1) Right Understanding
2) Right Thought
3) Right Speech
4) Right Action
5) Right Livelihood
6) Right Effort
7) Right Mindfulness
8) Right Concentration
Good Habit # 1 – RIGHT UNDERSTANDING
Many salespeople work hard but cannot make it in sales because they have a wrong starting.
A good start in sales is to get RIGHT UNDERSTANDING.
RIGHT UNDERSTANDING means correct understanding, the best understanding, understanding that is true, understanding that is not half-true or half-false, but is the very best and most complete understanding you can get.
Unless you first get RIGHT UNDERSTANDING you cannot make right use of the other 7 good habits.
For example, salespeople who understand that it is to their own benefit to learn selling techniques would want to work hard to learn more and sell better. When you sell well, everyone will be happy, including your employer and customers.
A common wrong understanding of sales is to convince people to buy things that they don’t want to buy.
Right understanding: Sales is never to sell anything but to create the conditions for people to buy by themselves.
A highly successful salespeople sells nothing and yet earn everything.
Understand right and you will get the right footing. Also understand that people don't buy on price alone. A good salesperson can sell on higher price by adding value (read here for the top 7 things to add value).
Good Habit # 2 – RIGHT THOUGHT
RIGHT THOUGHT means to think in the right way. Common wrong or unwholesome thoughts include anger, envy, greed, hatred, ill will, jealousy, laziness, lust, revenge and unkindness.
If you have the right thoughts, you will do the right things and success will come to you.
In sales, the RIGHT THOUGHTS means the customer is always right. Always ‘right’ not in an absolute sense but ‘right’ to have his opinion. The job of a salesperson is not to think negatively about the customer’s objections but to respect them, listen to them and solve them.
Common examples of wrong thought in sales:
· Our products are the best in the market
· Our salespeople know the best
· Our customers are very choosy and troublesome
The wrong thought is the inconsistency among the 3 thoughts: first 2 are positive while the 3rd is negative.
If you have the wrong understanding of sales, you will have the wrong thought. If you understand that sales is about hitting targets, you will think of tricks to get the sale. You don’t think much about serving customers.
The right understanding of sales is that sales is about professionally helping other people to buy. The right thought is to always serving and helping people.
Good Habit # 3 – RIGHT SPEECH
RIGHT SPEECH is the control of your tongue by right thought. Your speech must be free from abusive words, deceit, foul language, gossip, harsh words, idle talk, lies, offensive language, rudeness, slandering, swear words, tale telling, banter and vain talk.
You must speak in such a way that your professional and gentle words will bring happiness to all. If you cannot bring happiness to others by your words, at least you must not injure them with wrong speech.
Lying is one of the worst forms of wrong speech. Many salespeople think that you have to fake it until you make it and they lie on a daily basis.
The lie that causes hurt to someone else is worst of all.
At times, it is better you keep silence than to hurt another with one’s speech. Like criticizing your prospect for choosing another vendor.
Professional salespeople speak words that are TRUTHFUL, MEANINGFUL and with GOODWILL.
They know that the written speech in e-mails, once spoken, can never be retracted. Therefore they always put their e-mails in draft first and re-read before hitting the ‘send’ button.
Good Habit # 4 – RIGHT ACTION
RIGHT ACTION means to perform deeds which do not cause suffering to yourself and others.
RIGHT ACTION aims at honourable, moral and peaceful conduct. It is the abstention from taking any form of life, dishonest acts like stealing, cheating, corruption and sexual promiscuity and from taking liquors & drugs, both of which confuse your mind and cause much misery.
Successful salespeople act in a gentleman way. They do not hide under small print in contracts. They are upright and always act in the interest of the customers, not themselves. They are not selfish but selfless.
Before you make a promise, ask yourself if you are able to fulfill your promise. Those who fail to keep promises are soon not respected.
Successful salespeople do not drink or get people drunk. They do not bribe people. They also do not force people to buy or intimate their support staff to get the sale out.
Wise thought coupled with wise action bring the respect of others and keeps you from ever losing your self-respect and reputation.
Reputation is everything to a salesperson. So have the right understanding, right thought, right speech and right action.
Good Habit # 5 – RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
RIGHT LIVELIHOOD means not to live on work that would in any way bring harm to living beings.
