Sales Habits Of Highly Successful Salespeople

For better or worse, we’re all creatures of habit. It’s long been my contention that the best salespeople are also creatures of habit, [but] the great salespeople are also flexible enough to adopt new sales tools as they become available.

The process of ingraining good habits in your workday requires good and regular practice. Hall of Famer Cal Ripkin Jr., says his father used to tell him: “Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.”

For today’s Friday Feature, Promotional Consultant Today shares these habits that can make a difference in your sales success, as featured in this month’s issue of Promotional Consultant digital magazine.

If it doesn’t work, fix it
There’s no sense in perpetuating a bad habit just because you’ve always done it that way. Step away, re-examine your process and figure out ways to shore up your weaknesses. Communicate the message that it is sound business to trust you Don’t cut corners at the expense of your own credibility–it’s one of your most powerful weapons. Develop leadership skills. Build mutually beneficial long-term partnerships.

Ask the right questions
Ease in with simple questions that get the prospect talking about himself, then move on to the past, the present and the future–complementing each with why and how. Use middle-ground questions when appropriate, but beware of overreliance on them. You must take responsibility for keeping the cycle moving forward.

Take the lead
Tell the prospect where you are at any given point in the sales cycle. Don’t be afraid to steer the conversation in the direction you want it to go. If there are questions or problems, you’ll hear about them–and that’s what you want. When in doubt, take the initiative in a calm, professional manner.

See eight more smart sales habits inside the current issue of Promotional Consultant magazine.

PCT will make it habit to return to your inbox on Monday with more leadership, sales and business tips.

Source: Adapted from The 25 Sales Habits Of Highly Successful Salespeople, Third Edition (Adams Media, http://www.adamsmedia.com) by Stephan Schiffman. He has trained more than 500,000 salespeople at firms such as AT&T, Chemical Bank, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Motorola and U.S. Healthcare. Schiffman is president of DEI Management Group and author of a number of other books on selling.