Here are 8 daily habits the top 1% of sales reps

Here are 8 daily habits the top 1% of sales reps have, so you can emulate their success and become a top salesperson yourself.

1.  Manage Their Time Efficiently

The biggest differentiating factor between good sales reps and the very best sales reps is simply time management.

“One difference between the Top 10% and the Top 1% is the very top areextremely efficient with their time,” Lemkin wrote on Quora.

Time is always limited, and so the best reps are able to make the most of every hour in the day, and always have a plan to win. The top 1%prioritize the best leads first to improve the end results and maximize every minute of their time spent working each lead. Top reps don’t justplan out their day in a calendar – they know exactly what they’re going to do at every step of the way throughout every deal. The’re always prepared to answer tough questions on a product demo, they’re ready to overcome any objection, and they know exactly when to offer a discount to close the deal.

2. Keep Their Stress Levels Under Control

Along with great time management comes less stress and day-to-day pressure. The top reps in sales aren’t the most stressed out – in fact they’re usually calm, cool and collected. Because they’re so confident in their abilities, they simply don’t get as stressed out as other sales reps. They know which deals will close and when, and they’re not often surprised by the outcome. That doesn’t mean the best reps never stress, but they always act calmly and work well under pressure.

3. Ask Effective and Challenging Questions

The best 1% of sales reps don’t just talk – they listen. Great sales reps are able to ask the right questions at the right time, to draw out prospects, gain their trust, and find out the information needed to close the deal. Reps have to know the right sequence of questions to ask to connect the value proposition to the buyer’s specific pain points. Asking these questions helps sales reps get to the real root of a buyer’s struggles and empathize with their needs. Then, the rep can step in and offer their product as a way to solve the buyer’s problems.

4. Understand Buying Processes 

Asking the right questions leads to a better knowledge of every prospect and their personal buying process. Great reps know their company’s sales process, but they really think about the sale from the buyer’s perspective. The top 1% follow the buyer’s lead and guide them unobtrusively to the point that they’re ready to buy. Reps understand that some prospects need more time to evaluate a demo, while others will buy very quickly, and that’s OK. Top reps do follow a set sales process, but this focus on a buyer’s needs will help move the deal along faster.

5. Compare and Contrast vs. Competitors 

The very top percentage of reps don’t pull out a competitive comparison card during a call with a prospect – they already have the details memorized. The best reps not only know their own product thoroughly, they also know the competition’s products backwards and forwards. They read every article, research competitors extensively, and are always looking out for emerging companies. This helps reps beat out the competition, because they can easily point out flaws and weaknesses in a competitor’s product compared to their own. Extensive knowledge of the competition allows them to outsell at every turn, and win more deals.

6. Are Able to Walk Away When Necessary 

For the same reason top reps don’t waste any time, the best reps are willing to walk away from a prospective customer that isn’t a good fit. The top 1% of reps can tell very quickly when a prospect isn’t going to convert, and are confident enough to stop chasing that reluctant prospect. While this may seem risky to other reps who go after every single lead aggressively, it’s actually an incredibly smart move. The best reps waste less time selling to disinterested buyers, and instead focus all of their attention on winning the deals that are the most likely to close.

7. Never Stop Learning 

Great sales reps are always reading sales books, learning new skills, asking for coaching, and improving their own selling abilities. This inability to sit back and take a break means these reps are constantly striving and pushing themselves to improve. Obviously, this work ethic pays off and results in sharper selling skills and improved win rates across the board. The best reps are never content with their current abilities, but are constantly learning more and pushing their limits.

8. Have an Insatiable Drive to Win 

The top sales reps in the game don’t just want to win; they need to win. The same drive that pushes the top 1% of reps to constantly learn new selling skills is what pushes them to win the most deals and beat out everyone else. These reps are competitive people at heart – whether they’re playing a board game or chasing a new prospect. This innate ambition and need to win means they’re never happy unless they’re at the top of thesales leaderboard.

Just because you’re not in the top 1% now doesn’t mean you never will be. Take these lessons from the best sales reps in the business, and push yourself to improve. Ask the right questions, learn the right skills, and with the right mindset, you can become a top sales rep too.

Prospecting Sales

Prospecting Sales
You hear the word or term “prospecting” and you probably think of salespeople cold-calling on the phone or by email or heading to Alaska for dig for gold. On the other hand, anyone in business or a profession should prospect. The reason is prospecting is forming the most effective context for your future conversations.

