Having the right mindset goes beyond having a cheerful, positive outlook (although that’s important, too) to being open-minded about constantly learning and adapting to the always-changing sales landscape. Top performers are open-minded when it comes to continual improvement. They believe in consistently working on their craft, they’re open to new ideas, and they have a positive outlook on continually learning and implementing new approaches in the pursuit of improved sales performance. Top performers actively search for new ways to do things better.
In observing thousands of sales professionals across hundreds of organizations, we have identified scores of characteristics that are consistent among them. For example, top performers are consistently looking for ways to improve and get better. They’re always looking to grow. When they think back to when they started out in their careers, they recognize that over the years they’ve grown professionally by asking for advice, reading widely, keeping up on industry trends, and seeking training. Today’s top-performing sales professionals, regardless of tenure, are always looking to improve. Why? Because they know that success in the past doesn’t guarantee success in the future. They also realize that it can be way too easy to become relaxed, to get too comfortable, or to become regimented in their approach to sales. When that happens, it’s easy to become close-minded to new ideas. When that happens, it’s easy to stop learning new things, to quit working on their craft, to stop practicing.
Resistance and complacency are not at all uncommon among lower performers. Our research has revealed that lower performers—those sales reps who typically find themselves ranked among their colleagues as having the fewest sales, the smallest sales, and infrequent sales—really don’t want to change. They view change as a lot of work, work that might well be undertaken with little payoff. They resist change, whether out of fear or laziness or arrogance. This can manifest itself in an attitude that makes it clear to everyone around them that they are not willing to make a change.
While top performers welcome change and are open-minded to the potential benefits of employing a new approach to accelerating the sales process and closing more deals, lower performers often actually work to sabotage efforts to change. While top performers are finding ways to make change work for them and their customers, lower performers often spend much of their time trying to justify whey they shouldn’t change. We’ve also seen that lower performers give up on change before even giving it a chance to work.
You can see here how mindset matters. Top performers are open-minded to change, and they generally view it in a positive way. They are optimistic about the improved results that change might drive. Lower performers, on the other hand, are closed-minded when it comes to change. They prefer the status quo and are uncomfortable with change, which they often see as unnecessary. Lower performers find it difficult, if not impossible, to see how change will benefit them.
We understand that change can be difficult, but we also know it’s critical to embrace change if you want to be a top performer. Going about that need not be intimidating. In fact, McKinsey & Company, the global management consulting firm, notes (and we agree) that in order to accept change and enthusiastically adapt the new approaches that will allow you to improve performance, just two things must happen: you have to understand how your actions will affect outcomes, and you have to believe that all this change is worthwhile. Top performers understand this implicitly, and, what’s more is that they are open-minded to change because they appreciate the potential benefits of implementing change. They look at change through a lens of optimism, believing that the anticipated outcomes of change will be of benefit to them, their customers, and their organizations.
Top performers also understand that change simply for the sake of change rarely sticks. In order to enjoy lasting improvement, it’s critical to believe in it. Top performers trust that making the kind of adjustments that will allow for that change is worthwhile. In short, they feel the need for change, and they feel motivated to change.
The kind of motivation needed to embrace change often stems from an understanding of the benefits of change. For sales reps who are looking to become top-performing sales professionals, there are many benefits of following a proven process designed to accelerate the sales process and close more deals. Let’s look at just some of the benefits of following the Critical Selling framework:
- Stronger, longer-lasting relationships with new and existing customers
- Accelerated sales cycles with higher win rates
- Improved confidence when dealing with customers
- Higher levels of trust and credibility with customers
- Reduced objections and negative pushback from customers
Positive outcomes like these motivate top-performing sales professionals in organizations we’ve worked with (such as Alliant Credit Union and TIAA-CREF, for example) because they can see how embracing the kind of change that results in these benefits is worthwhile.
Here’s the thing: The things you’ve done along the way won’t keep you successful forever. It’s critical to continue to hone your craft, learn new skills, and pay attention to how the industries you sell to—and the sales profession itself—is evolving. Because the truth is that things are always changing: Buyers are changing. Products are changing. The sales profession is changing. You need to adapt to these changes—and to all the changes that will keep coming down the line. The people who stay great at sales are the ones who want to improve, are open to change, work on their skills, and practice, practice, practice.
Excerpt from “Critical Selling: How Top Performers Accelerate the Sales Process and Close More Deals” by Nick Kane and Justin Zappulla (Wiley). For more information, visit https://www.janek.com/critical-selling/
Nick Kane is a managing partner of Janek Performance Group and co-creator of the Critical Selling methodology. A thought leader and sales performance expert, he guides numerous organizations in improving their sales effectiveness.
Justin Zappulla is a managing partner of Janek Performance Group and co-creator of the Critical Selling methodology. In addition to successfully working with hundreds of brands to develop and implement strategic sales performance solutions, he has trained and coached more than 15,000 sales and sales management professionals worldwide.
