Top Performers Short List / Online Marketing

Top Performers Short List / Online Marketing

Sales people in general are a breed unto themselves as their strategy always involves utilizing the sales skills of Persuasion and Influence to convince the buyer that what they sell is needed in the process of closing and getting the sale. Use this information for online business ideas that can change your outcome.

Persuasion is the process of encouraging someone to understand your model of the world. Keep in mind that we all have uniquely different models of the world, as we all were born in different cities, states, and in cases countries. Take two people. One was born wealthy in Monaco; the other was born poor in India. In evaluating both of them, it is easy to see that both have different mindsets, which started in their toddler years. You cannot compare the two people equally, as their life start was completely different and as they progressed through life, their financial and economic situations positioned them to engage life on different terms.

Influence is the process of giving people more choices in behavior and getting them to see from your model of the world, the advantages of the suggested behaviors. Influence comes from your perceived authority. Typically seasoned sales people offer a lot more in life experience than newbie’s in the same arena. That is one reason why it is critical to always to educate yourself as much as possible on the subject and to continue the educational process through life. This perceived position of someone having the education to properly explain the product and its benefits for the buyer can be the defining moment in the close, as influence coming from the authority position of the sales person can and probably will organize the thoughts and emotions of the buyer to be in line with the presentation.

Let us now look at specific criteria that apply to top performing sales people as they work their craft in the sales process. Let us evaluate why they are the top performers. What got them to this level of performance and separates them from average performers? Were they born natural sales people? I am not of the mindset that top performers are born in any category. We all landed here exactly the same way, Naked to the world with only two fears; the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Everything else was learned through our individual Road of Life. Does that imply that if you were not born rich, that you cannot become rich? Of course not, with a good solid education and the drive to succeed, the opportunity to become rich starts leveling off and open to anyone that wants to put in the hard work, time and resources.

The following criteria are not exclusive to just a few, but unfortunately many people do not want to put in the work and expect everything handed to them. As we cruise through the various criteria that define the top performers, it is easy to see that these people think for themselves, drive harder than others, and expect results based on their individual effort.

100% Acceptance of Personal Responsibility
This one tops them all, as it should be clear that if you haven’t taken responsibility for yourself, then how can you be responsible for anyone else? Don’t blame the economy, company, or competition. It always comes back to the person staring at you in the mirror! Responsibility is critical for life success. It was easy when we were kids and had no responsibility for anything but being there and showing up. As adults, especially in business, responsibility is a given with any position or job accepted. We are now responsible to the company and its mission and vision plan and our performance is constantly evaluated
for maintaining our job description and for positive signs that indicate we are growing within the position.

Above Average Ambition
Top performers by nature drive themselves harder than others. They know that without discipline and consistency, their chances of reaching the top are limited. This area of self improvement more than likely came from their early upbringing. Most of us received our foundation from our mother, who typically is your first care taker, teaching you life by example. Today that premise is shaken by the many working mothers that seemingly dominate the work force and have handed off their kids to day care, family, and friends. By nature if you had a strong model in your first care taker, then many of those traits are passed on, but at the same time keep in mind that children’s minds are fertile and absorb everything, especially until they reach the age of reason, when they now know right from wrong. If the first care taker was strong willed and properly influenced their child, the case can be made that the child will have similar values, but if the child was born to poor economic circumstances and fend for themselves as they grow up, they will by definition, have a harder time since they had no positive role models at the start of their life.

Above Average Will Power
Self-discipline is the key to long term success. Strong will power comes from a strong mindset that says I can and will do it. There are no obstacles big enough to counter their thoughts. By aligning a strong mindset with feelings or emotions that coincide, the discipline becomes easier and the results reach another level of performance. Will power is having the fortitude to continue through any and all barriers placed in the way. There is always a way around them, through them, over them, etc. The will to win starts inside your mind and with proper nurturing, can deliver the results you expect and desire.

