Oh, if I had a nickel for every time someone reached out to me, asking me for the secret to being a successful salesperson.
(I'd have a lot of nickels.)
The answer, though, usually disappoints them. Because the secret to success in sales is the secret to success in any skill—practice.
People come to me looking for a magic bullet that will help them close customers and hit their targets, and all I have to offer is a lame analogy:
Getting good at sales is like getting good at basketball. You have to practice. If you want to get good at dribbling, you dribble. If you want to hit your free throws, you shoot thousands of free throws.
You get so good at the mechanics that it becomes muscle memory. The minute the ball touches your hands, you know EXACTLY what to do with it, and you don't have to think "dribble dribble dribble." Your mind can be busy seeing the floor, and setting up other opportunities.
Sales is the same. Make your pitch hundreds of times. Practice your script every day. Do reps. Tweak and refine and get better. Turn sales into muscle memory, so you can focus on the other, more creative parts of the conversation.
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