7 Habits of Highly Effective Sales People

To achieve long-term success in sales means that you need develop good habits that make you more productive. Here are seven sales habits that will help you improve your results.

1. Prospecting (It Feeds the Pipeline)
Top sales pros devote a significant amount of time to prospecting for new business and this habit prevents the peaks and valleys that many other sales people experience. The general rule of thumb to follow is to have at least 300% percent of your targeted budget in your pipeline to ensure that you reach your quota.

What percentage of your time to you a allocate for prospecting every day / week?

2. Qualify – be picky about which opportunities to spend time on
Good sales people have to be brutal about which sales opportunities they spend their time on. This starts while you prospect, while you go through your discovery process, and once you assess the value / priority of each overall opportunity.

Wasting time on prospects who never reach a decision is worse than losing to the competition. Top sales people are great at qualifying and prioritizing which opportunities deserve attention. This is done by constantly checking the pipeline and closely evaluating each opportunity for a go or no-go.

Don't ever be afraid to walk away from an opportunity that's not a good fit for you or your services - for whatever reason.

3. Asking great questions (It Gets Easier with Practice)
Over the years I have learned that most people will tell you anything you want IF you have the courage to ask. However many sales people I encounter do not ask high-value questions when meeting with prospects. Top sales people have learned to ask tough, probing, thought-provoking questions that make prospects think.

Many sales people are uncomfortable asking these types of questions because they feel that questions of this nature are too intimate or too probing. The key is to verbally rehearse asking these questions BEFORE you meet with your prospect or customer.

Study your prospect’s social footprint by following what they are saying, who they interact with and connect to, whether they express any concerns socially — then you can use that info in developing an authentic relationship, and as you prepare for sales calls.

What powerful questions are you prepared to ask?

4. Listening skills (Don’t Be Shy: Ask for Clarification)
The best sales people I know are excellent listeners. They listen for underlying clues and hidden messages. They also seek clarification when necessary. They use prompters such as “tell me more” or “go on” which encourages the other person to divulge additional information. And, they also make strong eye contact which demonstrates that they are paying close attention.

How can you improve your listening skills?

5. Persistence
We all know that it takes more than one call, one letter, or one email to connect with decision makers. In fact, it’s been reported that it now takes up to 14 touchpoints to connect with senior level executives.

Successful sales people know that it takes persistence and diligence to make contact and they use a variety of strategies to achieve this goal. If you've read just about any book on sales, been to any class, seminar or training - work ethic and persistence are top attributes for every recommendation.

How many attempts do you make before you stop trying?

6. Asking for referrals (Referrals Beat a Cold Call Every Time)
Most sales people don’t actively ask for referrals even though they know the importance of doing so. The challenge is that they don’t know how to ask or they are afraid that their customer will think they are needy or desperate for business. However, top sales people ask consistently for referrals because they know a referral is more likely to develop into a sale than a cold call.

What can you do to develop this habit?

7. Follow Up (It’s Up to You!)
Many a sale has been lost due to lack of follow-up and given the technology we have at our fingertips today, this should be a no-brainer. Too many sales people fail to follow up  — mistakenly thinking that the prospect will call them if they are interested. News flash! It’s up to you to follow through afterwards and I guarantee that you are losing sales if you are waiting for people to call you back. If you are serious about increasing your sales you MUST be proactive in your follow-up.

What follow-up system do you use in your business?

Develop these sales habits and integrate them into your routine. Your sales will increase, you will become more motivated, and you will "Make a lot of money, and have a lot of fun!"

What do you do that distinguishes yourself from average sales people?