How To Become A Master In Sales

What I’ve learned working seven years in sales

I’ve spent the last seven years working in sales. In that time, the company nominated me as “top salesman” for eleven months in a row. I took several company-led courses on leadership development and was even handpicked for multiple company events statewide.

Slowly, over time, I moved up the ranks. In 2018, I made the most extensive commission check in our company’s history.

You could say that I learned a thing or two during my seven years in sales.

Understand that people buy from people

I work in cellular sales, which means that I work with a large variety of customers. Older people, teenagers, CEOs, and stay at home moms.

Over my seven years working in sales, I’ve learned a few things — the most important lesson; people buy from people. My career took a turn for the better when I started to apply this lesson to my sales pitches.

Now, instead of focusing solely on the sale, I spend time conversing with the customer, asking about their day, their family life, what they do for work, and what shows they’ve watched recently.

I focus on building a connection, which breaks away barriers with any sales pitch, allowing me to focus solely on the customer’s wants and needs.

We have a handful of salespeople on the floor at all times, yet I have repeat customers that call and ask for me specifically. People willing to wait weeks (if I’m on vacation) to work with me.

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” — Steve Jobs

The early bird always gets the worm

A study done by Harvard business concluded that early birds are better positioned for career success because they’re more proactive than people who are at their best in the evening.

Why is this? Why do early risers tend to have better success and productivity than those who work best in the evening?

Ironically, studies show that those who’re most effective at night tend to be smarter and more creative than morning types — however — morning people tend to be more proactive. They think long-term, anticipate problems before they arise, and, most important of all, early risers tend to perform better during the day, resulting in better school grades and increased work performance.

Successful salespeople stay organized

In both life and work, successful people (in general) stay organized. The most successful CEOs on the planet have to stay organized, so they pay so much money for secretaries. Fortunately, unless you have a CEO’s workload, I doubt you’ll need a secretary — but you need to get organized.

Plan out your days in advance. Schedule in your family time. Schedule the tasks to do at work, and prioritize your tasks from A to B, doing the most important job first.

“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned” — Benjamin Franklin

Don’t sell from your own pocket

I’ve noticed something peculiar — that most salespeople tend to sell out of their own pockets. What does that mean, to sell out of your pocket? It’s an everyday slang for someone in sales who expects a customer to have the same amount (if not less) money than themselves.

You see, in sales — especially in cellular sales — customers generally come in seeking something specific. It’s our job in sales to encourage them to purchase more than what they think they need.

The problem?

If you sell out of your own pocket, you’ll likely avoid pitching the “big ticket” stuff — the stuff that generally makes you the most money.

Treat every customer as if they were filthy rich. Let them tell you no. The biggest thing to remember — they’ll never buy if they don’t know it’s available.

Sell in bundles

Like I mentioned before, generally speaking, the goal in sales is to sell more than what the customers think they need.

How do we do this?

By selling in bundles.

For instance, in cellular sales, if a customer wants to buy an iPhone, we bundle an IPad into the price. Customers are more likely to say yes to a bundled price rather than trying to tack things on down the road.

The psychology of it is that the customer came in for something specific, so the first price tag is what they see, therefore what they expect to pay before leaving.

If the first price they see happens to be a bundle, generally speaking, it’ll be a lot easier for them to say yes.

Take care of your mental health

Sales can be challenging. Seriously. You’ve got the constant expectations of peak performance, the competitive environment, and — honestly — sometimes customers can be plain rude.

I’ve found that in sales, it’s essential to take care of your mental health. How you respond to customers often determines their attitude and level of engagement.

Sometimes, customers come in with a bad attitude, but thanks to my calm demeanor and smile, they leave happy, often excited to go back. Ultimately, that should be the job of any salesperson, but it’s not easy. For that reason, you must focus on your mental health.

Accept responsibility

Above all else, the essential contributing factor towards your success is that you accept responsibility for your actions. You are the only person responsible for the results that you get in the workplace and in life.

I struggled in sales during the beginning of the Covid pandemic. I started to point fingers at others, partly due to fear. Fear of contracting the virus, fear of losing money — mostly, I was afraid of losing my job.

All that fear inevitably leads to poor results, only reinforcing that fear even more. Things didn’t start to change until I learned to accept responsibility for my actions.

If I wanted to keep my job, I’d have to give it my all.

If I wanted to make more money, I’d have to adapt and find ways to reach customers.

I started cold calling (more than usual). I printed out flyers and dropped them off at essential businesses. I even reached out to friends and family, asking for business.

Within a week, I started making more money than I had all year. I began to accept responsibility for my actions and reaped the results because of it.

“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.” — Jim Rohn

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