Do you have what it takes to be a top seller? And if you don’t, how do you get what it takes?
A recent survey identified the key characteristics of high and low performers:
High performers:
- are resilient
- are optimistic
- are goal-oriented
- love challenges
- like competition
- focus on continued improvement
- are highly skilled
- enjoy leading the team, and
- see new ways of doing things.
Low performers:
- are unable to prioritize
- blame others
- feel overwhelmed
- feel helpless and lack confidence
- think of work as a job
- bounce from company to company
- talk a big game
- use a small percentage of their capabilities
- become defensive
- don’t understand the “big” picture
- give effort that far outweighs the results
- are not open to new ideas, and
- are passionless.
The tipping point of success
Top performers don’t have to be strong in all of the areas mentioned above. But they need enough of them to reach a tipping point of success.
The tipping point is broken down into five areas:
- Attitude. Top sellers are optimistic, self-confident and willing to challenge his or her comfort zone.
- Motivation. Is the person driven to do the job? Low performers are motivated by fear of failure, not making quota or getting fired. Top performers are motivated by financial rewards or recognition.
- Accountability. Top performers focus on what they can control and don’t worry about the things that are outside of their control. Low performers refuse to accept responsibility and point the finger elsewhere for their business results.
- Integrity. Top performers build trusting relationships with their prospects and customers. They show up on time, return phone calls in a timely manner, ask effective questions and listen to the responses.
- Skill. It comes down to a simple question: Is the salesperson making it easy for the customer to say “yes?”
Becoming a top performer
To become a top performer, it s not all about what you learn. It is about who you are and what you do with what you know. That’s where attributes come in. Work on your attributes, and you may reach the tipping point for sales success.
Adapted from: “Reignite Your Passion for Selling,” by Scott Anderson and Chip Kudrle, managing partners of Diamond Performance Group. They have worked with 3M, IBM, Wells Fargo, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard.
