book.chapter Section A - selling profession

Sales career advantages A career in sales offers many advantages. You have the freedom to be resourceful and creative, which are highly demanded and rewarded. Rather than having an income ceiling set by others, you decide how successful you want to be. Sales provides a daily challenge that is invigorating and stimulating if you have the right attitude. You also have huge leverage - your return on time and capital invested is much better than in a capital intensive business. You can make your work great fun, a real adventure. You gain a large amount of satisfaction with each challenge overcome and sale made. A sales career stimulates personal growth. To earn more, you must learn more. The choice is yours alone - you can make a sales career either highly paid hard work or lowly paid easy work depending on the effort you put in. The exciting thing is that no one else decides this but you. Superior learning system Superior learning ability leads to superior performance, which in turn makes high earnings easier to achieve. The key characteristics of an effective learning system are: being genuinely interested in the subject matter, which helps with retaining details; repeating the material frequently in different ways like writing, reading aloud, and role-playing, which cements it into your mind; using your new skills and knowledge regularly so they become second nature rather than fading with disuse; personalizing the concepts so they mesh with your existing personality and talents, lending them extra power; and periodically reviewing even basic material to keep your knowledge fresh, much like athletes return to training camp every year to sharpen their fundamentals. If you structure your learning to leverage impact, repetition, utilization, internalization and ongoing reinforcement, you will gain superior mastery of the material. This makes superior performance easier, which then unlocks superior earnings potential. Sources of sales success To be a sales champion rather than an order taker, consider qualities that lead to sensational sales success. A commanding appearance makes a memorable first impression. Champions take honest pride in their work enjoying interactions while assisting clients. Confidence radiates in the product, clients, and their own ability to help. By qualifying prospects, champions build warmth knowing the product will benefit that person. Self-assurance stems from within, never overwhelmed as they believe in themselves. Getting rich by serving those who benefit comes through association. Burning ambition powers achievement. Confidence arises from overcoming fear and obstacles. Enthusiasm is self-generating, detached from daily ups and downs. Personal involvement with clients comes through. Rejection is not taken personally, often bouncing off painlessly. Continuing education allows greater service to clients over time. The right qualities separate the true sales champions from the order takers. Champion creed and rejection attitudes The creed of a sales champion is that one is judged not by the number of failures, but by the number of successes. Success is directly related to the number of times one can fail yet persist. This philosophy colors every thought and action. There are five attitudes towards rejection. First, failure is seen as a learning experience, not an end. Edison tried thousands of unsuccessful filaments before inventing the lightbulb. Failure provides lessons to enable future sales. Second, failure gives the feedback to change approach. Clients who reject without feedback won't seriously consider a purchase. Their criticism provides insights to make the sale. Third, failure presents opportunities to develop humor. Laugh at mistakes to melt anxiety and boost resilience. Fourth, failed sales provide chances to hone techniques and perfect performance. Fifth and finally, failure is a game that builds percentages. More attempts mean more failures but also more successes. The key is persisting despite failures. Calculating rejection cash value The key to overcoming rejection is to view it as bringing you closer to your next success. Champions have a formula for doing this. First, determine the typical value of one of your sales. Next, calculate the average number of contacts you need to make before closing each sale. Then, divide the sale value by the number of contacts. This gives you the cash value of each rejection - every time someone says no, you've made that amount of money in the sense that you're now one no closer to the next yes. If you concentrate on this ratio, you'll start eagerly anticipating rejections since you know they inch you toward your next success and paycheck. Viewed this way, each no gets you closer to the finish line. So keep your eyes on the prize and value every rejection for what it truly represents - progress. Have and have not difference When undertaking any activity, your skill level will match the amount of practice, drilling, and rehearsal you did beforehand. Mediocre salespeople don't plan what they'll say to prospects - they prefer to improvise. Champions, who like making money, prepare extensively instead. Superior preparation means you're more likely to succeed than fail. It also leads to quicker responses and higher quality responses. Champions study objections from books, colleagues, and other sources. Then they practice, drill, and rehearse their reactions. This foundation of professionalism involves a practiced response to every objection, question, or signal. The key is intensive preparation, allowing champions to collect extensive objections for drilling. By practicing responses, they react faster with better quality, making them more likely to succeed. Preparation breeds professionalism. Effective selling techniques Multiply your earnings by selling to your clients' associates. Upsell current clients - imagine additional products or services you can provide them. Selling to groups takes the same effort as selling to individuals, so sell in bulk when possible. Fully pursue every sales opportunity before moving to the next - sell the full product line to current clients before seeking new ones. Distribute business cards widely, even when paying bills, to reach new potential clients. Visibly display or demonstrate your business so people ask what you do. Follow up thoroughly with prospective clients requiring time to decide. Stay top-of-mind with thank you notes to everyone you interact with, as positive ongoing contact nurtures future business. The rewritten paragraph contains 148 words. I aimed to retain the core ideas from the original while tightening the language and removing specifics like numbered lists and titles. Please let me know if you need any clarification or have additional requirements for rewriting the paragraph. Time planning Carefully planning your day saves time and improves all aspects of life. Structure your schedule to dedicate time to essential sales tasks: 5% preparing to prospect potential new clients; 75% actively prospecting new potential clients; 5% preparing for scheduled appointments with prospects; 10% presenting to and negotiating with prospects; and the remaining 5% providing customer service and merchandising to existing clients. Follow this simple but focused mindset when planning each day: i must complete the most productive possible activity at every moment. This discipline and commitment to diligent time management leads to greater productivity, increased sales, and an overall more balanced, successful life. Necessary selling skill To achieve almost anything, the key is setting effective goals. Goals should be written down to show commitment. They need specificity and direction through concrete plans. Believability is also important so you stay motivated to reach them. Exciting, challenging goals that stretch your abilities keep you engaged. As new information arises, adjust goals accordingly. Dynamic goals can guide decisions. Have some short term goals for the next 90 days or so. Balance short and long term goals. Loved ones provide motivation and support, so include them. Finally, have goals in all life areas for fulfillment. Setting practical yet inspiring goals in major categories makes progress easier. Review and update them regularly based on results and evolving priorities. Shared accountability helps sustain effort when pursuing ambitious aims across relationships, work, health, recreation, personal growth, and other domains.