The 7 Secrets of Sales Success

“Think of success as a game of chance in which you have control over the odds.” – Bo Bennett

Salespeople are among the most important people in the world. Every single company depends on the success of its salespeople for its survival. High sales is the number one reason for a company’s success. Low sales is the number one reason for failure. And you can be in the driver’s seat.

There are seven secrets, or principles, of sales success. They are practiced by all the highest-paid salespeople every day. The regular application of these principles is virtually guaranteed to move you to the top of your field.

Secret No. 1: Get serious!

Make a decision to go all the way to the top of your field. Make a decision, today, to join the top 10 percent. There is no one and nothing that can hold you back from being the best … except yourself.

Secret No. 2: Identify your limiting skill to sales success.

Identify your weakest single skill and make a plan to become absolutely excellent in that area. Ask yourself, and your boss, “What one skill, if I developed and did it consistently in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my sales?” Whatever the answer to this question, write it down, set a deadline, make a plan, and then work on it every day.

Secret No. 3: Be around the right people.

Get yourself around positive, successful people. Associate with men and women who are going somewhere. And get away from negative, critical, complaining people. Remember, you cannot fly with the eagles if you continue to scratch with the turkeys.

Secret No. 4: Take excellent care of your physical health.

You need high levels of energy to sell effectively and to bounce back from continual rejection and discouragement. Be sure to eat the right foods, get the right amount of exercise, and get plenty of rest.

Secret No. 5: Visualize yourself as one of the top people in your field.

Imagine yourself performing at your best all day long. Feed your subconscious mind with vivid, exciting pictures of yourself being positive, confident, competent, and completely in control of every part of your life.

Secret No. 6: Practice positive self-talk continually.

Control your inner dialogue. Talk to yourself the way you want to be rather than the way you might be today.

Secret No. 7: Take positive action toward your goals, every single day.

Be proactive rather than reactive. Grab the bull by the horns. If you are not happy with your income, get out there and get face to face with more customers.

All successful salespeople are intensely action-oriented. They have a sense of urgency. They develop a bias for action. They do it now! They have a compulsion for closure. They maintain a fast tempo and move quickly in everything they do.

The faster you move, the more energy you have, the more ground you cover, the more people you see. The more people you see, the more experience you get. The more experience you get, the more sales you make.

The faster you move, the more you take complete control of your entire life and virtually guarantee that you will be one of the top performers and the highest-paid people in your field.

So get moving!

[Ed. Note: Brian Tracy, one of America’s leading authorities on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness, is one of 17 experts featured in ETR’s Info-Marketing Bootcamp DVD Library.]