Its no secret that establishing good habits can make you successful in life. Turning one-off good behaviors into habits can make you especially successful in your work as a sales person. Habits are the behaviors that you do repeatedly, many times without even thinking about them. Here are 5 habits that successful salespeople have.
-Lose deals early. this might sound a bit strange that a good sales person loses deals, but the best time for a sales person to lose a deal is early in the process. If you are going to spend a lot of time on a deal you want to make sure that it is well qualified and that you have a good chance of winning it. The best sales people know how to tell the difference between a “good deal” and a “bad deal” and get out of the bad deals before spending too much time and energy.
-Build on successes. If you win a deal in a certain market, or succeed with a certain approach, do more of that. Each time you win a deal, find out why. Ask questions during or even after the fact to find out “why” the customer bought from you. You may learn something new that can help you moving forward. Great salespeople do this instinctively and consistently.
-Follow a process. Different products and services require different approaches but one thing that is true across industries is that following a process will help you achieve better results. If you follow a process and break your sales strategy down into the steps of this process it will be easier to identify the point in the process where a sale went bad and you will have better insights into how to fix it. One of the attributes of a habit is its repetitive nature, therefore following a process is
-Always schedule a follow up. You should never leave an interaction with a prospect without scheduling your next follow up. If you say you will call back…call back. Good salespeople have an instinct for knowing when to follow up and how frequently to do so. A good customer relationship management system can make this easy. You don’t want to be annoying but you do want to be thorough, when in doubt…make the call.
-Stay motivated. Sales can be an emotional game. The highs of winning a deal, the lows of losing a deal can be enough to drive most people to choose another career. Sales is not an easy career, but there is a reason why it can be one of the highest paying careers in many industries. Be persistent and stay positive. It is important to put yourself in a positive environment even if you have to do so by listening to or reading books on motivation, success, or other encouragement. Subscribe to blogs or newsletters that provide encouragement and tips on a regular basis. Take time to build up your mental and emotional staying power. The best salespeople are encouraging and motivating to be around because they have made this habit not only part of their regular routine, but part of their DNA.
Habits are formed with our conscious OR unconscious thought. Every time you find success, satisfaction, or even just relief you are setting yourself up for a pattern that has the potential to affect you for years. Are you defining your habits or are your habits defining you?
