The Top 3 Characteristics Of Successful Sales Professionals
Guest Blog Post by Bob Urichuck 2/19/12
People often wonder exactly what characteristics make a great sales professional. Below are the three attributes I find to be most critical in achieving sales success.
GOAL SETTING: The first thing to ask yourself is have you set professional and personal goals for yourself? It is important that your goals are written down on paper and follow the S.M.A.R.T. criteria (they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely).
The reason why it is so important to write down your professional and personal goals in the S.M.A.R.T. structure is because without them you have nothing to work toward.
Goals and a plan of action alone are not enough. You must be self-disciplined, focused, and ready to take action!
SELF-DISCIPLINE: self-discipline is making a commitment of excellence to the most important person there is – yourself. Self-discipline means that you are willing to do what you need to do, even when you don’t really want to do it.
The way to become disciplined is to identify those negative habits that hold you back from achieving your goals, and replacing them with new powerful and effective behaviors. These new practices will soon become strong habits that support the positive achievement of both your professional and personal goals.
When you have changed your daily behaviors to effective, positive habits, it’s important to reward yourself for doing what you needed to do. It is a proven fact that a behavior that is recognized with a reward will be repeated. So if you fail to do what you said you were going to do, you should deny any reward you were hoping for. Rewards don’t have to be excessive, even a cup of your favorite coffee or a nice meal can be effective.
Mastering your attitude is crucial, even before you set out to discipline yourself to achieve your goals. If you don’t desire to do whatever it takes to reach a positive outcome, your chances of success are slim.
ATTITUDE CONTROL: You can’t build anything without a solid foundation. Attitude is the foundation for all successful people, not just sales professionals.
Attitude has been called the advance person of our real character. While its roots start within, based on the experiences we’ve had in the past, the fruit it produces are seen on the outside. Our attitude can be our best friend, or it can be our greatest enemy. What people see of our attitude is more consistent and honest than the words we speak. It can repel people away from us, or draw them to us. In order to achieve success as a sales person, you have to be in control of your attitude.
Everything revolves around you and your attitude towards yourself, your organization, the team and the products or services that you sell. Take hold of your attitude, realize it is yours and develop an attitude of self-respect, self-confidence, and self-worth. Develop an owner’s mentality and be proactive.
In order to become successful as a sales professional, and even to create a successful foundation for your life, you must master the characteristics of attitude, goal setting and discipline. Master these three characteristics and you will be well on your way to success in any profession!
Bob Urichuck is a Sales Skills speaker whose passion and energy, together with his advance learning techniques, allows him to accomplish fast results with his audience. He is one of the many talented Sales Skills Speakers you will find on MotivationalSpeakersWorldwide.com.