A recent study of 2,500 sales organizations uncovers three major factors that separate top salespeople from the average or mediocre:

Attitude

The study finds that salespeople who exhibit a positive attitude about what they do consistently outsell those who don’t. It appears to be a classic case of the glass seen as half-full or half-empty.

Salespeople focusing on short-term issues or problems reported average or below-average sales. Those who look beyond short-term issues and find ways to concentrate on long-term solutions have the best results.

They do it by:

• visualizing what success would look like
• thinking of ways to turn obstacles into opportunities for growth
• envisioning the steps necessary to reach a goal, and
• asking sales managers or fellow salespeople for advice on how to solve problems.

Belief

Salespeople who show a positive, dynamic belief system are more likely to connect and establish mutually fruitful relationships with customers.

Even in the face of rejection, their belief is not shaken. They believe they can help the customer in the future and have enough resilience to approach the next prospect with the same firm belief.

They do it by:

• seeing customer needs as dynamic and evolving
• questioning and challenging beliefs and assumptions frequently, and
• forcing themselves to change behavior or technique when they’re unhappy with their results.

Coolness under pressure

Low producers tend to exhibit impulsive response and spur-of-the-moment behavior when faced with setbacks or unexpected developments. Top salespeople increase their ability to stay cool under pressure with these strategies:

• They recognize that pressure is simply one more logical step in the selling process. They remain cool by answering objections quickly, intelligently and unemotionally.
• They anticipate controversial or emotional issues before meeting with customers, reviewing the most common objections they face and the ways they’ve overcome them, and
• When faced with a problem, they seek several alternative ways solve it, recognizing that customers will buy only when they feel a positive benefit.

Adapted from Championship Selling by Tom Blake

Tags: Attitude, Sales success, Tom Blake