Experienced farmers know it takes both good seeds and good soil to produce a bountiful harvest. The same is true for success in sales – you need great people and a great environment for sales professionals to achieve extraordinary results.
The factors necessary to achieve success in sales fall under two broad categories – individual and environment.
Individual:
Passion: This is a fundamental aspect of the individual factors. If you’re not passionate about your organization, product or service, it behooves you to seek a different organization or industry or career. Without passion for the product or service offered, none of the other factors make sense.
Initiative: As a sales professional, you need to be able to take initiative. No sales plan? Create one! No process? Offer one! No sales training? Find one, and tell your leaders about it and how it will enable you reach revenue goals! No prospects? Go get ‘em! Challenge yourself…do whatever it takes!
Discipline: This almost goes without saying… You have to bring your best self each and every selling day. This takes discipline each day. Good habits, hard work, dedication, persistence, sacrifice…are all forms of discipline.
Staying coachable: It takes humility to be coachable. The great ones are the ones who acknowledge they don’t know everything, and are open to learning and growing. Having a coach and staying coachable allows one to learn from others and accelerate their own success.
Environment
Feedback: Leaders have to give feedback to the team and individuals on the team in a way that encourages and corrects. Some folks call this “constructive criticism”. I call it feedback. No one wants to be criticized. Give feedback on strengths and encourage them on areas to improve.
Infrastructure: Nothing is more frustrating than a sales rep hitting targets only for operations or supply chain to screw things up! In a “well-oiled machine”, there can be no screw ups. Organizations need to align their processes and structure with their revenue goals/targets.
Validation: Everyone loves praise. Yes, everyone! Give incentives, praise, awards, put out sales contests, have folks earn bragging rights. All of these (and more) help keep things fresh and allow sales professionals to give their best, and ultimately, hit their goals.
Imagine this – a great seed, planted in a great environment and nurtured through its lifetime. A bountiful harvest is sure to happen. Put these seven factors together in yourself and your environment, and success is inevitable.
Need help setting yourself or team up for success? Let’s talk: info@thecommissioninternational.com.
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Originally published on LinkedIn by Ije Nwokomah