Simple Ways to Start Becoming a Champion Salesman
Whether you’re starting to give up on your quota, getting bored by all the flyering or are still on your knees, searching and begging for your first sale, the task of being a salesman/saleswoman can indeed be really frustrating. Some people give up. Some go through the hardships and just accept their own mediocrity. You’re not like that. You still believe you can be a champion as you get another “sales tips” book from your nearest library or online store hoping you could gain that mojo that translates into money. What if it’s not like that? What if you don’t need big shifts in strategy to be able to get the level of sales that you want? What if small tweaks can be the secret to your success?
Most of the time, sales people blame external factors such as the industry and uncertainty of customer relationships as the cause of their lack of success. This may be true but instead of focusing on the external, you’ll be better off trying to transform the only thing you can change without a doubt: yourself. Thus, here are small vital shifts you could immediately apply to start becoming that champion salesman you aspire to be. The good thing about these list is they can also create loads of impact on other aspects or goals:
1. Build Confidence in Comfort
We meet a lot of people who say “I’m not confident” and just accept it, as if it’s a weakness they’ll carry forever. What these people fail to realize is that confidence is not equal to great public speaking skills or being a total extrovert. True confidence comes from being comfortable with your craft on your way to being a master of it. This is why people regardless of their personality are prepared to face adversities in their quest to become champions. But how do connect the years of practice that these experts have to your context? 
You start with trying then you establish comfort through practice. The first step is required most of the time in tasks like calling prospects, presenting your product, and negotiating price but they can also be applied in trying to innovate (ex. quickly building rapport and thinking of sales activation). By trying, you open up your opportunity of being a master and a champion. And after that, you must maximize every opportunity to practice because repetition is the key to mastery. So if presentation decks scare you or you’re not really the type to initiate conversations, just do them as many times as you can. The first few tries might be embarrassing or you might be impatient with success but hang on for a while and let every learning build up your comfort and eventually, your confidence.
2. Borrow from proven methods
We’re not referring to what your training curriculum says or what’s the traditional grind of your company. You have the ability to expand and model the excellence of other great sales people. And it’s a lot easier than you think. Just ask, listen, and apply. 
Ask for stories of rejection and bouncing back. Ask how that salesman was able to manage their time and accomplish that amount of deals closed. Ask for advice period.
Listen fully to how a colleague became successful with their targets. Listen to how customers want and don’t want to be treated. Listen and be open to changing. Listen and take time to digest.
Apply best practices even of other industries to your own projects. Apply even quotes, jokes, and anything good you find under the sun to your sales activities. Apply the success of others and start creating your own.
3. Enlist the help of other departments
Whatever the business is, all activities of a company focus primarily on hitting their desired profit and sales. This means that everything everyone does contribute to sales. Thus, technically, everybody is a salesman. Marketing sells ideas, Operations sell efficiency, and HR sells development, etc. Here are ways you can enlist their help: 
Marketing – can make your presentation and materials beautiful + REFERRALS
Operations – can help you understand further the quality of what you’re selling + REFERRALS
Human Resource – can give you access and opportunities to soft skills and technical skills training + REFERRALS
Finance – can collaborate with you in creating systems that will make your clients’ life easier + REFERRALS
Admin – can make logistics efficient so you can have more time selling + REFERRALS
These are just a few examples since every department can serve as ambassadors who must be equipped in helping make your company sellable.
4. Remember “There’s no failure, only feedback.”
Disclaimer: The tweaks above and even your own successful methods won’t work all of the time. The context, receiver, timing, and yourself will always vary so defeats will always be a possibility. Good thing is there’s a way to ensure that you can derive a win from your efforts 100% of the time. And that’s by being equipped with the right mindset.
NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) which has helped a lot of teams and sales people in particular achieve exponential increase in business can also be the source of your champion mindset. The NLP presupposition “There is no failure, only feedback” helps us realize that we can still turn defeats into something positive by learning from them and improving ourselves in the process.
Equipped with this mentality and resourcefulness, you can turn rejections into new business, lost opportunities into referrals and even make haters your company or product’s ambassadors. For example: you lost a bidding for an esteemed supplier. Rather than just merely get sad or dismiss it as a missed opportunity, have the courage to get in to the bottom of things and learn why you didn’t get the deal. After knowing such, devise a way you could be more flexible in the future (whether through price, through inclusions, or in merely making them understand your value) and continue being a champion in every encounter.
Learn more about NLP and its impact on sales through our programs like Fire Up Your Sales and Fired Up, Ready to Roar. World Stage International has turned not just individuals but teams of all departments into champion ambassadors through the right mindset, language and strategy. Remember that the first step is to try and you’re already on your way to firing up a huge impact for your company.
Contact 09177434808/ 275-2090 or alex@worldstageinternational.com.ph to start customizing your program.