Home Features Mastermind Videos About Advertise Blog Network Contact
   

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

Featured Ebook


ebook Famous Entrepreneurs - Modern Empire Builders


Featured Ebook

More Evan Carmichael
Have A Suggestion?

Sales Lessons From Starbucks And Dell

CHARACTERISTICS OF TOP SALES EXECUTIVES



CHARACTERISTICS OF TOP SALES EXECUTIVES
   

By Ron S. La Vine President of Accelerated Sales Results Telesales Training and Sales Training, Inc.

Top Sales Executives Work Smart Top sales executives recognize their time is precious and finite. These sales representatives know their primary job is to identify and call on the most profitable accounts first. Examining their current customer base and finding the common characteristics or demographics (gross sales, number of employees, industries, etc.) top salespeople know in advance what types of accounts where they make the most money. They separate their accounts by time zone enabling them to make the best use of their phone time throughout the day.

Once prioritized and sorted, top sales executives use their sharp questioning and listening skills to reach the decision maker and determine, with reasonable certainty, whether or not a business opportunity exists within an account. When a business opportunity is found within a department, business unit, location, joint venture, affiliate, reseller or partner, these successful sales reps always remember to set up specific action steps or a sales m.a.p. (tm) (Mutually agreed upon process) with the individual or individuals who influence the buying decision. Then they politely yet persistently follow up on these action steps through completion. Knowing how valuable their time is, the most successful salespeople do only those things they cannot delegate to someone else.

Top Sales Executives Think like Business Owners Top sales executives adopt an attitude that they are in business for themselves not in business by themselves. These top salespeople make decisions upon seeing themselves as the business owner.

Organization and Prioritization of Goals Top sales executives recognize the importance of organizing and prioritizing their goals. These people get ahead by planning ahead. They have clearly defined lofty goals and self discipline to see them through. Top sales executives are goal getters not just goal setters.

Top Sales Executives are Persuasive Communicators The top successful salespeople are listening for reasons to buy and for ways to sell. Sensitive to an account's time available to speak with them and enthusiastic in their presentations and these top sales reps have mastered the technique of carefully selecting words for their positive connotations.

Top Sales Executives Are Always Striving for Self-improvement Always growing, studying, reading, attending seminars, learning all the time, their goal is movement in a positive direction. These salespeople seek out opportunities to perfect their presentations and volunteer for leadership positions so they can stretch themselves as people and professionals.

Top Sales Executives have Positive Self-esteem Strong, balanced sense of self worth combined with confidence in themselves and a belief in what they are doing are the hallmark of a great sales rep. Enthusiasm, excitement and zeal are elements of their character.

These people do a better job and become more productive by learning, practicing, changing and developing these new habits so they are incorporated and internalized qualities in both their personal and professional life.

Conclusion First and foremost is the right attitude. You will hear this throughout most sales workshops because the right attitude is the difference between those that give up and those who never quit. There is no silver or magic bullet. Only hard work and persistence pays off.

To become a great sales executive, one must enjoy working with people and have a strong sense of curiosity, great listening skills and the ability to see the big picture. The best sales executives are able to produce results. Pay for performance is the way they prefer to work.

A great sales executive is someone who has a working knowledge of their company's operations, products and services, and possesses the ability to collect useful business sales intelligence(tm) about their accounts and translate the information into additional sales. They are persistent and tenacious to find the answers to their questions and they keep going until they do.

David R. Bender of the Special Libraries Association sums it up well: "...how many people have the expertise to evaluate, analyze, organize and package raw data-transforming it into meaningful information that can be put to work?"

He goes on to say "...not many, and the explanation is quite simple." As management expert Peter Drucker wrote in a column for the Wall Street Journal, "There is a big difference between being computer literate and information literate."

Bender writes, "Drucker explained that for data to become useful information, it must be organized for a task or applied to a decision." He contended, however, "Few people are adept at determining exactly what information they need to do their jobs, when they need the information, and where they can get it."

A great sales executive knows what data is needed, where it can be found and how to get it and provide it in a manner enabling them to increase their sales. In striving to become the best, top sales executives focus on creating value for their clients and a sense of pride and accomplishment for themselves.

REPRINT PERMISSION Ron La Vine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Results, Inc., a sales training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report “41 sales Tips You Can Use Right Now” AND the free bimonthly Sales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at www.accelerated-sales-results.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling Sales Training please call Ron at 818-991-6487 PST. © 2005 by Accelerated Sales Results, Inc.



CHARACTERISTICS OF TOP SALES EXECUTIVES - To learn more about this author, visit Ron La Vine's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends
[Get Copyright Permissions] E-Mail | Print | More  


Related Articles Related Articles
Feeling Lonely At The Top? It May Be Time For An Executive Business Coach!
  Have you heard or ever spoken the words, “It is lonely at the top!”? This was a much used phrase in an organization I worked with some years ago. And it really is true! Many executives and top business lead...
Ten Most Admired Characteristics of Successful Business Coaches, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Do you know what some of the most admired characteristics are of successful business coaches? Recently I was interviewed for an article on business coaching and was asked what I believed to be the most admired char...
Are You a Breakthrough Leader?
  Leaders that outperform their industry peers have learnable skills. They encourage loyalty to the company first, which means listening to the dissenting point of view. They are also good at developing and empower...
American Execs Think they Deserve to be Paid Less
  This is hard to believe, but according to a new study, most American executives say they believe they are overpaid.
From $80,000 to $1.2 million per year as an Executive Coach
  This is a case study of an Executive Coach from a modest background who has hit the stratosphere, and how he has done it.

Related Forum Posts Related Forum Posts
Where I want WSI to be in Dec 31 2007 Where I want WSI to be in Dec 31 2007

 
About the Author


Ron La Vine
(Visit Ron's Website)
Ron holds Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.’s Cold Calling System for Sales Success - Live Cold Call Sales Training Workshops worldwide. Ron has trained thousands of sales reps using live cold calling for clients such as Agilent Asia Pacific, ASG, CA, EDS, IBI, Informix, iWAY, LRS, MeadWestvaco, Merant, Micro Focus, NCTI, Platinum, Serena, Software AG, SAS, Sterling Software's ADD, DID, OMD, SMD, VMD Divisions, plus over 60 more technology & non-technology related firms. Ron has delivered live cold calling hands-on workshops in Australia, Canada, England, France, Hong Kong, Ireland and the USA. Cultures trained included sales reps from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and all across the USA. For more details about LIVE Cold Calling training contact Ron personally at www.ast-incorp.com/contact.htm. Also sign up for the Free Sales Tips ezine at www.ast-incorp.com/free_tips _signup.htm.
Have A Suggestion?

View Author's Blog
Become An Author

View Author's Video
Become An Author

Free Downloads


Ron La Vine's

Complete
List Of
Franchises
Articles

First Name
Last Name
Email
 
If you enjoyed this article, get Ron La Vine's Complete List of Franchises Articles For FREE!
Become An Author