Looking to make serious cash in a profession with unlimited demand?

Sales careers offer the potential to earn a high income - and have fun at the same time!

Most people won’t succeed, but those who do outsell the rest by a lot….. and make an extraordinary income. Here are some key habits that separate the few high performers from the rest who won’t make it.

Organization is everything

Those who come in each morning with a logical, organized plan will outsell those who don’t. Start your morning off right. Who are you going to contact today, and how? 

Did you make a list of prospects to call the day before? Do you have pre-written email drafts ready to go? 

You will be shockingly more productive when you have a concrete plan. Deciding what to do is your biggest time waster. 

When you start your morning, it should be a paint by numbers process because you've already made a plan. For example, make 20 cold calls from this list. Send these 10 prospects pre-drafted emails. Scour this resource and aim to find another 25 contacts for tomorrow. Address this issue and get back to so-in-so with more information. You get the idea - write down productive tasks ahead of time. 

Keep your inbox as clean as possible. This will ensure that you never miss something important. Your inbox should double as your to-do list. When you're done with an email, have a side folder to put it in. The goal is to have an empty inbox. You may never achieve that, but make clearing and sorting your inbox a priority. 

Separate future buyers from those who are not future buyers

For any product, there are people who could turn into buyers, and there are people who will never buy. Your job is to filter the right people into the ‘potential buyers’ category and discard the rest.

Who might have a need for your product and is willing to give you a few seconds of their time? You are not trying to persuade those who feel your product has nothing to offer them, or those who have no need. You want to find people who have an open mind to your service or product. Keep their information in an organized place.

Usually, you aren’t trying to make a sale on the first call. Don’t annoy people with some contrived sales pitch. Instead, ask questions. For example, “have you thought about whether you might benefit from a tool like this?” 

The goal is to set up the next step. This might be a discovery call, a demo, or grabbing their email address to send more information. If they give you an email address, they are giving you permission to take the next steps.

If someone is straight up hostile, exit the situation as quickly and tactfully as you can. None of your sales will come from people who aren’t receptive.

Does this prospect have a need or interest, and are they open to learning more? Great, this is who you are looking for! Everyone else isn’t worth more of your time. 

Fresh contacts are the best contacts

The more time you can spend scouring for new potential buyers, the more you will sell. 

You will likely find many old prospects in your company's CRM. Some contacts may have notes in their file from the last person in your role. These notes will rarely be accurate or helpful. Most sales will come from people you can successfully contact before others get to them. They’re fresh, and they haven’t been turned off by the last person who came before you. 

Try to find people who have been in the job for a few years or less. These people are more open to change, such as bringing on a new supplier or tool. They might be younger and more innovative. Most importantly, they have not yet been marketed to death by your competitors.

Substance over style

You've seen the salesman stereotype from tv and movies. He's smooth talking, magically persuasive, and yet also slimy and dishonest. 

In real life, the best-selling salespeople are straightforward and honest. They know the facts and use those to persuade. Ditch your preconceived ideas of what works. Instead, imagine the type of person that you would prefer to buy from.

Do you want someone who can talk your ear off and pretends to be your best friend? Or do you want someone who supplies you with the information you need to make a good choice and solve your problem? Who are you going to trust?

You aren’t as good of a liar as you think you are. Your body language, your tone, and the way you direct a conversation will almost always give you away. 

Here’s the good news: you don’t need to lie. There is a market somewhere for what you’re offering. A team of professionals have made your product or service because there are people out there who want it. It must have some merits. It could help an interested person out – find them and tell them how!