There are many elements that go into achieving success in a competitive sales environment. I have found that passion is one of the most critical. A lack of enthusiasm for yourself, your job, and the people you serve is a recipe for failure.
Three Areas of Focus
A successful salesperson needs to demonstrate passion in three particular areas.
- For yourself: To be successful you must be passionate about finding where your intellect and behavioral style meet. Intellectually I am gifted in mathematics. My behavioral style leans toward me being a dominant and influential personality. Academically, I earned a Mechanical Engineering degree in keeping with my intellect. However, sitting quietly behind a desk doing engineering work did not match my more outgoing behavioral tendencies. Recognizing this, I pursued a career in technical sales, a position that requires both math and selling skills. I found great success.
- For your job: You must demonstrate a passion for the work you perform. I consult with many people struggling to succeed because their lives do not align with their jobs. The corporate culture they are part of might not be a good fit, or they are in the wrong job. In his book “Good to Great” , Jim Collins expresses this concept in a clever way. He says to succeed in life “you need to be on the right bus and in the right seat.”
- For people: If your passion for who you are and for your work coalesces, you’ll have passion for the people you serve. Isn’t that what life is really all about? My desire to work with people led me to pursue more education in writing, public speaking, and even a master’s degree in Ministry. Now in my 70s and financially independent, my passion for people keeps me engaged in consulting work.
Display your Enthusiasm
Be passionate about your career. Find a position that suits your intellectual and behavioral style. Put your energy into the right job for you and into serving the people you work for and with. Success will follow suit.
Get tips and tricks like the above in The Art of Sales books. Or subscribe to the FREE monthly articles here.