I evaluated a salesperson who was highly regarded by his company.  The evaluation indicated that he had little in the way of hunting or closing ability, possessed all of the biggest selling weaknesses and had conditional commitment.  Why was he so highly regarded?

His work ethic is good, he brings in a lot of business and he’s persistent.  He’s an example of a huge number of salespeople who do OK because they do the work, build good, long-term relationships and are there when there’s business being awarded.  But that is not selling, it’s order taking.  How much better could all of these people be if they developed their selling ability?  It’s one thing to be persistent and write orders. It’s quite another to break down barriers, take business away from competitors, sell despite having higher prices, unseat incumbent vendors and shorten sell cycles.

My research shows that overcoming just the weaknesses that prevent salespeople from executing can yield a 200% increase in sales.  My research also indicates that developing the skills to stand-out, following an effective selling process and some closing urgency will provide a huge increase in sales too.

How do you improve?  Make a decision to get better, get yourself evaluated, and start working your plan.  Baseline Selling provides both the process and the skills as well as the steps to overcoming what ails you.