8 More Secrets of Master Salespeople (And 11 Mistakes to Unlearn)

We get it. You’ve been around the block a few times. You’re hot stuff. You’re the MVP of your sales team. But you can still do better.

Master salesperson and one of the biggest advocates for continual learning in sales Zig Ziglar once said, “Life is a classroom -- only those who are willing to be lifelong learners will move to the head of the class.”

In the spirit of lifelong training and forging ahead on your path to taking over the sales world (or whatever your goals are), we’ve compiled a list of some of the best-kept secrets of master sellers. And to complete the list, we collected some of the biggest “don’ts” in sales, to help you correct bad habits or keep from forming them in the first place.

8 Secrets of Master Salespeople

1) Listen and consult instead of selling.

People know when they're being sold to, and they don’t always like it. Fight your instincts and keep from turning prospects off by learning to consult, instead of sell them.

Do this by asking a lot of questions and getting to know the prospect’s business. Listen, learn, and then advise. When a prospect feels like you care and knows you’re knowledgeable about your industry, they’ll want to work with you.

2) Be disciplined with activity goals.

Track the number of cold calls you make, how many prospects you contact every day, and other daily activities to measure your success. Having goals in place will keep you motivated and also help you track your progress as you hone your sales pitch and process. 

3) Take your time when qualifying buyers.

High-quality prospects become long-term customers and a source of strong referrals -- two things a stellar salesperson simply can’t live without.

Don’t skip over the research process with prospects to make sure they’re a good fit. Also make sure you understand what the decision maker cares about as you move through the sales process. It’s not worth chasing a sale that will never come to fruition because you can’t get the head honcho interested in what you’re saying. 

4) Keep up on your competitors.

You should live and breathe your industry. Understanding your competitive landscape helps you impress prospects and fine-tune your sales process according to the latest trends.

Keep in mind that knowing your competitors is about more than memorizing a list of product feature. You should understand how your product and customer experience are different from other offerings, so you’re prepared to answer any question a prospect throws at you.

5) Seek out critical feedback.

It’s not always easy to hear critical feedback, but sales pros know how to take that information and use it to strengthen business relationships.

Directly address complaints from clients and demonstrate how you’ll improve, and then do it. Additionally, train yourself to accept criticism gracefully instead of getting defensive. Keep in mind that the customer is always right, even if he’s wrong. Learn to use that fire in your belly as fuel to improve, not implode.

Also, don’t just wait for feedback. Proactively ask for areas of improvement and critical insights when your offer is rejected so you know where to improve next time.

6) Act on facts, not feelings.

A prospect’s decision to buy or not might be influenced by their feelings, but you should train yourself to react to facts, not emotions. Maintain an emotional distance from clients to avoid conflict or feelings of rejection. When it comes down to it, it’s not personal -- it’s just business.

Maintain this attitude in your pipeline management as well. Don’t chase after unqualified prospects because you really like a brand or want to prove a point. Spend your time on prospects that make sense for your company.

7) Get eight hours of sleep a night.

Believe it or not, this is one of the most important secrets to becoming a superstar salesperson. Successful people know how important sleep is. Arianna Huffington, Google chairman Eric Schmidt, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos have all publicly spoken out about the importance of being well rested.

Sales is a high-energy job, and relying on caffeine is ineffective and unhealthy. In order to fight off brain fog, afternoon crashes, and a negative attitude, make six to eight hours of quality sleep a night one of your top priorities.

8) Have a backup plan when you pitch.

Always have two asks ready at the end of every pitch: A primary closing strategy and a fall back position, also known as a BATNA -- your best alternative to a negotiated agreement. Rarely is a sale an easy slam dunk, even when you think the stars have aligned for you and your prospect.

Don’t be caught off-guard by not fully understanding your best case and best alternative. 

Sales Mistakes to Unlearn 

When you’ve been in sales for a while, bad habits can easily become part of your daily routine. Sometimes lifelong learning involves a little unlearning.

Whether you need to cut these practices from your repertoire or stop them in their tracks before they become habits, it’s essential you know what mistakes to avoid. 

1) Don’t let the client take over calls.

Although you don’t want to monopolize the conversation, you do want to be in charge of where it goes. As you start to understand your own sales process, break down call agendas into talking points with time allotments so you know when it’s time to move on to the next item of business.

2) Don’t ignore the emotional connection.

Facts aren’t all you need to close the deal. Focus on building an emotional connection by finding ways to relate to the client in a genuine way.

3) Don’t let your ideas be forgettable.

Become a storyteller, not a salesman. Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Made to Stick, found that after a presentation, 63 percent of attendees remember stories, but only 5 percent remember statistics.

Tell a story with humor and vivid imagery to get your ideas to stick in the prospect’s mind.

4) Don’t misuse technology.

Technology shouldn’t be a crutch (like a wordy PowerPoint), but should support you while existing in the background.

Instead of relying on technology as a prop, use it as a tool to better serve your prospects. For example, Fileboard has a unique tool that helps you track a prospects engagement while you host digital presentations. If a participant clicks away from your content, you’ll know, so you can alter your pitch to re-engage the prospect. 

5) Don’t try to trap prospects with hard-sell hypotheticals.

Hard-selling prospects is the quickest way to destroy trust. Don’t ask leading questions or propose, “If X, would you buy now?” scenarios. Stay in the realm of reality to keep from turning off potential clients.

6) Don’t be a beggar.

Examine a prospect thoroughly before pitching your services, like a doctor would, instead of begging for the opportunity to show them what you can do. 

7) Don’t feel the need to fill silence.

Silence is a powerful tool when used correctly. Pause during presentations to give clients the chance to process information and take your time responding to “nos.” Clients may follow up with the solution you need to present to them.

8) Don’t talk around what you want.

When you nurture a prospect, it’s easy to feel like you’re walking on eggshells, but you can’t court them forever. When it’s time to close the deal, set a concrete objective and use clear language with the client, even if that results in a “no.”

9) Don’t close through a third party.

You need to close the person you’re talking to, not a person on behalf of someone else. Get a definitive answer from a decision maker, not a middleman.

10) Don’t be selfish at the expense of customer experience.

First and foremost, you should address your prospect's needs. If they would have to be shoehorned into successfully using your product and a competitor is simply a better fit, recommend them to build trust with that customer for the future.

11) Don’t blame others for your mistakes.

Clients can forgive an individual they have a relationship with better than a stranger or an entity. Maintain trust by not using your company as a scapegoat or blaming the process for mistakes. You’ll also build credibility if you hold yourself accountable and don’t push responsibility off to someone else. 

Turn these negative situations into positive ones by working with the client to solve the issue so it doesn’t happen again.

All of these tips and tricks aside, the best way to become a master salesperson is to dedicate to lifelong learning and loving the sales industry. Having a passion for what you do is one of the biggest secrets any master can share.

Editor's note: This post originally appeared on the Fileboard blog and is republished here with permission.