“Woohoo! Let’s go make some cold calls!” said no one ever.
Making cold calls is just not something most people love to do. Sure, many salespeople enjoy aspects of it. Many more simply get used to it and come to appreciate the value of it.
But for most people, cold calling can be a source of anxiety. Especially in the beginning. In fact, 40% of salespeople report experiencing intense cold call anxiety at some point in their career.
Loyal customers are the backbone of virtually every successful business. After all, it’s easier and less expensive to invest in keeping existing customers longer, than to continually find new ones. Even businesses that do manage to consistently bring in new business, can be destroyed by churn.
That’s why it’s so important for sales professionals to understand how to build loyalty with prospects, and how to maintain these relationships to create relationships that endure.
Sales professionals are a varied bunch, represented by all kinds of backgrounds, personality types, demographics and experiences.
However, it’s also true that there are some distinct characteristics that are frequently shared by successful salespeople. Some are innate. Others are learned over time or instilled through experience and mentoring.
While none of them, either by themselves or in tandem, can guarantee success, they are undoubtedly worthy of review.
If you’re hiring, you should look for them. If you’re training you should aim to instill them. And if you’re a salesperson yourself, you should strive for, or embrace them.
Here are seven traits and characteristics of top-selling salespeople:
There are a number of reasons curiosity is such a valuable sales trait.
For one, top salespeople strive to tailor their solutions to each prospect’s unique needs. Being inquisitive and curious contributes to an effective discovery process, makes for more interesting sales conversations, and lends itself to a desire to serve.
Additionally, curious people want to know how and why something works. Not surprisingly, curious sales people tend to know their product well, which goes a long way in providing leads with knowledge and information.
It can also contribute to a wider knowledge of industry trends and the competitive landscape.
Whether you refer to it as drive, gumption, “self-starting” or something else, good old-fashioned ambition is at the heart of success in almost any field.
But it’s truly at the heart of sales.
Someone who is ambitious goes the extra mile to ensure they reach their goals, and keep moving the goal posts further afield.
But ambition must be matched with or tempered by…
There is such a thing as “blind ambition.” Integrity is perhaps its biggest antidote.
It’s not enough to continually strive for big sales goals. We also have to focus on the path we’re taking to get there. A salesperson who uses pressure, dishonesty, questionable tactics, or misleading claims will eventually crash and burn.
Honesty and integrity creates the kind of success that lasts, and builds upon itself.
Data shows that 80% of sales close after at least 5 follow-ups, yet 66% of sales reps give up after only one or two.
Kind of says it all, really. Closing deals takes time and requires persistence.
Salespeople who willingly and systematically (here’s a sales cadence example including 5+ touches over 7-days) stay on top of their pipeline consistently overachieve.
When you see a sales professional hit great numbers and start to walk around like they own the place, look out!
This is the kind of person who will usually burn out bright because he or she lacks humility. Being humble in sales means the ability to simultaneously recognize weaknesses and not take strengths for granted. Both are essential to growing individually and as part of a successful team.
Successful salespeople have a lot of contacts. Their prospects fall into different stages of the sales cycle with constant movement from one stage to another.
If you can’t stay organized, leads will undoubtedly fall through the cracks.
A good sales CRM can help a lot. But being (or becoming!) organized as a matter of character pays serious dividends as well.
Organization is also a key element of sales success because it translates to focus and planning. Someone who is disorganized in sales will often have a hard managing their time, addressing customer demands, meeting deadlines, and forming deep, lasting relationships that drive long-term success.
Along with asking the right questions and listening to needs, successful salespeople tend to empathize with their prospects. Empathy builds trust and forges stronger, more meaningful relationships.
The ability to understand a prospects’ pain points also goes a long way in creating credible solutions that result in sales.
Successful salespeople can have very different backgrounds, styles, and personality types. But that’s not to say that certain traits don’t lend themselves to success. Because they very much do. These 7 characteristics are a true asset in the sales profession and are well worth looking for or striving toward.
Mindset has such a big impact on sales success.
Unfortunately, it’s quite easy to fall into the trap of negative thinking, especially if you’re just starting out, or if your numbers aren’t where you’ want them to be.
No one wants to find themselves in that situation. But if we’re being realistic, it happens to everybody.
The good news, is that there are a number of things you can do to prevent negative thoughts from arising. Or, to combat and turn them around when they do.
Next time you’re battling negative thoughts, remind yourself of these 8 tips:
One of the most common reasons for negative thinking in sales is the comparison trap. This happens when you begin comparing yourself to a more successful coworker or coworkers. Instead of seeing yourself relative to others, focus on yourself and your overall (not week to week, or even month to month) trajectory.
