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Salespeople are taught to ask questions. If you’re not asking questions and listening intently to the answers then you still have a lot to learn. But successful salespeople shouldn’t limit their questions to just customers, they should be asking themselves questions every single day.
One of the biggest differences between those who are successful and those who aren’t is the ability to be self-aware and question your own work, your decisions, and your thought-processes. If you don’t, then how can you improve? The best salespeople get an edge by using tools like Spiro, and by asking themselves these questions:
1. How can I help someone today?
This is the most important question you should be asking yourself every single day. Your goal isn’t to sell someone something, it’s to help them make the decision to buy it. Once you adopt that frame of mind, you will be focused on creating value for people instead of trying to convince them. Ask yourself this question before every customer interaction and you’ll succeed.
2. Am I focusing on the right things?
With so many distractions it can be difficult to take a step back and make sure you’re spending your time correctly. Truly successful people know how to focus only on what matters, and then put all of their energy into those things. Knowing what is a waste of time and where you can make the most impact towards your goals can make the difference between being the best and being average.
3. Do I believe in myself?
It may sound like a cliche, but confidence and belief in your own work ethic and abilities is critical to achieving your goals. It can be tough to stay confident in the face of rejection, but only by believing that you will get where you want to be by working smarter and harder will you get the strength to become the best. Ask yourself everyday if you believe in yourself, and work harder every day until you do.
4. What can I do to improve?
If you think that you’re already the best and don’t need to look for areas of improvement, then you’re not destined for greatness (and you’re probably pretty annoying). Learning from your mistakes and being your own harshest critic is what forces you to fix your weaknesses and become the person you want to become. Listen to your calls, think about why you failed, ask for advice, and remember that no one got to the top without screwing up a bunch of times first.
5. What is no one else doing?
This is an area where far too many salespeople fall short. We get so bogged down in the day to day minutiae of calling leads, and pitching prospects that we rarely think about where other big opportunities could be awaiting us. There are untapped opportunities in nearly every market, and it’s only when you are able to take a step back and really think outside the box that you’ll discover them.
6. What are my goals?
Thinking about your goals isn’t a profound revelation, but it’s so important that it needs to be said. Big goals should be broken down into daily actions and smaller milestones to make them attainable. But don’t limit yourself to only thinking about your monthly or quarterly sales goal. Think about the big picture, it’s something that many of us high-energy salespeople forget to do. The best of the best not only identify their goals, they remind themselves every single day what they need to do to achieve them.