Badass sales warriors are like Navy SEALs
Like Navy SEAL warriors – the greatest sales pros are highly trained, disciplined, thoroughly prepared, confident and focused on the mission, never quit and will never be outworked.
Sales is not something you just do because you like to talk and hope to persuade people. Great sales people are highly trained and sales is obviously a very highly valued skill. Like any other profession it requires years of great training and practice and a proper attitude. Less than 1% of sales people are properly prepared to sell. Everyone needs sales skills, not just those who have sales in their title.
A Badass sales pro knows that selling and negotiation is like a combat mission with a no-fail objective, and while being friendly and very likable, sales is NOT an exercise in making friends, pleasing and compromising to get to a false “win-win” or becoming feel good “partners”. It’s all about making the customer look good, feel good and proud to have chosen to do business with you.
Traits and beliefs
- Creative problem solver vs product pitcher
- Understands the critical need to create a positive “Neediness ratio.” The target prospect “needs” the solution more than the sales person “needs” the sale. This is both an attitude and a set of learned behaviors
- Aims high – sets higher goals than the organization sets out
- Places the best interest of the company above personal career interests – understands that the success of the company is the best reputation and wealth creation builder for the salesperson
- Is not easily discouraged, in fact, failures create more desire to succeed
- Emotionally mature and strong
- Takes responsibility – never blames the prospect, the product, the company or a competitor if the sale is lost
- Always brave, bold and confident based on great preparation, not bravado
Skills that are learned and practiced by sales warriors
- Does meticulous planning and follows a strict plan – those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
- Has extreme clarity on the business, mission and purpose of the prospect
- Knows and follows the internal criteria for optimized customer acquisition
- Never takes short cuts
- Has a plan and a goal for every conversation and meeting
- Goes slow by being a truly great listener and question asker vs demo giver
- Sense of timing – knows when to ease up and when to strike
- Is highly skilled in the art of conversation, choosing words and cadence wisely
- Always prospects for new, better customers
- Always prepared for and relishes sales combat
- Continuously improves by always learning and rigorous training
- Knows company products, services, contracts and pricing inside and out
- Excellent presentation skills – practices role playing
- Persistent and resilient, adaptive to changing conditions
- Easily adapts to changing conditions and challenges
- Never settles for a lesser deal because it’s the easy way out
- Never acts in isolation from the team. Like SEALs, knows that teams must work in perfect harmony like a symphony concert performance – readily asks for help and offers help to teammates
- Removes barriers to success – realizes that successful people do the things that other don’t do
- Knows that a healthy body delivers a competitive edge to the business athlete resulting in a freshness, alertness and energy to optimize sales
- Not reliant on personal network relationships – can sell equally well to brand new prospects versus existing relationships
- Knows that because of personal preparedness and all of the above traits, that they can succeed in ANY environment and adverse conditions
- Seeks compensation that is based almost exclusively on results achieved AND the pride of a job well done
If you are not reaching your potential in sales, get serious and learn the skills of sales so you can be the best you can be. Great selling!