RIGHT LIVELIHOOD implies that you should earn your living by honourable means. Work that involves harming or killing people or animals, manufacture or sale of drugs, tobaccos, weapons, poisons, gambling, are all harmful to mankind and should be avoided.
You should choose an occupation that is the source of helpfulness and happiness to others.
If anyone suffers as a direct result of your work, then it is not RIGHT LIVELIHOOD. For example, a salesperson that sells pirated intellectual property is not having the right livelihood.
A good salesperson sells things that are of real value to the human race, not just to get them to spend their money.
If what you are selling is not helpful to mankind (eg selling membership to casinos), at least you must make sure that it will not be harmful to anyone (like not selling to people that earn below $100,000 a year).
Remember: do not earn your living by harming others. That is right livelihood.
Good Habit # 6 – RIGHT EFFORT
RIGHT EFFORT means to do your best to become a better person. When you are a better person, you will be a better salesperson. When you are a better salesperson, your sales and income will improve.
Examples of Right Effort include to work hard, and to drop bad habits such as using foul language, laziness, quick/hot temper, smoking and taking drugs & liquors.
A good salesperson needs to put in extra effort if the business environment is not positive. He should not be demoralized when he faces setbacks in bad markets.
In fact all successful salespeople work very hard when times are bad. That’s why they can reap huge rewards when times are good. Knowing this simple habit will make you millions.
Another example of wrong effort made by salespeople is procrastination: the habit of putting off until tomorrow what they ought to do today. The only time you can be sure of is today, yesterday has gone and tomorrow has not come. The best time to begin to put forth RIGHT EFFORT is this very day.
Another way of Right Effort is Right Trying. You cannot get success in sales or get any good thing out of life until you really try. That means must put in sufficient effort and strike until the iron is hot.
Good Habit # 7 – RIGHT MINDFULNESS
RIGHT MINDFULNESS means to be always aware and attentive. That is keeping your mind on what you are doing. It is not mindlessness.
If you fail to focus your attention on what you are doing, then it is very likely that the finished job will not be satisfactory.
The most successful salespeople are those who have trained themselves to give complete attention to whatever they are selling. They know the product inside- out and they understand buyer psychology.
When in front of a customer, they give their undivided attention to every line that is spoken by the customer.
They don’t multi-task. Have you ever noticed that when you are trying to do three or four things at the same time, you usually get them only partly finished or, at most, imperfectly done? Divided attention is never RIGHT ATTENTION.
It is almost impossible for you to be successful in sales and find real happiness if you cannot concentrate your attention on whatever you do from day to day.
To a salesperson the attention should be nothing but serving customers and solving their problems with what they are selling.
Good Habit # 8 – RIGHT CONCENTRATION
RIGHT CONCENTRATION means to keep your mind steady and calm in order to see clearly the true nature of things. To see things objectively and not with biasness.
It is the shutting out of your mind of all but only one thought.
You must concentrate on everything you do before you can do it well.
For instance, if you concentrate in your meetings with prospects, you would not miss anything the prospect says. You not just listen to the spoken words, but also the unspoken words from the prospect’s body language.
You must think only good thoughts. You must speak only good words and do only good deeds. You have ‘one-pointedness of mind.’ This means, training your mind to concentrate on one subject only without jumping from idea to idea.
The 6 areas to concentrate in sales include customer service, product knowledge, inter-personal skills, communication, numerical skills and soft skills like perseverance and critical thinking.
Remember, Right Concentration can make you become more understanding and a happier person. A happy salesperson is also a successful salesperson.
CONCLUSION
The above 8 good habits can help you prevent problems and deal with problems in your daily sales. The 8 habits are 1.Right Understanding. 2. Right Thought 3.Right Speech 4.Right Action 5.Right Livelihood 6.Right Effort 7.Right Mindfulness 8.Right Concentration
If you follow them, you are on the way to less suffering and more happiness.
These 8 good habits lead to a trained mind and only with a trained mind are you able to become a highly successful salesperson.
Violation of these 8 good habits means the introduction of obstacles on your path to progress and sales career.
Your conduct today will determine your future.
GOOD LUCK.
Note: Andy Ng is a Sales and Management Trainer with over 27 years of experience. He can be reached at andythecoach@gmail.com Visit www.asiatrainers.com and be inspired at www.AndyNgTrainer.blogspot.sg. Related articles:
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