How to Become a Highly Paid Salesperson

Hello. When I started my sales career, a senior sales guy, and I still remember his name was Pete, he said, by the way, did you know that the top 20% of salespeople earn 80% of the money? And I said, no, I never heard that. He said, yes, it's called the pareto principle, the 8020 rule. And I said, well, if that's the case, then I want to be in the top 20%. That simple decision. And I still remember the time, the place, the street where we were walking many years ago changed my life. Because what I learned was this, is that if you don't make a decision to be in the top 20%, you automatically fall by default into the bottom 80%. Nobody ever says, when I grow up, I'm going to be in the bottom 80% and struggle and worry about money all my life. But by failing to make a decision to excel, you unconsciously make a decision to be mediocre. So your goal should be to become one of the highest paid salespeople in your profession and accelerate your sales career by using the vital keys to success in sales, the vital keys to getting into the top 20%. And fortunately, this is easier than you might think. One, top salespeople do what they love to do. All truly successful, highly paid salespeople love their sales career. You must learn to love your work and then commit yourself to becoming excellent in your field. Invest whatever amount of time is necessary to improve your sales career. Pay any price, go any distance, make any sacrifice to become the very best at what you do. Resolve to join the top 10% and never stop until you get there. Now, here's something that changed my life is when I learned that everybody who's in the top 10 or 20% started in the bottom 10 or 20%. And what hundreds of thousands and millions of other people have done going from the bottom to the top, you can do as well if you decide to. Now, number two, top salespeople decide exactly what they want. Don't be wishy washy. Decide exactly what it is you want in life. Set it as a goal for your sales career, and then determine what price you're going to have to pay to get it. And let your mind float freely. Think about earning twice as much, driving a beautiful car, living in a beautiful neighborhood. It's all possible for you. Now, according to the research, only about 3% of adults have written goals. And these are the most successful and highest paid people in every field, including sales. These are the movers and the shakers, the creators and innovators. They're the top salespeople and entrepreneurs and you can join them as well by writing down your goals in the first place. Top salespeople back their sales career goals with perseverance and determination. A key to success in sales is to back your goals with indomitable willpower. Decide to throw your whole heart and soul into your success and into achieving your sales career goals. No matter how many obstacles or setbacks you experience, make a complete commitment to improve your sales career and become one of the most highly paid salespeople in your field. Resolve that. Nothing will stop you or discourage you, no matter what happens. Now. Number four Top Salespeople Commit themselves to lifelong learning. This, by the way, changed my life so dramatically when I was 24. Almost like I tripped over something and picked myself up and it was a great treasure. The treasure was that your mind is your most precious asset and the quality of your thinking determines the quality of your sales career. If you commit yourself to lifelong learning, you will achieve such extraordinary success. And I cannot emphasize this too often. Read, listen to audio programs, attend seminars, and never forget that the most valuable asset you will ever have is your mind. As you continue to learn, you'll eventually become one of the most valuable, valuable salespeople in your company. The more knowledge you acquire that can be applied to practical purposes, the greater will be your rewards and the more you will be paid. Five Top Salespeople Use their time well. Your time is all you have to sell. It's your primary asset. How you use your time determines your standard of living. So resolve therefore, to use your time well every minute of every day. Begin every day with a list of everything you have to do. The best time to make up your work list is the night before. Prior to wrapping up for the day. Write down everything that you have to do the next day, starting with your fixed appointments and then moving on to everything else you can think of. Number six Top Salespeople Follow the leaders. Do what successful people do. Follow the leaders, not the followers, not the people who are hanging out, going for coffee, going for drinks at 4:30 in the afternoon, going shopping during the daytime. Stay away from these people. Do what the top salespeople in your company do. Imitate the ones that are going somewhere with their lives. Identify the very best salespeople in your field and in your office and then pattern yourself after them. If you want to become one of the best salespeople in your company, go to the top earners and ask them for advice. Ask them what you should do to improve your sales career. Inquire about their attitudes and philosophies and their approaches to their work and their customers. And here's the most remarkable thing. Successful people will help you. They will tell you things. They will give you ideas that can save you years of hard work. But you have to ask now. Top salespeople, number seven, know that character is everything. Guard your integrity as a sacred thing. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, nothing is more important to the quality of your life in our society. In business and sales success, you must have credibility. You can only be successful if people trust you and believe in you. So in study after study, the element of trust has been identified as the most important distinguishing factor between one salesperson and another and between one company and another. 8. Top salespeople use their inborn creativity. So think of yourself as a highly intelligent person. Think of yourself as a highly creative person, even a genius. Recognize that you have great reserves of creativity that you have never used. So say aloud over and over again, I'm a genius. I'm a genius. I'm a genius. This may sound like an exaggeration at the beginning, but it's not. The fact is that every person, including yourself, has the ability to perform at genius levels in one or more areas. You have within you right now the ability to do more and be more than you ever have before. All you have to do is have the confidence to try. And number nine, quality of top salespeople is they practice the golden rule. You should also practice the golden rule in all your interactions with other people. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Think about yourself as a customer. How would you like to be treated if you were your own customer? Well, obviously you would want salespeople to be straightforward with you. You would want them to take the time to thoroughly understand your problem or need and then show you step by step how his or her solution could help you to improve your life or work in a cost effective way. If this is what you would want from a salesperson selling to you, then be sure to give this to every customer you talk to. And number 10, quality of top salespeople. They pay the price of success in advance. Remember, perhaps more important than anything else, resolve to work hard. This is a great key to success in life in any field. The key to success in selling is for you to start a little earlier, to work a little harder and stay a little later. Do the little things that average people are always trying to avoid doing. When you begin your workday, resolve to work all the time you work. Don't waste time. Get going. Move fast. Now, what I've given you is sort of like a mental fitness plan. It's a sales mental fitness plan. Just as if you want to become physically fit, you work out with a series of different pieces of equipment. If you want to become financially fit as a salesperson, work out with these 10 ideas. And I promise you, as soon as you begin using them, you're going to see improvements faster and more effectively than you could possibly imagine today.