Most of us who are good at our jobs, hear people say, “You’re a natural born salesman” pretty often. Outsiders often assume the best salespeople were just born with the aptitude to sell. The general public thinks we obtained our closing and product knowledge overnight. Like we arrived on earth with a birth certificate and a list of wordtracks to combat objections.
Natural born communicators make great salespeople, but being a good communicator is only the tip of the iceberg in sales. In order to be a badass salesman you need to practice your craft, learn from others and continually search for the epic combination of words that will unlock the minds and wallets of your prospects.
All of my life I’ve had people tell me I belong in sales.
I’ve sold car washes, mortgages, homes, training, cars, consulting and much more. Each time I’ve sold something new, my pipeline wasn’t full, there were no lay-downs and I had to learn about the products I sold. Even though I am now a world-renown sales trainer, I, too had to be trained at each new job.
The best salespeople are those who are open-minded and willing to learn. The people who invest in themselves. Those who read books. Those who attend seminars. Those who study their prospects and set out to solve problems..
Plenty of people work as waiters, for example, and they may get offered a job in sales due to their communication skills. But we’ve all seen those same people go back to waiting, tail between their legs, because the sales world wasn’t very nice to them.
Sales isn’t about being a good talker.
It’s about guiding the prospect down a path to a logical conclusion explaining why they should buy what you sell. The best salespeople will tell you, “The less you talk, the more you make,” so being a good talker is not a prerequisite.
On my current sales team, I have several people who make six-figures per year. Each of them have been trained in the art of selling. We’ve seen plenty of natural born salesfolk get run off, too.
The best salespeople are trainable, coachable and empathetic toward the problems their prospects face.
Next time someone asks you if great salespeople are born that way or trained, ask them if they think people just wake up one day and play professional sports. Like anything else, sales takes effort, practice and doing the work. Sales is a life-long personal development course with a pay plan attached to it.
If you’re into becoming a better salesperson and earning more money, check out my sales training program at www.breakfreeacademy.com/entourage
This program has changed the game and income level for many salespeople across the world. Are you next?
