about selling anymore, but about building trust and educating.”
4. Successful Salespeople Are Relentless in Every Way
Being relentless isn’t just about not taking no for an answer… it’s also about persevering when things aren’t going your way, in being open to asking for help when it’s needed or working at that task list till it’s clear every day.
Being relentless means doing whatever it takes to achieve your goal daily – no excuses, just smart work, hard work and complete accountability.
In the words of the famous shark Barbara Corcoran,
“Great salespeople don’t have the ability to feel sorry for themselves.”
5. Successful Salespeople Make Time and Put Effort Into Building Relationships
Sales is a people-centric job and the best salespeople know that winning people over takes trust, confidence and time. They are great listeners and not necessarily by nature – they will have taken time to cultivate it.
They take that extra minute to check in on clients, follow-up one extra time with their leads, make small talk and ask insightful questions. It’s not just about converting prospects into sales, but also about turning customers into advocates.
As the sales success coach Bob Hooey said,
“If you’re not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.”
Have you been able to work on these sales habits on a daily basis? Are there particular ones where you think you need more work? We’d love to hear more about your efforts and results in this area – feel free to drop a comment below!
