50 Characteristics of Successful Sales People

Do you know how to sell your ideas, successfully, to others? And consistently be able to hit your sales quotas. Did you know 80% of all sales people miss quota?

In my book, Sell or Be Sold, I state "selling is as vital to your survival as food, water, and oxygen." I believe that businesses fail only because they are unable to sell their ideas fast enough and at margins high enough to continue to be able to conduct business. In the book I provide very simple, executable concepts that you can adapt to your personality and use with confidence.

Wouldn’t it be great if you knew what successful salespeople know and then duplicate that. I have met tens of thousands of salespeople over the years and probably learned as much from others as I have taught to them. And to help you become a sales closing ninja, I put together Secrets to Closing the Sale which gives you a 50+ page eBook, 10 Biggest Mistakes in Closing, 20 Rules of Closing and 3 Never Before Seen videos, check it out here.

Here are 50 common characteristics I have found amongst the best of the best what we call GREAT sales people. 

1. Successful salespeople don’t think in terms of sales, but in terms of building a business.
2. Successful salespeople build their business one customer at a time and then leverage the last customer into more customers.
3. Successful salespeople listen more than they speak, get an understanding of the customer’s needs, then customize a solution.
4. Successful salespeople deliver more than they promise and they always promise a lot.
5. Successful salespeople invest their time in those things that positively affect their income and avoid spending time on those things that have no return.
6. Successful salespeople are always seeking new, better and faster ways to increase their sales efforts.
7. Successful salespeople invest in networking, community and relationships, knowing that the difference between a contact and a contract is the ‘R’ and that stands for ‘relationship.’
8. Successful salespeople are obsessed with the art of selling, their customers and growing their business.
9. Successful salespeople don’t depend on marketplace economies for their outcomes; instead they rely on their own actions.
10. Successful salespeople surround themselves with over-achievers and have little time for those that don’t create opportunities.
11. Successful salespeople never accept good enough; they are always pushing themselves.
12. Successful salespeople don’t see failures as setbacks, but as investments in the process of growth.
13. Successful salespeople never give up on unsold clients, knowing that one day in the future they will become clients.
14. Successful salespeople squeeze hours out of minutes and weeks out of days.
15. Successful salespeople see problems as opportunities.
16. Successful salespeople invest in their education, development and personal motivation—knowing that these are the tools of a success life.
17. Successful salespeople invest in their careers, their business and most importantly, their customers.
18. Successful salespeople hold themselves to performance standards that are higher than even their management teams do.
19. Successful salespeople don’t need others to hold them accountable; they do it themselves.
20. Successful salespeople are constantly thinking, planning and preparing in order to continue to build their success base and keep their pipeline full.
21. Successful salespeople protect and guard their client base like a good parent would their children.
22. Successful salespeople are completely convinced that their products and services hold more value than the money they charge for them.
23. Successful salespeople have convictions that run deep and cannot be challenged by economies, competitors or lower prices.
24. Successful salespeople are excellent communicators and are able to focus their communication on getting a deal closed.
25. Successful salespeople don’t see themselves selling as much as they do serving, but also know that a sale must be consummated in order to serve their customer.
26. Successful salespeople challenge themselves constantly and are not satisfied with awards and paychecks because they correctly estimate their true potential.
27. Successful salespeople are never satisfied with themselves, their own efforts, their delivery or their incomes.
28. Successful salespeople are not just interested in being #1; they are interested in disrupting the status quo in their industry.
29. Successful salespeople don’t stay busy, they stay productive!
30. Successful salespeople willingly stretch way beyond being comfortable.
31. Successful salespeople want to create clients and referrals for life, knowing a really passionate customer is worth more than a paycheck.
32. Successful salespeople never blame others for their performance.
33. Successful salespeople are obsessed with building clientele that will take care of them and their company for years.
34. Successful salespeople see failure as an inspiration for innovation.
35. Successful salespeople stay hungry—knowing this is the only way to not go hungry.
36. Successful salespeople show up early and stay late.
37. Successful salespeople view problem customers—even dissatisfied customers—as opportunities to create fanatical fans.
38. Successful salespeople see a job with a fixed salary as more of a risk than an income based on commissions.
39. Successful salespeople value connections with their community as the main goal of commerce.
40. Successful salespeople are devoted to being in their absolute best physical and mental condition.
41. Successful salespeople have the work ethic of an obsessed person and the persistence of a maniac.
42. Successful salespeople know that logic is the dream killer. Instead, they trust instinct, creativity and passion to lead and fuel them.
43. Successful salespeople are smart with their money—not overspending—creating wealth for themselves and their families.
44. Successful salespeople are good at starting things and great at finishing them.
45. Successful salespeople don’t seek the easy way, but instead pursue discomfort and difficulties, knowing customers value solutions.
46. Successful salespeople use agreement and acknowledgment like magicians keeping negotiations alive that others would let die.
47. Successful salespeople are completely convinced that what they are doing is making a difference for their clients.
48. Successful salespeople seek to be #1 in their sector and their industry not for ego, but knowing it will result in more sales!
49. Successful salespeople obsess over dominating their industry, not competing in it.
50. Successful salespeople take responsibility for the entire sales cycle—from start to finish—and are will to get involved in things that other departments would typically handle. 

This list comes right out of Sell or Be Sold.  Comment below which of the 50 traits you think are the most important and to help you become a sales closing master, I want you to check out Secrets to Closing the Sale.

In it you get:
? A 50+ Page eBook
? 10 Biggest Mistakes in Closing
? 20 Rules of Closing
? 3 Never Before Seen Videos on Closing

Be great,

GC

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