Intensely Goal Driven
Always keep an eye on the ball, and keep setting the bar higher. People in general are quick to set goals, but unfortunately no one taught them how to reach them and in the process lose out. Without defined goals, it goes back to the cliché’ “Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail”. Break your goals down into short, as well as long term and expand each goal to cover all contingencies. Winners and top performers always strive to put their ideas on paper. By writing each goal out, you are connecting your brain to each task by extension, as without a written plan, we are back to wondering how it is going to happen. Winners by nature set their own bar and drive their behavior to meet the expectation.

High Levels of Empathy
Empathy is different than sympathy, as sympathy is feeling sorry for the person’s circumstances, while empathy is the ability to step into customer’s shoes. By being able to physically feel the other person’s pain or feelings, it brings us closer to the person and sets up a more congruent approach to positioning whatever is being offered. Being empathetic sets us apart and closer to the person, as feelings are the symptoms of emotions. Remember the models of the world discussed earlier. Our only connection to any other person we have communication with are the bridges we both establish between our worlds. These bridges connect at first on simple things and gradually expand into full term relationships. In relationships, we both know each other’s worlds, as we consistently built on the initial information that created the relationship. Look at happily married couples. They started out socially, but by building consistent bridges through numerous conversations, eventually reach a point where both partners have a wide net of information on each other that builds the relationship.

Impeccably Honest
Honesty is always the best policy, whether in your personal or business life. As the communication bridges start their building process between the two worlds, we know that what we expect from the relationship is no different than what the other person wants. If you start out by building a healthy and upfront friendship, then getting to the relationship phase, which comes next, becomes a lot easier. In business, always resist the temptation to fudge and not deliver what was promised. The only way to gain the ongoing trust of your customer is to be as upfront as possible and to continue building the relationship with honesty and a commitment to support the agreement between the parties.

Ability to Approach Strangers
Top performers, especially in sales, know they have to meet and talk to as many people as possible to conduct their business. It is a numbers game because the more people that you reach and speak to are going to generate the universe of potential candidates for your products. If we keep in mind that most people have the same feelings as we do, then it becomes easier to convert them through the use of persuasion and influence. Never assume that the other person doesn’t want your product, that the price is too high, that they don’t have the money, etc. Even when it is uncomfortable, learn to go out of your comfort zone and start the conversation. Start the conversation with simple social skills and start exploring beyond that point to see if their problem can be fixed by your solution. All sales are grounded in the concept that we are offering solutions to counter their issues and problems. Once we know that we do offer something of value and applicable to their problem, we are a lot further ahead than just winging it and hoping for the best.

Do Not Take NO for an Answer
There are many publications covering the subject of what signs to watch for in the sales process. These can be facial expressions, body communication, and open communication. At some point in the process, we actually ask for objections and signs that we did cover the material well enough to ask for the sale. This usually generates one of two answers to our close, yes or no. Never lose faith in continuing to press as many buttons as necessary to elicit a response, as when they initially say no, it could mean that they don’t have the money, that they are not clear on what was presented, that timing is not right, and many more.

If you are sincere in seeing a fit between their problem and your solution, then do not take no as a final answer. Go back through the basics on your product to see if you missed something or possibly didn’t present as well as you could have. Worst case scenario is that you obtain the information needed to set another appointment for another run at closing on your sale. High levels of confidence and self-esteem keep spirits up, as the word No has power and sometimes can be debilitating to the mind. Sales people by their very nature are generally up and expect everyone else to be in the same state of mind. Unfortunately most people have many things going through their mind and these hidden thoughts can be destructive to your close. Get ahead of the game and realize that not everyone will be a buyer for your products and work on narrowing down the universe by speaking to as many people as possible for your long term success and realize the hard work starts when you hear the word No.

James Hobart, an industry leader in the Professional Beauty Industry for more than 40 years at every level, has certification in hypnotherapy. His insight and experience have helped many companies and individuals with their growth and development over the years. His book, Happiness Is Your Birthright, supports his philosophy on life and is a practical handbook to create positive change throughout one’s life.