Positive mindset or a sales mindset?

I always asked this question to myself if I can do better while developing a sales mindset or will a positive mindset have a better impact on the customers and my career. In my opinion and experience, I believe both of these mindsets go hand in hand.

A successful sales journey will start when you believe in your company, believe in the product you're selling, you're sold on the product yourself and have developed the thinking that your customers will make a mistake if they purchase the similar product from one of your competitors because your product is indeed going to provide more value.

Even if you have developed a positive mindset like this, you might still not be able to close as many customers you thought you can do. This exact scenario happened with me and I reflected on what was needed apart from the "positive mindset" in order to excel in a sales career. This is where the sales mindset came into play and understood the difference between sales and a positive mindset and how they have to be interlinked to make the most out of your career.

A positive mindset will give you the confidence and boost to appear in front of your prospects but a sales mindset in my scenario, will help you navigate the entire process of selling and increase your belief that selling, is more like a game and if played right with the right tools, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

These techniques have helped me become a more confident representative and I hope they help you too. There are additional factors which have to be considered as well but for me, these were some of the most important ones.

1. Know your product - When I state know your product, I mean you should know it thoroughly. You should know the back end as well as the front end operations of your product. You should have all the answers to the questions which your prospects are going to ask. A confident, well educated and a SOLD sales representative will instil a sense of comfort and trust in the mind of the prospect.

Tip to know your product better - Ask as many questions you can from your management or colleagues. Search about the product yourself online and see what the existing users are saying about the product. Do not hesitate to ask questions because without asking you'll never know.

2. Believe in your product - If you don't believe in your product or if you won't buy the product yourself, chances are, you won't be able to close many prospects. Think about it, if you yourself are not sold on the product how can you get someone else to trust you and buy the product? It appears in your attitude when you're facing a prospect. Select a product or service which solves problems and adds value in the prospects life. If you work for a company, make sure the company is morally and financially sound and you'll notice the process becoming more efficient.

Tip to believe in your product - Talk to past customers and ask what they like the most and where can it be improved. Work on those improvements and get the customers problems fixed. Take feedback about your services as well. Secondly, compare your services with the competitors. See where you have the competitive advantage and focus on that value proposition.

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3. Know the competition - You should know important details about your competitors. Their products, pricing, packaging alongside how well their customer service and retention is. When you know about your competition, you know what your competitive advantage is and where your product can be improved. This will increase your confidence and the trust in your product.

Tip to know about your competition - Prepare data of your competitors, their products and the pricing of those products. When a prospect states that they want to look around and shop from other suppliers, present that data to them and do a comparison of your services with the data right there. This will leave the prospect impressed with your preparation and again, increase trust in your company.

4. Practice your craft daily - Do you know what separates the top performers with the other performers? Top performers practice everyday. This can be in the form of objection handling, pitch practice, engagement, lifestyle discovery or even closing. Are you practicing your craft daily? Are you aware of the areas which might need improvement and are you working on them? If not, do it and do it everyday.

Tip to practice your craft daily - Practice your Pitch in front of the mirror everyday. If you can and I believe it can help, record your pitch and listen to it. Team up with a colleague or a friend and list down all the possible objections which customers might have in your industry. Practice those objections everyday. Doing these things will make you laser focused and increase your closing rate.

5. Be Human - Not all of your prospects are going to buy even if you might be saving them money or offering a better product but that shouldn't demotivate you. When I say be human I mean, understand what your prospect wants. Don't get into your pitch straight away but first build rapport with them. Ask open ended questions to determine what their pain points are and how they're currently utilising their existing services. Respect their time. When you're able to know their pain points, how they use their services, how they want their services to be, you can lay out a proper plan for your product which will benefit them if they buy from you.

Tip for being human in sales - Build an emotional connection with the prospect. Tell a story, paint the picture of the benefits which the prospect will gain while utilising the product. Don't just tell but paint the picture. Secondly, remember small details about them and get to know them personally. This could be important events like birthdays or anniversaries.

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6. Reflect on your day to day work -This step is crucial as it helps you understand what you're doing right, how much success you have achieved till now, where you want to be, what are you currently doing to reach that goal and where you need to make improvements in your career. Reflecting on your daily activities increases your confidence and also helps you formulate smaller steps to achieve bigger goals. Top performers don't go to sleep without reflecting on their day.

Tip to make this process productive - Record your daily conversations if you're performing cold calls or door knocking. Write down the objections which your prospects had and write down what you did to tackle those objections. Analyse your previous success stories and see what was being done right and where can the improvements be made.

Just adding a little more effort and working on these six steps has helped me to improve significantly and I hope this helps you as well. Have a positive attitude but keep on working towards your sales attitude as well. It will take you places!