Dear Ms. Marketing: Why are some people more successful at sales than others?

Dear Ms. Marketing: Why are some people more successful at sales than others? I just don’t seem to be very successful.

I don’t think there are any real secrets to sales.  I do, however, think there are some real, fundamental steps you can take everyday to be successful at whatever you are doing.  Here are 10 that I use:

1. Stay fit. Keep a balance of physical, emotional and spiritual health in order to achieve your goals. Plan work goals as well as personal goals.
2. Believe in yourself. Having a positive attitude is very important. Few people possess this type of attitude. Believing that you are the best and you are capable of achievement is the hardest thing to do. Your positive attitude must extend to your product and your company. It is a daily dedication that should not be taken lightly.
3. Positive environment. Support from your family, friends and co-workers can make your road to success an easy road to travel. It’s up to you to create such a road. Take some time to check out your highway.
4. Successful people. Are the people you hang out with successful? Follow a leader and you will become a leader. Join the right associations. Make the right friends. Stay away from negative people because they will only bring you down.
5. Plan your day. Everyday should be a successful day. If you prepare with education and details you should have no problems achieving your goals. Make sure to write down the things you plan to get done each day and mark them off as you go. At the end of the day you will be surprised at how much you were able to do.  
6. Keep up with what is new. Your competition is learning something new everyday - are you? Just because you are in sales doesn’t mean you know it all. Knowledge is something no one can take away from you.
7. Be of value. Become know as a resource, not a salesperson. Your value is linked to your willingness to share with others your knowledge. The market place will reward you the more valuable you become.
8. Solve problems. Once again, be the one your customers come to for help with solving problems. They don’t want facts, they want and need answers. You must have the knowledge to answer any questions they may have. This will keep them coming back.
9. Admit to your mistakes. You are going to make mistakes. We all learn from mistakes we have made. Some of the best ideas come from these mistakes. Think of them as learning experience that should not be repeated.
10.  Keep your smile on the prize. Stay focused on your dreams. Keep that account that you want in focus at all times. Never stop smiling. Remember that living your life successfully requires courage.

In closing, take one or two of these ideas and work on them. You will be successful with your career as well as with your life. Most people fail because they quit too soon. Don’t let that be you. Make a plan and stick to it.  Don’t quit - you will never know the ending.

Author Information

Dena Lanier

Lanier is president and owner of The Lab 2000, a dental laboratory serving a national market out of Columbus, Ga. She started her career in the dental field in 1980 with dentures and partials.  Since opening her laboratory is 1995, she has grown The Lab 2000 into one of the largest female-owned laboratories in the country. The Lab 2000 maintains it membership with the National Dental Laboratory Association, along with Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Eastern Conference and the Southeastern Conference of Dental Laboratories. She is the 2009 president of the Georgia Dental Laboratory Association and serves as an NADL laboratory representative.