If you function in any capacity where you need to influence others, you must know “where they are coming from.” So, by engaging them in periodic conversations, you can build an accurate context of what their interests, problems, goals and aspirations are. Now, here is the payoff: When you talk to them you know what questions to ask, what news may be of interest or what you or your organization can do to help them achieve their goals.

Here are a few suggestions translated from the sales vernacular to a professional development focus:

Nurture Open and Continuous Dialog
Remain positive and upbeat during your conversations so that you will foster and encourage future conversations. Think of this way: you want to have conversations that last beyond the introductory meeting process. Maintaining an upbeat tone is important. Also, ensure that the questions you ask or the statements you make either open-ended or allow multiple answers, respectively. Some open-ended example question stems might be: How could you …; would something like this help …? What are you top three concerns regarding …now?

Guided Conversations
An opening question can sometimes set a conversation up for success or failure. Guiding a conversation with the wrong question can end a discussion before it is even started. There may be highly specific questions that you want to ask, but make sure they are strategically positioned in the conversation so you have at least a more general idea of the target’s environment. Then you can structure more specific questions because you know enough to recognize whether they fit or pertain to the concerns of the prospect or not.

Effective Questions
So, the big question is, “How do I know when or how to effectively ask questions?” The answer is Active Listening. Before we discuss active listening here is one caveat: Avoid asking the same questions, in the same order, regardless of what you have learned thus far in the conversation. A few tips for

Active Listening includes:

Rephrase (in your normal style) any statement the respondent makes. For example, you said that the market is soft. Could you help me to understand your comparison between this year vs last year?

Comparisons could also be helpful. For example, you said that your employee turnover is too high. Could you give me a comparison your turnover rate vs Smith’s candy Store just next door?

In addition to gathering pertinent information, this provides an opportunity for you to add something of value if you have some statistics, research or information that the respondent may be able to use. Additionally, you are demonstrating that you do not treat every situation the same. This helps to build trust and creates a professional foundation for subsequent contacts.

Build on Previous Knowledge
Active listening helps you to increase you knowledge and understanding of the respondent’s issues and concerns. This suggestion presupposes that you have done some preliminary research about the person business or organization that you are contacting. Initially, the respondent may now be willing to immediately open up to you initiative. This is when you can utilize your preliminary research.

Hopefully, you have some idea of the challenges they have within the company or organization that you can suggest some ideas or possible solution. Or, it could as simple as having read an article that suggest that you or your organization may be able to offer a solution or at least, some suggestions. The idea is to demonstrate how you can provide value based on some prior knowledge about the respondent’s issues and concerns.

Kindness and Respect
Finally, being respectful of your prospects’ or respondent’s time and building a relationship is an important part of the process of building and maintaining the relationship that you hope to build. Your goal is or should be to build rapport with your prospect or respondent to make taking your call as painless as possible. You don’t want to be just another stereotypical cold caller. Maintain a polite and friendly manner, regardless of how the respondent initially reacts to you.

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Stay Positive

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33, NIV)

It’s easy to be positive and encouraging when everything is going your way, isn’t it? But every one is going to have obstacles to overcome in life. Problems have a purpose, and part of God’s purpose for allowing you to face obstacles is to test your attitude. That’s why you need to be positive even in negative situations. Remember, God wants you to live life to the fullest. And He has provided a way for you to enjoy your life, even when you’re going through hard times.

Look closely again at John 16:33. Jesus has just told you that you will face tribulation. But then He says, “Take heart!” That’s the secret. One translation puts it this way: “When you have trouble, cheer up.” What God is saying is that you can choose to be joyful and positive no matter what happens. The reason you can do that is because Jesus has already won your battle, whatever it may be!

Stop fighting yourself and assemble team and

Stop fighting yourself and assemble team and practices to Re- inspire your aspirations

There is a war raging inside you.
Your desires, your beliefs, and your drive PULL you toward your goals. Toward abundance. Toward inspiring achievements.
But as soon as you start to make any progress…
Your mind PUSHES you back!
More than a temporary roadblock, your mind actually PREVENTS you from reaching your dreams. No matter how badly you want to change — to improve who you are, what you own, and what you stand for — your mind simply won’t allow it.
How’s that possible? Because your subconscious mind is STRONGER than your goals, beliefs, passion… and even your actions!
You want to increase your income without sacrificing your family or your free time.
You want to expand your sphere of influence and make a bigger difference in the world.
You want to stop engaging in destructive behaviors that sabotage your happiness, and replace them with life-enriching choices.
But your subconscious mind says “NO”… making you feel stuck. Leaving you to wish, hope, and settle.

A couple maybe several times daily we must recharge and redirect our motivation. We must surround ourselves with positive people and sustain healthy environments.