Many people, especially those who are my clients, usually ask me how to improve in the field of sales continuously. I have five significant pieces of advice, which worked for me since I was still starting in the sales industry until now, for those who ask me such a question. 

         The first is to attend training on sales. Different skills need to be learned and developed when you are a salesperson. So even if you are already an expert on your product, it would not be enough. Do not rely on the free training that your own company conducts regularly. Instead, take every opportunity to learn and relearn. However, do not limit yourself to learning from your usual source. You also need to learn from different mentors, especially if your current learning or strategy is no longer effective. Always remember that everything is changing, so is information. 

         The second is to implement the lessons learned from training right away. If you keep on attending different sales training sessions or programs but do not apply the learning right away, what is the use? You are just wasting your time and resources, not to mention the opportunities lost. When you expect great results from investing time and resources for sales training, remember that you are accountable for making those learning work. Your learning is like bullets – it cannot cause harm if it’s just lying around idly, yet deadly when used with a gun. 

         The third is to practice every single day. Since, as they say, we are creatures of habit, we must practice any new skills we learn regularly. More importantly, practice will make you get used to using a new skill and help you master it. One of the best ways to make sure you get to practice daily and master it is to do role-play with your colleagues, friends, or family members. Make sure also to use as many lessons learned from training in your day-to-day client interaction.  

         The fourth one is to build your self-discipline. If not all, most salespeople find it difficult to stick to a productive routine because they find it difficult or challenging. This challenge then leads to them neglecting whatever new knowledge or skills they got and fall back to doing what they are comfortable with, even if it is not working anymore. Being consistent in producing excellent results in sales entails commitment – commitment to keep moving and improving. Teach yourself never to give up when faced with challenges and never get distracted by other fleeting things. 

         The last one is to work with your mentor. I will never get tired of repeating this advice to whoever needs it. We all need people who understand how the sales industry works to guide us. We need experts to teach us how to become effective salesperson, and how to serve clients better. We don’t have all the information that answers all the questions about such. But, there are people who have the expertise in each of these aspects. We need them to help us. We need them to teach us. We need them to guide us. We need to work with them. We need to be pushed by them and be able to witness our true potential in the field of adding value, solving people’s problems, and helping them get what they want.

         If all these pieces of advice are followed consistently and religiously, I can guarantee that you will be a great salesperson and a champion in your industry. If you want to see an improvement in yourself as a salesperson, are you ready to take on this challenge? 

Selling, just like most skills, is learnable. There are books, seminars, and training that one can engage in to acquire knowledge and hone it. However, these materials or means do not suffice for someone to be successful in sales. One must first possess some things before getting into it, and even develop to stay there.  

In my years of sales experience, I have truly learned a lot about the art and skills of selling from colleagues, leaders, mentors, and even renowned international trainers. While continuing the journey to growth in this field, however, I needed (and still need) the following for me to have a direction, stay on track, and fulfill my vision:

1. Unstoppable Passion. Passion fuels us to be persistent amidst all the challenges we encounter in our work line. Without passion, we will more likely give up easily. It gives us energy. Passion typically serves as the compass of some to go in a specific direction. Some discover it early, but a lot of people find it a bit later.  
2. Firm Self-discipline. Human as we are, we are prone to distractions. This fact is the reason that we need to develop firm self-discipline. We can overcome distractions when we know how to control ourselves from getting lost in those. With self-discipline, we can go back on track when we become unbalanced for a moment. Successful people, who consistently achieve success in what they do, definitely did not just happen on their accomplishments. They paved their way towards each success by painstakingly following what needs they need to do.  
3. Positive Attitude. In school, we learned that before our body can carry out any action, we think of them first. That is why when you think you can’t do something, it becomes a reality. In short, you sabotage yourself every time you think negatively. In selling, there are no amount of training and sales techniques that can help us sell if in our mind we are already doubtful. We always have to maintain a positive attitude. 

Being successful in sales requires all these and continuous learning because we can only become the best in what we do when we are at our best self – heart, mind, and soul. When we think about it, this also applies to any field of specialization. Whatever career path or whatever our calling is, we need to help ourselves grow in it, continuously burn with passion, maintain self-discipline, and muster positive attitudes. When we have all these, we find fulfillment in what we do because we know we are doing the best we can. Not even money can give us such. Don’t you agree?