10 Best Sales Tips on What It Takes to Be a Great Salesperson

I’m asked frequently, "What does it take to become a great salesperson?" Contrary to what most people believe, becoming a great salesperson is not as much about whatyou sell as it is about whoyou are.

To help you become a great salesperson, I've listed below my 10 best sales tips I feel everyone in sales needs to embrace if they want to move to the top of the food chain.

You may think you're successful already, but is it because of your skills or what you sell? Just because you have a hot product everyone wants and you're closing deals like crazy, don't go thinking you're a great salesperson.

Arrogance is a disease and the result of arrogance is a failure to see the real world.

Sales is a great profession. Each year I'm in sales, I become more passionate about it. The reason my passion increases is I see it as being all about helping others. Sure, the financial rewards can be great, but that's only a numeric scorecard.

The real reward is when you help others achieve something they didn't think was possible. Regardless of what you sell, it's about helping others achieve something.  For me that is the sole reason I get jazzed about doing what I do.

You ask, "What does it take to become a great salesperson?"

Here's my list of the 10 best tips you need to focus on if you want to become a great salesperson. As you read the list, you'll notice the word "passion" is not on the list. The reason is simple -- passion is an outcome of what I believe will happen when you commit yourself to the 10 things listed.

1. Personal Discipline

This means having a plan and sticking to it. Sales is a game of consistency. You have to be able to remain focused on your objectives in both good times and bad times.

2. Repeat

One of the biggest things salespeople fail to do is follow-up and follow-through on what they say they're going to do. This is not only key in nurturing customers, but also in staying committed during the prospecting phase. The customer isn't going to wait for you. It's up to you reach them.

3. It's about the Customer. It's NOT about You.

Customers don't care about you. They have their own problems and that's what they want help handling. When we remove from our mindset our pride and shift to thinking about the customer, it's amazing the insights we'll develop.

4. Leverage Your Personality

Sales is a people business, and when we allow our personality to come through, it's amazing how much better we connect with others.

5. Ask Great Questions

We'll become far more respected based on the questions we ask rather than on the information we share. We're not going to find out the customer's needs if we're doing all the talking. It's a simple concept, yet overlooked far too often.

6. Value Your Time

The most valuable asset we have is our time, and how we choose to use it determines our results. We will never become the best we can be if we're spending our time focused on non-productive activities.

7. Never Stop Learning

The smart people are smart because they know they have to continually be learning. An objective I've had for years is to learn something new each day.

8. Have Mentors and Peers

We become a product of our environment. Successful people associate with successful people.  This might mean there are people from whom you need to disconnect, but doing so will change your environment and your thinking for the better.

9. Personal Ownership

It's not someone else's fault. That's what low performers think, and it's even an excuse average performers use. Customers don't want to do business with people who blame others. They want to do business with people who take ownership and make it happen.

10. Integrity and Trust

I list this last for a reason. To me this is the most important one of the 10 and the one that must be the foundation from which the other nine are built on. When we live a life of integrity and trust, we have no regrets. We have a sense of peace others will see. Integrity and trust are two things everyone will saythey have, yet I believe these qualities are only valid if we see them in how they live.

There you have it! My list of the 10 best sales tips to becoming a great salesperson.

I want you to study the list. Think through how you will apply the list and then go out and live the list. When you do, I know you will achieve results far greater than you're achieving now.

A coach can help you excel in your sales career! Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today!

Copyright 2018, Mark Hunter "The Sales Hunter." Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results