The one thing you need to get ahead

I’ve always believed in the power of learning, no matter how accomplished you already are.

One of the people I’ve been learning a lot from recently, is a guy called Grant Cardone. You might have heard of him – he’s very American, very salesy, but he’s got some really excellent stuff to say.

In his book Sell or Be Sold, he makes a terrific point that hit me head-on…

The one thing you need to get ahead, is to sell.

With that in mind, here’s 7 sales lessons that’ve stood out so far:

You need to be sold 100% on your product/service.

Only to the degree that you’re sold, can you sell. The more you love what you’re selling, the more enthusiastic you’ll be, and the easier the sale will be as a result. Then, go find people who ‘agree with you’.

Focus on ‘people’ not on selling

Sales is all about helping people, which means that your focus needs to be on how your product or service can solve your prospect’s problem, as opposed to focusing purely on the product itself.

Agree with your customer

No one likes it when people disagree with them, especially when it sounds like they’re not being listened to.  Listen to what your customer has to say and agree with the points they make – it’ll make them more receptive to you when you start to explain your solution.

If you want something, do something

Too many people are passive and expect success just to come along.  Their actions don’t map to their ambitions and success simply doesn’t happen.  If you want something, you need to do something - in a big way!

Your network is your net worth.

Cardone calls this your ‘powerbase.  Build a network of people – friends, family and acquaintances.  Not all of these people will buy from you, but they will know people who will, and the bigger and better your network, the more people you’ll have to sell to.

Prove your product, visually

Rather than just saying your product is great, SHOW your prospect visually how it is great.  People believe what their eyes show them, more than just what their ears pick up.

Be positive

The world can be a profoundly negative place, especially if you happen to tune into Prime Minister’s Question Time!  Avoid negativity – certainly where it resides in the media - focus on positivity, and you’ll have far more chance of achieving your goals.

Hope some of these points resonate with you too - please do let me know if applying any of them bring you success!