Top Performers are Always Selling

A lot of sales people we talk to tell us stories about how when they are at work, they are in sales mode. Once the day ends, they tend to focus on family time or recreational activities. This is great and we are big believers of having a balanced life.

However, in our experience, the best salespeople are always selling. I call it keeping your “perceptive screen” open for opportunities no matter where you are. Now, we aren’t saying that you should be hard selling at every cocktail party you attend, but you should be listening for conversations that could lead to a sale.

I attended one of the last Leafs game of the season and I happened to be sitting next to a grandfather and grandson. They were having a great time as they were fans of the visitors. I engaged them in casual dialogue and endured some good natured ribbing as the Leafs were getting crushed. The conversation steered to who they were and where they were from. It came up that the father of the young boy owned a manufacturing business. After asking a lot of questions about the business the grandfather asked me what I did. After telling him we were in the sales recruitment business, he gave me his son’s card and told me to call him as they were desperately trying to find sales people for his business. The next day I placed a call and today we have a new client.

Selling is not an event or something you turn on and off. It’s about interacting with people, asking great questions and more importantly, listening. If you do this throughout the year, you’ll never have to wonder where your next client is going to come from.