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“Jeffrey, I’m new to sales. How do I get better?”

“Jeffrey, I’ve been in sales for two years. How do I get better?”

“Jeffrey, I’ve been in sales for 20 years. How do I get better?”

It’s the same 3.5 answers for all three questions:

1. Put your “big-picture guidelines” in front of your face and keep them there. Too many salespeople are fixed on making one sale at the end of the week, end of the month, end of the quarter, or meeting a quota. Your mind is fixed on the SMALL picture. Why? One more sale is not the answer.

MAJOR QUESTION: Why aren’t you focusing on bigger issues so that sales come to you from prospects and customers who want to buy? The bigger issues are:

• Value messages – those that can have an impact on your worth to the customer. Worth is more powerful than price.

• Impact speeches – given at trade association events to establish your reputation as a knowledgeable leader and thinker.

• Top-tier networking – to get to know the people who count in your customer base, your industry and your career.

• Industry positioning – to become better known. Get involved in the associations and organizations in your marketplace.

• Consistent writing and publishing – a monthly article in your trade publication will raise everyone’s awareness of your ideas and capabilities.

• Personal branding – combining your words and deeds with your reputation to create the law of attraction.

2. Identify your principles for success and master them.

• Honesty, ethics, gratefulness and being a servant are the core elements. They make you a better person, not just a better salesperson.

• Nothing takes the place of, or is more powerful than, hard work. Hard work will improve your results. Hard work makes luck.

• Stay a student by dedicating time to read and study. Here’s the lifetime formula: The more you learn, the more you earn.

3. Make certain you have a passion for what you’re doing.

• Your belief system drives your success results. Establish belief in your company, your products and services, yourself and, most important, belief that the customer is better off having purchased from you.

• Attitude and enthusiasm are at the core of your thought process and expression. Your attitude either attracts or repels, and the best part of that is: You control it.

• Identify your tolerance for risk and go to that edge. Once you identify risk, reward becomes much more predictable and much more frequent.

• You must love what you do. If you’re in sales for the money, you’ll never find it.

• Love who you are. It makes your self-confidence a dominant factor in the decision-making process.

3.5. Make commitments to yourself and keep them.

• Small sales are scrutinized and micromanaged. This is why sales reports are hated and falsified (not by you, of course).

• Big-picture achievements are up to you – no one else is watching, or cares. Your private dedication and self-commitment are the winning attributes.

• Dedication to being BEST at anything you do. There’s no place for second place in sales. It’s best or lost to best.

Sales should not consume your life; rather, it should be incorporated into your life. Sales enhances life and embraces the philosophy of living life to its maximum potential. Doubling your income isn’t pie in the sky if you are determined and committed, and if you see the big picture.

Are you shooting for success or just a sale?

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2008 Jeffrey H. Gitomer