7 years ago
February 21, 2017

How to Become a Top Selling Sales Rep

Sales is a competitive field. How does one overcome the odds to become a top selling sales rep and outshine the rest of the pack?

Rhys Metler

How_to_Become_a_Top_Selling_Sales_Rep

The sales field is notorious for having a high turnover rate—not many people can cut it. But it can also be a fun, dynamic, and lucrative industry for the right reps. That’s where the 80/20 rule comes in—80 percent of sales are made by the small 20 percent of top selling sales reps.

But it takes a special person to become a top selling sales rep. Only the best of the best can consistently meet their sales targets, improve your sales numbers, bring in new business, and effectively build relationships with clients.

If you want to become part of the 20 percent—if you want to become a top selling sales rep—use these tips below and you’ll be on your way to improving your results and keeping your sales numbers high. These steps are what separate the top performing reps from the rest.

Plan Your Career

When you’re not proactive about your career, you’re setting yourself up to fail. To become a top selling sales rep, you need to be more ambitious. Set yourself high targets, plan your day, your week, your month, and even your quarter, and set objectives for every sales call you make.

Have the Right Attitude

You’re going to have some bad days and weeks—but keep your chin up. You can’t give up after a few bad sales calls. When you have a positive attitude you can work towards becoming a top selling sales rep. Believe that you will close the sale. Be confident and self-assured with customers and they’ll take their cues from your positive attitude, which will make it easier for you to close those sales.

Plan Your Meeting

You won’t become a top selling sales rep by winging it. Once you get a meeting, get planning. Research the company, the client, his needs, wants, and problems, his budget—and anything else that might help you close the sale. Search for him on LinkedIn and follow him on social media sites—get the information you need before you walk into that meeting so you’re armed with the tools you need to succeed. Start your presentation by recapping your client’s unique situation to ensure you’re addressing the key issues. This also shows your client that you’ve done your research.

Be Empathetic and Nurturing

A top selling sales rep won’t be aggressive or pushy—he’ll be empathetic and nurturing. Clients generally only care about their needs and problems, and it’s up to you to empathize with their needs to show that you care about providing a solution to their problems. Nurture the relationship by being honest, genuine, and respectful.

Learn to Adapt

In today’s digital world and with the way the world of sales is drastically changing, you must adapt the way you sell to match how customers now want to buy. That means getting onboard with inbound marketing and selling, using social media as part of your tool kit, and taking advantage of the latest sales tools, technology, and techniques.

Always Be Prospecting

Customers are your lifeblood. To keep generating new business, you must continuously prospect to keep your pipeline full. When you fail to prospect, you’ll experience peaks and valleys in your sales that will hurt your numbers. You won’t become a top selling sales rep. Instead, make time to do it every week.

Be Accountable

Sometimes, you won’t make the sale. You’ll get hung up on. You’ll fail. Don’t blame it on the customer, the economy, your prices, or your products. Be accountable for your failures and think of them as ways to become a top selling sales rep. Learn from your mistakes, figure out where you went wrong, and improve your strategy for your next sales call.

Rhys Metler

Rhys is a tenacious, top performing Senior Sales Recruiter with 15+ years of focused experience in the Digital Media, Mobile, Software, Technology and B2B verticals. He has a successful track record of headhunting top performing sales candidates for some of the most exciting brands in North America. He is a Certified Recruitment Specialist (CRS) and has expert experience in prospecting new business, client retention/renewals and managing top performing sales and recruitment teams. Rhys enjoys spending quality time with his wife, son, and daughters, BBQing on a hot summer day and tropical vacations.

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