Are You A Sales Professional? Really?

Written by John Morey

A sales person? Why do professional athletes work out in the off season and go to training camp every year? Don’t they already know everything? They are professionals right? They are the best of the best… there can’t be anything else they can learn and certainly, no way they can get any better - right? Wrong!

Any top professional that you meet is continuously learning, studying, training, reading, networking and attending seminars to learn more about their area of expertise. Why? Because they understand that things change, technology improves, new techniques are discovered, new products are developed and everything progresses as time goes on.

Do you consider yourself a top Sales Professional or, do you aspire to be an elite Sales Leader? If so… read on.

Let’s face it, selling today is a tougher career than it ever has been. I am sure you would agree that decision makers are getting smarter every day. They have more information at their fingertips, they are much more informed and more analytical in their approach and they have more options to choose from than ever before. In my personal experience over the past 5 years, it is not uncommon to have 8-10 companies in almost every deal that I am competing in!

So what do you do? Do you keep using the same old sales tactics and sales approach that you have used since you started your career? Answer: Not if you want to be successful!

As a true Sales Professional you have to approach your career just like the professional athlete does. You have to continuously refine your sales skills, continue to search for new sales methods and new technology, adapt to an ever changing landscape and be open to learn new strategies from the leading sales experts.

Are you getting better at your profession? Are you continuously improving your sales skills? Are you staying current with today’s trends (like social networking) and understanding why, where and when people buy products and services? Are you becoming the sales person that your competition fears?

If you’ve gotten complacent with your career, or think you may need to step it up a notch, here are some suggestions for you.

A good place to start is to regularly visit some of the top sales blogs like; www.salesopedia.com, www.saleshangout.com or www.salesblog.com These sites and other sales related blogs, offer a ton of great articles and resources on every aspect of sales. Identify your areas of improvement (your weaknesses) and find relevant articles and guides to help you improve in those areas.

Next, if you don’t have one already, I would also suggest that you begin building a personal library with sales resources such as Sales training DVD’s and inspirational or motivational CDs, and Books and whitepapers on selling strategies. Visit your local book store for authors like Jeffery Gitomer or Brian Tracy, or browse the available options at the Sales Hangout Store (http://store.saleshangout.com) site.

My recommendation for all Sales Professionals, is to make a commitment to yourself, even write it down, or put it on your task list (with a regular reminder) to improve your sales skills and personal development… starting today! Set some specific goals for yourself and review your goals everyday. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Read one new sales skills training book every month.
• Invest in an audio program on self development and listen to it in your car everyday.
• Watch a Sales Training DVD at least once a month.
• Attend a Sales Seminar or Sales skills training class at least once a year.

As you increase your input of sales training information and self improvement material, you will start to accumulate some great "Ah-Hah’s" that hit home with you and you can then start taking these to the street.

Trust me, the first time you use something that you have learned and it results in a nice sale, you will be hooked on continuing your pursuit of personal development.

Treat your sales career just like the professional athlete treats their career and you will start to find yourself on the top of the sales charts and in the elite category of Sales Leaders!

Now go sell something and make some money!

John Morey -
	John Morey is an accomplished Sales Professional with over 20 years of successful Sales and Sales Management experience in high tech and telecom industries. John shares his vast knowledge of real world sales strategies on his new Sales Blog at: www.saleshangout.com Contact John at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Read More >>
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