Good habits help with sales performance

There are many different characteristics that contribute to making a salesperson the best. However, one characteristic stands out above all others: the adoption of positive habits. The following positive habits can make the difference between great and average sales performance:

Are you thinking positively? Do you make automatic discouraging assumptions about customers? Do you make negative judgments in advance? If you’re not in the habit of thinking positively, you are likely to be sabotaging your own sale before you even begin your approach.

Are your actions positive? How do you listen to your customers? Are you doing all the talking? Do you take the time to reflect on how effective you were? You need to get into the habit of taking the time to act and react positively with customers. Don’t be afraid to take a good look at yourself.

All too often salespeople get into a rut of dwelling on past experiences, and, unfortunately, they seem to remember only the negative ones. You need to have a good memory for what is valuable and need to forget what cannot be changed. Develop the positive habit of asking yourself, “What is the best use of my time right now?” n Successful salespeople know the value of their product or service. They also know that what is more important is the value it has to each individual customer. Don’t limit yourself by only thinking about what values you believe your service or products offers. Develop the positive habit of thinking about and asking what the customer wants. Then act on how you can satisfy those wants.

Believing you are responsible for the outcome of each sale is a sure sign of success in selling. You need to believe you have control of the situation and develop strategies that create good odds for success. Get into the habit of taking ownership of your own sales success.

Successful salespeople have open minds. Stay alert and be prepared to accept opportunities instead of chaining yourself to negative assumptions. If you are going to assume something, get into the habit of making it a positive assumption.

“No” is not a dirty word to successful salespeople. They take that “no” and turn it into a positive learning experience. What is your habit of thinking or feeling when you don’t make a sale? Remember “no” is not a personal defeat or failure. It can teach you how to make changes in your presentation and approach to a customer.

Success at sales requires a plan of action for every call. After your call, get into the habit of doing an honest evaluation. How did you do? What did and didn’t work? What do you need to change? Goal setting and measuring your achievements are the most positive thinking, feeling and acting habits of top sales people.

Don’t let negative habits trap you. Whatever your present level of achievement is now, making your habits more positive will help you attain even greater levels of performance.