When you do see others succeed, celebrate them, learn from them, and use them as positive motivation to drive your own sales efforts.
Negative thinking is often reinforced by more negative thinking, ultimately creating a feedback loop that results in failure. While some people wallow in their negativity, smart salespeople commit themselves to doing just the opposite – staying positive.
Try doing things throughout the day to keep yourself in a positive mindset when you’re not selling. Smile at coworkers, treat others with kindness, listen to music, exercise. And tell yourself, “I’ve got this.”
You’re likely to carry that positivity into your sales calls and meetings.
Sales professionals are often very goal-oriented individuals, and while drive and determination are helpful assets in sales, the unfortunate side effect can be setting unrealistic expectations. If you find yourself slipping into negative thinking, take a moment to analyze self-imposed expectations of yourself and others. You may find that you’re doing a lot better than you thought you were when you examine things through a realistic lens.
Some negative thinking is justified. Most of it is not.
Just because you’re off your high, or behind on quota, or *gasp* having your worst month of the year doesn’t mean anything is wrong. One month has to be the worst, right?
Fluctuations are totally normal! They happen for all kinds of reasons. Rather than letting yourself get caught up in fluctuations, expect them. Embrace them.
There’s always peaks and valleys.
It can help to track your success over time so you can put dips in performance in perspective.
This process allows you to magnify the gains you’ve made over time while keeping you honest with respect to when and where improvements can be made. Focus on multiple metrics as opposed to just closed deals to get a complete picture of your input and output.
Negative thinking often pops up when you keep doing the same thing over and over again with little-to-no success. Whether your results have actually dropped, or it’s just your confidence, revisiting your script(s) can be the spark you need to move sales conversations in a positive direction.
Few things combat negative thinking better than working hard. If you’re feeling down, double-down on your efforts. Make more calls. Send more emails. Study the fundamentals. Read sales books. Watch motivational videos. Procrastination won’t make you feel better. Effort will.
If things just aren’t clicking, ask for help. Sometimes, simply having an experienced professional share his or her own experiences can help change your perspective and stem the tide of negativity. Or, they can give you pointed suggestions to combat actual problems that may have arisen within your pitch.
Either way, you’ll be in a better position going forward.
Remember, everyone goes through ups and downs in sales. What’s important is utilizing the resources you have at your disposal to make adjustments.
Negative thinking can quickly take over and pull you into a bona-fide slump if you don’t address it. Or, it can be a blip on the radar – quickly replaced by your next boost of confidence and results.
These 8 tips will help you combat negative thinking and get you back to the business of selling effectively.
Cold calling is a time-tested method for lead generation, relationship building and closing sales.
But anxiety can get in the way of performance, either by hurting confidence, or by leading to call reluctance. The latter can reduce the amount of calls you’re making, or keep you from making calls altogether.
Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.
It’s important to remember that anyone, including seasoned sales veterans, can get anxiety before picking up the phone. But with some shifts in strategy and mindset, you can keep that anxiety completely under control.
Before you begin your next dial session, consider the following eight tips to alleviate and then quash cold call anxiety for good.
Keep things in perspective. This is, after all, just a phone call. What’s the worst that can happen? They’re rude and say no… or they hang up. That’s it! The next time you feel anxiety creeping up on you as you dial a number, just remember that if this prospect isn’t interested, you just move on to the next who can benefit from your services or products.
In sales, it can be easy to get wrapped up in numbers and quotas.
But remember that your goal is to help potential clients experience the benefits of your services or products (if you’re not selling something you believe in, then you should start there).
You have a solution that delivers real value. You believe in what you’re selling. And you know it makes a lot of people happier, more successful, more secure, or whatever other benefits it bestows. Use this to boost your confidence and build enthusiasm on the other end of the line.
When you’re making sales calls, remember that you’re speaking to someone who has wants, needs, desires and insecurities. He or she is no different from you. Use this to your advantage, and enter the conversation as someone sharing a solution that meets a need. Talk to the prospect with authority yet humility, and you’re more likely to see sales increase and anxiety melt away.
Some companies believe sales is strictly a numbers game. Just call a lot of people and eventually you’ll make a sale. Spray. And pray. Ugh. That’s a surefire way to make the phone feel like it weighs a ton.
The higher the quality of your leads, the better you’re going to feel about your prospects and the kinds of conversations you’re about to have.
A good script is an invaluable tool to have on-hand when making cold calls. Especially that opener!
Think about it. If your opening script is met with a lot of rejection, you’re going to feel anxious before making that next call. If it’s consistently opening the door to good conversations, you’re going to be excited about the next call.
Bottom line, you can regulate a lot of the anxiety you feel by simply calling good leads and hitting them with an effective opening script.
6. Try meditation and power posing
