National Sales Center

What Makes A Sales Rep A Sales Professional

There’s no such thing as a professional lawyer or a professional surgeon. Either you are a surgeon or you’re not a surgeon. So, what’s with this term “sales professional”? Isn’t everyone that earns a living in sales a professional? Sadly, that’s not the case. Here is my feelings and advice on what separates the professionals from the non-professionals as it relates to earning a living in sales.

I feel there are two factors that distinguish one from the other. Those factors are; skills and focus. Although “skills” is the primary factor, let’s cover focus first.

A Sales Professionals Focus

Sales professionals thrive on commissions. The happiest day of the month for them is the day the commission checks arrive. However, their focus is not on those commissions. They know that commissions will be generated if they focus on their customers and prospects.

Sales professionals know that the best way to fix their W2 is to fix the problems that plague their customers and prospects. Sales professionals obviously fix those problems by persuading their prospects to use their products or services. They know that the horse belongs before the cart.

The non-sales professional is focused on commissions and has little to no empathy for the prospects they should be serving. Their mission is to close the sales with little to no regard for the prospect’s situation. If you argue that this is a skills problem, I’d agree with you. Unfortunately for them, the non-sales professional never lasts long in professional sales or bounces from job to job.

The Skills Of A Sales Professional

The word “professional” is about being trained in a specific skill set. In sales, it’s about being proficient in sales skills and sales professionals never overlook this fact. They are consistently involved in the improvement of those skills in their quest to master the Sales Process.

The non-sales professional gives little attention to sales skills. Instead, they are “walking talking” product brochures. The only thing they want to master is their pitch book. Their only concern is the quality of their territory or the quality of the leads they receive. Their plan to succeed involves working harder instead of working smarter.

Conclusion

Twenty percent of the sales reps earn eighty percent of the commissions. I have no problem calling that twenty percent “sales professionals”. They know that having the best product, price or territory does not drive sales success. Sales success will always go to the rep with the best skills and sales strategies.

The point about acquiring skills eludes the non-sales professional. Many of them can’t even recite the steps in the sales process, no less master them. They think that overcoming objections is about winning a debate. All this could quickly change for them if they got serious about sales training. If they don’t, they’ll never join the ranks of the sales professionals.

I wish you great sales success.

Nick

Tags: Sales Training