29 Lessons From 29 Years In Sales

If you want to succeed at anything, you take a course, get a degree or get a coach.

Unfortunately, when it comes to sales, most people don’t do this. Making it up as you go along is a terrible strategy.

As I approach my 29th year in sales, I’ve endured a lot of struggle, doubt, plus years of wonderful success.

Here's 29 lessons I've learned that will help you become more comfortable at sales and get better results.

1.????Don’t think about the money. Focus on helping the client.

2.????Most people aren’t bad at selling, they’re badly trained.

3.????Most business courses from universities are a waste of money because they don’t teach LinkedIn or sales. Even worse, most business professors I've met have never run their own business!!!

4.????Learning to speak in public is an amazing skill to have and opens so many doors.

5.????Standing out and consistency is more important than talent.

6.????Feel sorry for trolls and haters. Don’t let them take away your energy.

7.????Surround yourself with people smarter than you and learn from them.

8.????If you can't leverage LinkedIn, you’re missing out on so much business.

9.????Don’t gossip, it will come back to haunt you.

10.?Always be learning – the more you know and take action on, the more you grow.

11.?Kindness is one of the most underrated qualities.

12.?So is vulnerability. It makes you more human and relatable.

13.?Don’t work with terrible bosses long term…

14.?... at the same time, learn from terrible bosses on how not to behave.

15.?Take 100% responsibility for everything you do.

16.?It’s okay to make mistakes, it's not okay to make the same mistake twice.

17.?Celebrate the success of your colleagues.

18.?Celebrate your own wins, no matter how big or small.

19.?Don’t make a phone call or send an email when you’re angry.

20.?Prospect every day. Even if it’s just for 1 hour a day.

21.?Mental Health is a serious problem. Take care of what you feed your body and mind.

22.?Stop Selling. Listen. Ask questions. Listen. Recap. Listen.

23.?People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

24.?Client Testimonials are vital. Always overdeliver and ask for them afterwards.

25.?When you connect with someone on LinkedIn, don’t sell straight away. You lose credibility and often don’t get a second chance.

26.?You will learn 10 times faster with a great coach than you will using Google.

27.?Put your phone on silent 2-3 times a day. You will achieve so much more.

28.?Virtual Selling will be here for a long time. Treat it with the same effort if you were seeing a client face to face.

29.?My favourite quote over this year is, “if you don’t invest in yourself, why would anybody invest in you?”

Niraj Kapur is a LinkedIn Top Voice, keynote speaker, and a trusted LinkedIn + sales trainer. If you want to get better results in 2023 for yourself, your business or have me speak at your event, DM me or email: [email protected]

The new book, Business Growth: Lessons Learned From Divorce, Dating and Falling in Love is available on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1739184505?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860