Top sales people leave a trail of clues to their success. Who are your mentors? Do you discuss sales with a mastermind group of likeminded sales people? Too often I see sales people hang out with average performing reps and then can’t understand why they aren’t improving their game.

There is no comfort in the growth zone!

What are you doing to push yourself to new levels of success? Are you doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results? What do you need to change in your professional—or personal—life to create more success?

Remember success is not just about making more money. Are you a working at becoming a better leader? a better parent or spouse? a better presenter? What areas in your life need improvement? The top performing sales people I meet are good people who have a quiet confidence and an unwavering winning attitude. They are fun to hang out with and I love to be around them. Their attitude is infectious. They always push themselves. They have a laser-like focus on their customer’s needs and an ability to work with their company and sales team so their promises become reality. They don’t rest on their successes, and are constantly look for trends. They like to have a large growth zone and they like being in the growth zone.

Mentors and masterminds
Who are your mentors? If you don’t have a mentor, start looking for one (or more). Find someone who is successful spend time with that person talking about the sales game. Learn from your mentor. I have had some great mentors in my life and they have made a huge difference in my success.

My wife and I had dinner with 20 friends at the cottage recently. Everyone is successful. It struck me on the boat ride home that great people surround me. When I get together with these friends I am reminded that there are many ways to be successful and how important it is to have a group of friends who are willing to talk about their success and how it has benefited them. I have been part of several mastermind groups over the years. These groups are formed by a small group of likeminded individuals. In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill dedicates a whole chapter to the importance of a mastermind group. Hill believes that a mastermind group is the single most important thing that Andrew Carnegie and other wealthy Americans used to create their wealth. Gather together a group of successful sales people, read Think and Grow Rich and begin creating a winning formula for your sales business.

Are you following the correct people?
Who do you look to as a role model and for advice? Take an honest look and ask yourself if it’s working for you. Where do you need to push yourself? And can your current advisers give you that push? It is easy to become comfortable with your current situation and not move forward to the next level. Remember, “Failure is seldom fatal and success is seldom final.”
As we grow wiser and mature in our business and personal relationships, some of our business and personal colleagues fall by the wayside. Our worldviews change, as we get older. Are you moving forward or living the same life year after year?

What is your measure of success?
I have been asking people the same question for about 5 years. The answers have varied, and no two answers have been the same. It is a question that forces you to think about what is important to you, how you measure your success and how you outwardly show your success. And the question has nothing to do with money. Take some time to answer this question. Here it is: If I gave you $50 million today, what would you begin to do tomorrow?

The best answer to date has come from my daughter’s boyfriend who paused and then looked at me and said, “I would say ‘thank you.’” My daughter has always made great choices!

Sayers says:
Answer the $50-million question.

Over the next week look around your sales world and decide:
• Who are your mentors?
• Who are your sales advisers and role models?
• Where do you need to be pushing yourself?

Is this working for you? If you need to make changes, when and what are you going to change?

Author's Bio: 

Bill Sayers speaks, coaches, leads education sessions and provides management consulting services to a variety of companies. For the past five years Bill has run his own sales consulting practice. He has recently completed the writing of his new book – “Funnels and Forecasts – The Great Game of Sales”. He has been a professor at George Brown College teaching Personal Selling Skills to the Sports and Event Marketing Graduate Program, and is on the faculty of Canadian Professional Sales Association and Canadian Management Centre.
To receive our free “How are you Playing The Game” Scorecard and a 45 minute one-on-one session with Bill Sayers, email: info@TheSayersGroup.com or visit: www.TheSayersGroup.com.