ou are a professional sales person, you generally reach on or about target, and life is good.
Have you ever wondered just how some people become a sales legend? What secret do they have that is not common knowledge? Why do the same people win the competitions and make club year after year, even after their targets have been doubled? Are they just lucky? Are you someone who believes that they have no life, or a horrible one, because they work too hard? They are too stressed?
Myths Surrounding The Legends
Is it true that these very high achievers have no life, high stress, minimum chance at successful personal relationships and are the hard players?
No!
A truly successful sales legend does not fit any stereotype. I have met many who are normal family people, who work no harder than the rest, have the need to entertain their clients less often. They have personal lives like anyone else, some good, some not so good! They do not give up everything to be a legend, they just are! It is because of their extraordinary results and ability to outwit competitors and build enviable, yet ethical, relationships with clients. They are not necessarily hard, or ruthless, and do not fit any general stereotype assigned to them.
They are legends because they execute 롤 대리 seemingly flawless strategies against insurmountable odds, and win time and time again. Their customers love them. They are always underestimated by their competitors. They usually work quite calmly and confidently, often with an air of enigmatic mystery. They rarely discuss their strategy to outsiders, bragging is not in their psyche, and people love to make up stories about them to compensate for the enigma these legends represent.
These people are often so successful that colleagues in their company, their industry, become first curious as to what secret these people hold that allows them to be so ‘lucky’. A small number of observers will try to learn from and emulate them. Most people will allow jealousy to take over and will justify the difference by creating negative scenarios about these people, such as they are work obsessed, they have no lifestyle, they are hard and callous – possibly even engaging in inappropriate activity, or they are just lonely, unhappy people.
I have been privileged to meet, and learn from, many sales legends. None of the people I have met fitted any of the negative scenarios above, though many such things were rumoured about them. Everyone wanted to be their friend, but many were actually trying to befriend them for the wrong reasons.
One man, called Manuel, comes immediately to mind. He won salesperson of the year, every year I worked with the same company. He overachieved his targets by up to 100% regardless how large they were upgraded each year. He never entertained clients, and was always home in time to spend the last hour of each day before bedtime, with his small children. He did not attend events and parties for the industry; he did not accept gifts from suppliers, or clients, under any circumstances. He did not socialise with colleagues, yet he maintained an excellent working relationship with everyone, always treating company staff as his internal customers. There was never anything discovered about Manuel that was not the image of a true, dedicated family man who loved and excelled in his work as a sales professional. He had, and still has, a wonderful life and a fabulous lifestyle afforded by his substantial income.
Another Sales Legend that comes to mind was a bit more of a traditional ‘wheeler and dealer’, flamboyant, full of fun and open to new ideas for his clients. He helped his clients make more sales and profit by the products he didn’t just sell them, but he ensured they would sell them through to their clients. He was truly adored by his clients, and his mischievous sense of humour and easy smile were welcome everywhere. He refused to ever sell anything to a customer that he did not believe was absolutely right for them. He minimised risk and understood his buyers motivation at all levels. He was incredibly open and up front about his personal life, which was rather colourful but never dishonest, and this endeared him to his customers even more.