Not every salesperson is blessed with the natural abilities that we would all love to have. Most of us have to be grinders and have to work for everything that we have. It is the grinders that, in the long run, make the best salespeople. Of course there are certain techniques that we all learn and different processes that we all have, but at its heart, selling is about work. If you are willing to work, then you can be a successful salesperson.
Most people don’t see the hours in the weight room, the time watching film or the time on the practice field that athletes have to put in. They see their favorite athletes making it look easy in the game. Sales are not a whole lot different. When a customer talks to a salesperson, they see the finished product. They are listening to someone who knows everything about every piece of merchandise on the sales floor, someone who knows about every special and someone who can answer every single question that they may have. What the customer does not see is all of the hours it took for that salesperson to be that prepared.
I’m not going to lie to you; there are those people who are so gifted in terms of interacting with people that they can get away without knowing every detail about every product they are selling. Those people are few and far between, however, and eventually their lack of work ethic will catch up to them.
If you really want to succeed in this business, then the best advice I can give to you is this: don’t be afraid to work. Spend the extra hour learning about the new product line, take the extra few minutes to write a thank you note and don’t be afraid to work on your presentation. Customers are coming in to buy a certain product, but they are also looking for someone who knows more about that product than they do. When you are sick, you go see a doctor because they have the knowledge to make you better. When a customer is talking to a salesperson, they are often doing so to gain more information about a product that they are interested in.
The most successful way to achieve your goals is through being prepared – and that means work. If you are willing to work, you can be great in this business.
Author, trainer, consultant, and speaker Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training. Huisken has authored several books and training manuals on sales and produces a Weekly Sales Training Meeting video series along with Aptitude Tests and Proficiency Exams for new hires, current sales staff and sales managers. In addition, he publishes a free weekly newsletter called “Sales Insight” For a free subscription or more information contact IAS Training at 800-248-7703 or info@iastraining.com. Visit his website at www.iastraining.com.
