In modern general usage, the word “habit” has almost taken on a negative connotation. More than anything else, you always hear the word used in phrases like “bad habit,” “break a habit” and “habit-forming.”

However, at the other end of the scale, it is possible to have good habits that will have a positive impact on your life and career. Top sales professionals have understood this for years and are among the best when it comes to creating effective habits that drive success.

For the most part, these behaviors are actually quite easy to incorporate into your daily sales routine but they do require discipline and repetition to make them habits.

Since these habits are focused on what you already do well – and according to most reputable sales coaches – should be doing anyway, building on them will help you work towards creating a strong sales plan that will drive sales and boost your qualified leads.

A great place to start is by working on your positivity which in turn engenders confidence. Positivity and confidence are essential when it comes to creating a great impression when communicating with a prospect for the first time even if that meeting takes place online.

This positivity comes from being prepared, knowing your buyer and being sure about yourself and the products or services you are promoting. Of course, getting in a good habit of doing the necessary amount of prep work is essential. Here is a fuller list of positive habits for you to cultivate to scale new heights in your sales career:

Planning The old saying “failure to plan is planning to fail” is an old saying for a reason. It’s true. Before every call, before every meeting, you must get in the habit of not just researching your prospect but planning out how you want the encounter to go.

This includes everything from the time and place to your salutation and your choice of clothing. Research your prospect and develop a specific sales approach you think will work. Then, as every top sales rep does, do it all again to create your Plan B. It takes time. It takes effort. But, by leaving nothing to chance, your confidence will be sky high and your chances of making the sale will be exponentially improved.

Building personal relationships Networking and staying in regular contact with connections by email, over the phone or through social media sites such as LinkedIn is a very positive habit to develop. Again, it takes time but not only does this build connections for qualified leads but it also allows you to become a trusted source of information.

Scheduling Another very positive habit to develop is the ability to structure and schedule your day. Schedule a time to make cold calls and follow-up calls in addition to time for networking, updating records and going over notes from meetings. While new CRM (Customer Relationship Management) programs makes this easier, it still must be completed on a daily basis and it is something that industry-leading sales trainers focus on a lot when trying to help customer reach their full potential.

Making healthy lifestyle choices You don’t want to show up for a meeting looking or sounding like you’ve been hung in a bag and beaten with a stick all night. Get at least eight hours of sleep, eat healthy and get some regular exercise. Energy and positivity go hand-in-hand so embracing a health habit will help your career (and maybe even help you live longer!).

By feeling healthy and creating a better work-life balance, you will be more motivated, more creative and better prepared for the demanding job of being a successful sales professional.

Summary While positive and healthy habits may be harder to develop than bad ones, they are worth the effort and they’ll take you places you’ve never been before both with your career and in your personal life.

Are you one of those sales professionals who can’t figure out why so many of your otherwise fantastic calls with prospects doesn’t convert into sales? You’re not alone. It happens to everyone at some point or another, although it does seem to happen to some more often than others. By learning and hyper-focusing on how to ace a sales call, your one step closer to closing your next deal.

The good news is it’s relatively easy to rid yourself of this problem. You just need to change your perspective. As in life, sales is largely about perspective. If you have the determination to overcome the things that are holding you back – such as fear of failure – then you’ll be halfway to achieving your dreams.

Below, we have identified four questions to ask yourself before making your sales calls. Keep asking yourself these questions whenever you feel frustrated and/or overwhelmed. By answering these four questions, you begin to learn how to ace a sales call!

Do you believe that you can be successful?

Henry Ford once said that those who believe they can achieve something will do so, and those who believe they can’t, will not. Sounds obvious but if you believe in what you are talking about, then you are far more likely to be convincing when telling others about it. What you believe will reveal itself in the way you talk about something and prospects pick up on that. You could literally be the greatest phone friend your prospect has ever had but if your lack of belief in your product or service is sensed, you will not make that sale.

According to industry-leading sales trainer Doug Dvorak, this is one of the biggest reasons salespeople face so much failure during their careers.

“Either they’ve lost their belief in the product or service they’re selling or they never had it in the first place,” Dvorak said. “You have to find a way to be invested in the products or services that you are trying to sell to the point that you become confident and enthusiastic when you talk about it. Fail to do so and eventually, all of those lost sales will affect your belief in your ability to sell and that’s a hard place to come back from.”

