Becoming a Sales Superstar

Think Like An Owner for Sales Success

This is the one step that could be titled “Think like an Owner” “Coordinating Results” or “Customer Satisfaction Goals”. There are important information and processes to follow with each of the three titles. Yet, I choose the Think like an Owner because it encompasses all three.

So what does “Think Like an Owner” really mean? An owner is fully committed to their business. The Owner has to balance all the functional areas of the company to get the best results. An Owner depends upon their customers to stay in business. And, decisions must be made for the overall good rather than personal agenda. All of these factors are supported by the superstar sales people.

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Listening the Other Number One Skill in Selling

Closely related to the Questioning skill is the ability to actively listen to everything being said and also what is not being openly said. The key for the sales person is to focus on the customer when the customer is talking and particularly when answering questions presented by the sales person. The number one flaw with aggressive sales people is they are too busy thinking about what they will say next, mentally rehearsing the script plan or just plain thinking about other things unrelated to moment.

Sales Superstars take the proactive listening skill to the next level – giving them a competitive advantage and greater trust with their customers. There are several reasons to improve our listening skills:

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Number One Skill in B2B Sales is Questioning

To join the ranks of Sales Superstar, You must learn to ask Questions – early, often and late. I realize that some of you believe the early, often and late is about closing the sales – sorry, that is old school selling! Today’s superstar sales person masters this skill and uses it to gain a competitive advantage.

The big issue is this – the average sales person has a tendency to talk too much in a sales situation. Yes, they talk too much and actually bore or confuse the customer. Why? Because the customer also has an opinion about how things are going and what is important to them. Remember this:

“The Customer Will Believe Their Thoughts over Your Statements!”

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B2B Sales Stars Get Industry Knowledge

The fourth step to becoming a B2B sales superstar is having superior Industry Knowledge. Again, the top sales people understand this and use it as an advantage against the average sales competitor. I have seen many of the top sales people use this resource of knowledge to out flank a competitor or to show a customer or prospect a better method to improve performance – using their knowledge of the industry.

There are several reasons that a sales person should master industry knowledge particularly in the world of B2B sales. The four biggest reasons are:

Creativity – using their industry knowledge to make valuable suggestions to customers.
Methodology – understanding the different types of methodologies used by customers.
Jargon – understanding industry jargon implies experience in the industry with the customer.
Trends – the ability to understand business cycles, trends in the industry and segmentation.

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B2B Sales Superstars Take Time to Prepare

The third step in the ten steps to becoming a Sales Superstar is Preparedness. The best salespeople are always prepared – like the boy scout motto. What is so important about preparedness? It shows the customer that you are ready to talk about important things rather than the typical push the sales agenda on the customer.

There are two primary issues covered by being prepared. The first is to have a call plan. The second is to do your research on a customer BEFORE arriving at their office.

I know you have heard all about call plans. I have also heard all the excuses as to why most salespeople do not use call plans. Things like: It takes to much time; the call never goes like the plan – so why make one; the only reason I’m asked to do it is for my micro-managing boss; and the call never goes the way I plan it so why bother? These quotes usually come from the bottom 80% of sales people – not the top 20% and never come from the sales superstars that I’ve worked with during the years.

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Business Acumen is Necessary Skill for B2B Superstarsrs

Step Two in our series of steps to becoming a B2B sales superstar is about Business Acumen. Many people ask, ” what the heck is business acumen?” Well, it’s a term used regarding your knowledge of business philosophy and how organizations survive or thrive. It all about understanding exactly how a company makes money. So how does business acumen impact a sales person’s success?

In the world of business to business (b2b) selling, it is one of the most critical factors for success. How well  can you place a financial value on your product or service solution? Also, Return on Investment (ROI) is used by the customer as a tool to make a buying decision.

During a sales development workshop I was presenting, one of the top sales people in the room suddenly realized that his customers had been asking him for ROI assessments so the finance guys would sign off on several large contracts. Having come through the traditional sales ranks, he didn’t realize the importance of business acumen – the ability to figure and show financial results to a customer – for larger or major sales.

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Continuous Learning is the Starting Point for Sales Superstars

Okay, one of my favorite topics is sales. Now I’m not one of these blowhards that tell you I started selling as a young boy and became an over night success. No, I missed that fast track! In fact, I had to learn how to sell. At first, I had no clue as to what I was doing, no plan, no guide, and most importantly – no understanding of how selling worked – selling well that is!

Then I attended programs at my first job – the banking industry – and we had a very aggressive business development priority. Now, I’m talking about bankers – some of whom felt selling was beneath them. I attended a required class (singular) and was told that I had to make three customer calls – face to face – every quarter! Talk about pressure – what you don’t know is amazing sometimes. Believe it or not I found my way into the top three for business development for several years. I now know this was a case of luck and really enjoying the customer interaction not selling skills or understanding the sales process.

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