There is plenty of literature out there that describes how to be a great sales person, but I think a large part of becoming a great sales person is what you are made of. I was having a discussion with colleagues over a beer and we attempted to recount the key characteristics that made up the best salespeople we had worked with and for. Surprisingly the list was pretty short, and seemed to focus on a few key areas.

1. Invested- The best salespeople that I have worked with are more invested in their profession than those around them. By invested I mean that they are constantly investing in technology, customer relationships, people, and themselves in an attempt to get the slim margin's they need to win their "unfair" share of the deals they engage in.

2. Consistent:  One of my firm belief's is that sales is a marathon not a sprint, and consistency trumps skill every day and twice on Sunday. Poor selling done consistently will be more effective than great selling done sporadically. One of the sales people that I work with and have tremendous respect for characterized it best when he said "In the quest to be a superstar I was inconsistent and failed. In focusing on consistency, I achieved the sales super stardom I was seeking."

3. Patient:  A hunter will sit in the trees for days waiting for a clear shot. Less than 5% of sales are made on the first call, over 80% are made after the eighth call. The best sales people I have worked with understood that there will be always a need, the key is to be there and be the person that gets the call when the time is right.

4. Farseeing:  The best salespeople understand that the sale is the start of a longer term relationship. They spend 1/3 of their time marketing to prospects. But they spend most of their time, energy and money marketing to people who have already bought.

5. Customer Fanatics:  They seek to set realistic customer expectations and then go beyond them EVERY TIME! They are focused on the customer and ensuring that the customer sits at the center of their universe.

The interesting thing about this list is that these characteristics naturally align to the karmic selling principles we explore in this blog. The key is to have a sales process that enforces these competencies into your daily activities. In the practical application of these competencies sales stardom is found.

Moment of Zen

"Comfort is no test of truth; on the contrary, truth is often far from being “comfortable.”-Swami Vivekananda

 P.S. If you are interested in leveraging the karmic philosophy to accelerate your career or business please check out my website http://www.karmiccoach.com , and get Karma working for you!