Macon

Over the course of ten years, I have interviewed thousands of employees from all walks of life (many in the sales and marketing fields). What do these people say they want? More time, more money, more freedom, more health, more love, and more happiness in life. Sales people are no different. We all want these same things.

The good news is that sales people are in a particularly good position to claim these things. From my research, I believe that the best way to become wealthy in America is to own and operate your own business. The second best way is to be a sales person. The sales profession is the only one without a limit to the amount of money that you can earn! When you find that right sales position, all you need to do is to dream, plan, and execute and your sales career will soar!

The key question, of course, is this: How can a sales person get more out of life? I have an answer that's helped many people: By utilizing what I call the Sales Success Formula.

Your Biggest Obstacle:

Before we discuss the Sales Success Formula, it's important to understand that your biggest obstacle or competition isn't another company, it's not another sales person, it's your own mind. Your mind can either help you or hurt you depending on how you have programmed it to think. Rather than focusing on doubts, on reasons why you might not succeed, you must learn to believe and trust in yourself and in your unique passions.

The best way to learn how to further believe and trust in yourself is to set small, attainable goals and objectives for you to follow daily. As you execute your daily game plan, and accomplish these objectives one by one, over time you will learn that you are capable of overcoming your obstacles and self-doubt. You will find yourself capable of achieving even more far reaching goals. This is how to build internal trust and belief.

Once you have conquered self-doubt and won the mind battle, you will accomplish all in life that you can envision. Your mind will ignite a fire in your heart to execute your plan by taking actions in pursuit of your goals. As you experience this, you will become an unstoppable force of power fully capable of achieving more success and freedom then you could have ever imagined. You will literally rise to the top of your organization and become the person you've always wanted to become.

The Formula:

Now that you understand the power of your mind, it's important to analyze why people purchase goods or services from one organization but not others. If you ask buyers why they awarded a contract to one company and not another, you quickly will learn the key: relationships. People buy from people they like (friends buy from friends). It is that simple. If you want to make more sales, develop more solid relationships. The sales person who is best at developing relationships will ultimately produce the biggest results, period.

To develop more solid relationships, I suggest that you use what I call the Sales Success Formula. The success formula is this:

Trust (T) + Respect (R) + Need (N) + Ask (A) = Money ($)

Like every formula, each part must occur to reach the ultimate goal, in this case sales. Trust is absolutely crucial to close sales. Your prospect may respect your company, and they also may have a need, but if they don't trust you as a person, they will never buy from you.

To build trust, you must show the buyer that you care about their success. When a buyer learns how much you care about them and their organization's success, then they will trust you. The best way to earn this trust and respect is to make sure you let the buyer speak 90 percent of the time, and you only speak 10 percent of the time.

Another way to build trust in the relationship is to ask about the buyer and his or her interests, outside activities, etc. Questions can include those about their commute, their working conditions, their family and children, and their hobbies-these and others will give you a better idea of the buyer and his or her interests.

Respect is another key component to this equation. It's possible to trust someone and not respect them for whatever reason. The best way to build respect is to follow up on action items as promised by responding in a timely manner. Also make certain that you show up on time for all appointments or call if you are going to be late. Finally, always make the prospect know that you value their business.

It is extremely important to qualify need as quickly as you can in the sales cycle because without need (regardless of how much trust and respect that you have established) you will never be able to close the sale. To discover a prospect's need, ask them if them if they are in the market for your product or service. If they won't tell you, find others within the organization to see if they can advise you of their need.

All too often, sales people forget to ask if there is a need as well as ask for their business. A buyer could have all the trust and respect in the world for you and your organization, but if they don't have the need, they will never buy! If this is the case, move to the next prospect and then qualify their need prior to building the relationship.

Conclusion:

To become the top sales person in your organization, utilize this success formula to develop solid relationships based on trust, respect, need, and asking for business. To make this happen, execute your game plan daily and don't take rejection personally (the word "next" is the most powerful word in this field). If you implement and follow this formula (T+R+N+A=$), you will become unstoppable and earn more money that you could have ever imagined. This increased income will ultimately help you get more out of life!

Patrick Snow is the best-selling author of Creating Your Own Destiny, an international professional speaker, and a publishing coach. He can be reached at (800) 951-7721 or at Patrick@CreateYourOwnDestiny.com. His Web sites are: www.CreateYourOwnDestiny.com www.BestSellerPublishingCoaching.com www.BestSellerPublishingUniversity.com

Patrick Snow is the best-selling author of Creating Your Own Destiny, an international professional speaker, and a publishing coach. He can be reached at (800) 951-7721 or at Patrick@CreateYourOwnDestiny.com. His Web sites are: http://www.CreateYourOwnDestiny.com http://www.BestSellerPublishingUniversity.com

PATRICK SNOW is the best selling author of Creating Your Own Destiny, a professional speaker, publishing coach, and entrepreneur. He has been called "The Dean of Destiny" by high achievers worldwide. His book and destiny message has been featured in the The New York Times and also as cover story in USA Today. His book has sold over 125,000 copies worldwide.

Patrick is also the founder of Creating Your Own Destiny University - An adult education program designed to "Help You Achieve Your Destiny Through Business Ownership!"

As a business ownership advocate, Patrick's mission is to help others overcome their fears by turning their career distress into personal success, through business ownership. He also shares several insights on how small business owners can grow their businesses on a limit budget. Patrick resides on Bainbridge Island, Washington, along with his wife and their two boys.

He can be reached at (206) 780-1787 or http://www.BestSellerPublishingCoaching.com