Selling is easy, anyone can be a salesperson, the barrier to entry is shallow, hell I am in sales, so how hard can it be?

It can be enriching both in the self-worth and in your wallet. If that is how you judge success, you can be very successful as a salesperson.

If you enjoy getting a $500000+ commission checks, driving a supercar, a big house, first-class airline services, traveling to faraway places, great dinners, and having a room of 3000 people applaud your success then sales is for you.

WARNING this is a highly addictive drug. Trust me!

But what I'm proposing to teach you is how you can become great at sales.

Whether you are a high school dropout or first of your class at Stanford or in a rural small town or live in (212) New York City, your success can be the same regardless.

First, you need to adopt core virtues that will guide your decisions and journey through this path. I subscribe to the stoic philosophy, Courage, Justice, Moderation, Wisdom, you may be different, and these are purely personal. You need to have something if you don't want to end up as a stereotypical cartoon salesperson.

We have all seen that salesperson portrayed in films or talked about at the water cooler, you know the terrible suit, the swindler, the drunk, untrustworthy, who cheats on their spouse, etcetera. Don't be that guy. It will not end well for you, and we all know someone like that.

Keep the sales pipeline full by always prospecting. Have more people to meet with than you have time.

If you want to be a successful salesperson and reap the rewards of sales as a career, you need to act as the CEO of you (more on this in another article).

The real difference is when you master the two critical traits, and these are the only things that distinguish success from failure. All the stuff and money talked about the above hinge on learning and doing these two factors religiously.

The first Factor is prospecting; this is where the world first sees if you are worth their investment. Do you have what it takes to get up in the morning and say, "where is the revenue going to come from today?". (i will do a longer article on how to prospect soon)

Focus on prospecting, presenting, and following-up; the sale will take care of itself.

If you do not have that hunger, if you cannot motivate yourself to reach out and make new friends without fear, then find a new position because you will NEVER be successful at sales.

I know what you are thinking "who the hell am I to say that," but it's right without being able to prospect you cant feed your family. You will always depend on someone else to kill dinner for you and your family.

Harsh words? Perhaps but accurate.

Prospecting for business is a dynamic art. The most significant single element in all prospecting, past, present, and future, is the willingness to take a chance and not fear the outcome.

The prospecting process is an aggregation of many skills that I will write about next, but the one output is a qualified lead in your sales pipeline. In a way, it's like a Pachinko machine you put your coin in, and statistically, you win money or, in this case, a meeting.

Most salespeople forget that you need to advance the opportunity through the process and not sell the deal at first contact. It's like what Madden said in the booth; if you can't move the ball forward, you cant score.

Which takes me to the second Factor is Negotiating. The other side of the coin in prospecting and negotiations, sort of Yin-Yang: An endless, infinite loop represents a not a single day but a lifetime of doing. Explains how EVERYTHING happens in successful selling. It also describes the cycle of total lifetime client value in your business, remember your the CEO of you.

You have to show you're willing to walk away. And the best way to show you're willing to walk away is to walk away.  

The negotiation process requires you to know as much information as possible about the product, the history, the value proposition, how will the other person use it, and how do they value what you are bringing to the table. (i will do a much more in-depth article on negotiations soon)

As my buddy, Mike always says every deal is a good deal, and every deal is a bad deal depending on the cost.

There is no room for ego at the negotiating table. Negotiations are NOT a battleground; it is merely a conversation to make sure that all parties (great now I sound like a lawyer, UGH!) are getting what they need and before any concerns about what they want.

The most challenging thing in any negotiation is making sure that you strip out the emotion and deal with the facts.  

Please don't get the wants and needs confused. Desires are significant as long as it does not disturb the equilibrium of the relationship. Remember, this is not the last time that you will be affected by the memory of this negotiation.

The only thing sure about any negotiation is that it will lead to another negotiation.  

Directly you will hopefully have a long business relationship with the person across the table or indirectly by what they will tell others of this event.

Everything is negotiable. Whether or not the negotiation is easy is another thing.

Make sure you don't short change your own company, trying to make friends and an easy negotiation at the cost of a loss.

During a negotiation, it would be wise not to take anything personally. If you leave personalities out of it, you will be able to see opportunities more objectively.

Regardless of how you remember him, Jonh F Kennedy was an excellent negotiator. I'm sure you have read the story of the Cuban missile crises. He was not hasty, he gathers all the data, stood his ground, acted accordingly in the process, gained the lifetime respect of the Russian prime minister, and diffused the situation.

Look prospecting and negotiating critical skills that are very important and will change your life outside business into your personal and family life.

I can help you if you need help in Sales, Prospecting, or Closing More deals from my long history of prospecting and negotiating. I admittedly credit those skills with my success. Reach out, and let's discuss your situation. Other Publications

I help B2B tech companies to increase their sales pipeline and close more deals I have helped many companies increase revenue by 33% with the art and science of selling methodology.

/\/\arco Giunta