Do you have the confidence to close the sales call?

It is essential to have confidence when you are making a sales call. You need to be confident about the pricing, the product, the service, and closing. If you are confident that a product will suit a prospect or a customer, it means that you can see the need that the customer has for that product. Be assured that your product or service is what your customer needs and you’ll have an easier time convincing them of it, too.

Can you be creative?

You may not know it, but your customers can often sense exactly what you think about a product by the things you don’t say. You need to be creative enough to let the customer know that they will be in good hands by placing their trust in your company’s hands. You should be confident about the pricing of the product as well. Sales training programs are helpful in building confidence and motivation in sales reps.

Do you focus on the customer?

As touched on above, the customer will be able to gauge your level of confidence from your enthusiasm. It’s easy to be enthusiastic. Simply think about past successes you have had within the company. Think of great sales that you made and anything else that will make your customer take notice of how much value you place on the product. The key is to get yourself in the right frame of mind before the call so you can confidently and enthusiastically listen to the customer to help them find the solution they are looking for.

The last thing you should do as a salesperson is pitch your own line. Explore the customer’s needs and when you are convinced your product or service will help them, start advising them on all the ways it’ll make their life easier or better. Follow these simple practices, and you will never have to ask how to ace a sales call again.

When sales coaching legend Zig Ziglar said: “You can get everything you want in life if you just help other people get what they want,” he was speaking to the heart of the salesperson.

Sales is about communication, persuasion and the building of interpersonal connection – the ultimate goal of which is to help someone figure out what they want. This curated list of the best sales books out there is here to help you get what you want – becoming the best salesperson you can be:

1) How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Originally published a whopping 84 years ago, what makes Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People so timeless? Simply that Carnegie deals with the fundamentals of human relationships, and they aren’t changing any time soon. Carnegie’s book is the bible of interpersonal skills, which will set you up for building the relationships that are key to sales and sales coaching.

2) Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer

Certified sales coach Jeffrey Gitomer’s punchy little book is all about the simple premise that understanding why people buy is the most important aspect in sales. Brimming with wisdom squeezed into bite-size quotes, this book is a quick, easy and informative read.

3) The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

Holme’s sales training techniques are world renowned. In Ultimate Sales Machine he steadfastly refuses to jump on the bandwagon of trendy sales techniques and instead offers timeless advice to salespeople everywhere. Holmes is a practically minded certified sales trainer and his advice to master a few essential skills will turn you into a sales machine!

4) Sell or Be Sold by Grant Cardone

Cardone expands the philosophy of sales into everyday life with his principle of sell or be sold. A must-read for any certified sales coach, Cardone will guide you to the understanding that every relationship in life can be viewed as an ideological battle to sell your ideas, or have ideas sold to you. Understood in this way, sales takes on an entirely new dimension!

5) Never Be Closing by Tim Hurson And Tim Dunne

The two Tims are keen to stress that better sales training should provide a long-term framework for success. To that end Never Be Closing is a practical and well-structured guide to selling strategy, astutely placing interpersonal communication at the heart of good sales.

6) The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson

Dixon and Adamson’s radical book rejects the classical model of sales as relationship-building, arguing persuasively that as the sales landscape has become increasingly complex, sales tend to be business to business rather than interpersonal. Their model, replicated by certified sales trainers everywhere, is based on a new archetype salesperson, the Challenger. The Challenger’s assertive qualities allow them to dominate the new sales landscape.

7) To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink

Pink’s social science pedigree grounds his book in a knowledgeable and scientific context. Better known for his New York Times bestseller Drive, about the motivations behind human action, Pink is a master in the analysis of human nature and his application of this understanding to sales is well structured, accessible and ultimately highly relevant, even featuring six successors to the elevator pitch!

8) How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins

Any certified sales trainer recognises the value of Hopkins’s best-selling sales manifesto. Treating sales as an art, Hopkins introduces the reader to a multitude of subtle sales techniques focussing on both face-to-face and telephone sales and tips for the first meeting.

9) Solution Selling by Michael T. Bosworth

Bosworth’s book, subtitled “Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets” is a must-read for anyone interested in sales with an eye to selling tricky or intangible products and services. Bosworth’s deep insights into buyer psychology will be valuable for any salesperson, but especially those in difficult markets.

10) Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar

A classic in the sales training world, Ziglar packs his book with humour and engaging anecdotal tales. It’s an encyclopaedic book of sales techniques and features closing tips for every possible scenario. Ziglar was an archetypal salesman whose focus on communication and persuasion has something to offer any certified sales trainer out there.

This list of the best sales books money can buy features the classics of sales, sales coaching and sales training, as well as a few new ideas. You can find a steep learning curve when you set out on a sales journey, but once you’ve delved into the ideas contained in these books, you’ll be the hero of the sales team in no time.

About the Author: Beatrix Potter is a regular writer at Custom Essay and OXEssays. She writes about all things sales and loves the thrill of closing a deal. She also is a manager at the Custom Paper Writing Service website.

For over 100 years, the term “sales funnel” has been used to describe the traditional process of making a sale. In the beginning, you attract a wide base of prospects and as you continue the process, you narrow all the way down to individual customers.

The reason the sales funnel model has stood the test of time is its ability to be applied to any seller, business model, or product base. Without a sales funnel, the sales process can become unnecessarily complex leading to confused customers and lost sales. With a sales funnel, you’ve got a roadmap to success.

How Does The Theory and Practice of Sales Funnels Work?

The central idea is so simple you’re probably already fulfilling the basic functions without being aware of them. At its core, the sales funnel is based on four progressive stages:

• Awareness

This is the moment a potential customer becomes aware of your product or service. This is where your marketing kicks in i.e. getting your message out there.

• Interest

Stage 2 begins as soon as a customer expresses an active interest in your product having already been made aware of it in Stage 1. An example of this from the good old days would have been a customer walking into your brick and mortar store.

• Desire

Now the customer is aware of your product or service and has shown interest in it, you need to help them understand why they really want it. Staying with the example from Stage 2, this is where you or your top salesperson goes over all the unique features and benefits of the product.

• Action

The final stage. You take the customer to whatever version of a checkout you’re using, and they purchase the product or service.

Of course, this is an oversimplified version of a sales funnel as there are several other stages that come into play depending on if you have a complicated product or service. Often, there is another stage called Evaluation where a customer likes your product but wants to check out the competition before they buy from you.

Hiring the right sales coach to come in and help you establish a targeted sales funnel for your business can be hugely beneficial as they will have the advantage of seeing your product or service as a consumer.

The Sales Funnel in Practice

Here are a few elements that trigger the sales funnel and act as a guide to the consumer on their journey to making a purchase.

• A sales page is an essential part of any sales funnel. Sophie Turnbull, a sales manager at Writinity and LastMinuteWriting, said: “A sales page is the link between Awareness, Interest, and Desire all wrapped into one. It’s marketing and its function, and it’s indispensable.” This should be one of the first pages a potential customer visits on your website. The sales page should lead quickly and easily to the order form, presenting the customer with an easy hop from Desire to Action. Finally, a confirmation page is important to leave the customer with a warm feeling of attention and care.
• But, what about Evaluation? That is the stage between Interest and Desire that is where you could lose your customer. Luckily, there are elements you can include in your sales funnel that can prevent them from jumping ship. Felix Lightfoot, a business writer at Draft Beyond and Researchpapersuk, suggests: “Reminders are the perfect non-intrusive way to keep customers on track to a sale. They can happen at the point of cart abandonment — a great opportunity to offer discounts and sales incentives — or they can be sent to a customer’s email later, perhaps when they’re in an easier spending mood.”

Conclusion: This is only a short introduction to the sales funnel and how a certified sales coach can help you establish and maintain your own successful process. The bottom line is your sales process should flow easily from stage to stage so any customer who expresses an interest in your product or service does not run into any “sale killing” impediments.

Try being an “undercover customer” or get a friend or a colleague to do it for you. Put yourself in a customer’s shoes and see how easily you’re able to be moved through the sales funnel by your store, website, or sales staff. If you find the purchasing process overly complicated or frustrating, it might just be time to call in an expert sales trainer to help you streamline your process.

About the Author: Ashley Halsey is a professional writer at Luckyassignments.com and Gumessays.com. Alongside her writing career, she has also been involved in business projects across the country. She enjoys traveling, reading, and mixed martial arts.