8 Things that Top Performing Sales Reps do Differently

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Often, I come across two salespeople who are similar in IQ and abilities, yet not having the same success. These people work for the same company and sell the exact same services and products, yet their managers wonder why one is excelling and hitting target and the other is not.

Now there are several reasons why they both have different results. Let’s start with the sales rep that is not doing well. They often have many excuses.

• The product sucks.
• The competitor is better/cheaper.
• It’s the economy.
• The government regulations.
• The industry is changing.
• The leads suck.
• Not enough leads.
• Keep getting ghosted.
• Not enough time.
• The CRM is too slow.
• Don’t have the right training.
• Leads are ghosting.

Now although some of these excuses and reasons were legit, as I dug deeper, I knew that this was more than bad circumstances. Because when I interviewed the top performing salesperson with a very similar environment and conditions, they shared a very different story.

Here are some of things that they did differently that made them successful.

1. They knew that they had no control over things like making the product better or changing the economy, but they had all of the control at making themselves better.

2. They believed in what they sold and how it will help their customers.

3. When a customer ghosted them, they didn’t ponder about it for a whole week, but kept fishing.

4. They took ownership of their own learning and invested time and money to become the best.

5. They didn’t complain about the lack of gifts, circumstances, and talents they were not blessed with. But focused on their strengths.

6. They wrote down their goals and had a strategy to how they sold.

7. They set their own KPIs and were consistent with the boring sales outbound activity they had to do daily. They knew exactly the numbers they needed to hit.

8. They focused on cultivating relationships and tried to add value to their customer’s business.

To conclude, I’m not suggesting that you should sell a genuinely inferior product or endure unbearable conditions. However, it’s crucial to discern whether the challenges lie within us or are external factors related to the product and environment.

As cliché as it sounds, those who are succeeding in sales or any other area in business or life, focus on what they can control, and start the day with the right attitude. The story they tell themselves about why they are not selling is not a limiting one, but one about learning, and growth.