I spend much time developing strategies and training to improve your selling skills. From word tracks, modifications to your sales process, mental preparedness, attitude, body language education, and every aspect of the consumer’s buying behavior as well as the activities you could be doing at any moment throughout the day to improve your results.  

If you’ve read anything I’ve written, you know that I firmly believe that success in sales is not dependent on personality, extroversion, or traits assigned by God at birth.

I believe, teach, and demonstrate that sales is a trackable, repeatable process that can be measured and improved upon daily; at its very core, sales is belief in your product, belief in your company, and belief in yourself. These three easy steps to be better fall in the belief in yourself category; personal improvement. By doing them, anyone can do better in sales, improve their mental well-being, improve their station in life, and become increasingly valuable in the marketplace.  

Show Up Every Day

The simplicity of this is remarkable. Yes, be present both physically and mentally at your job every day.  

More profoundly, you should show up to do your job. If you spend your morning chatting with your co-workers about last night’s TV show, the ballgame over the weekend, or anything else that is not directly related to your success, then you’re not showing up every day.  

Do Your Best

In his book, The Four Agreements don, Miquel Ruiz advises that your best may vary in quality from day to day. Recognizing that that will happen and not allowing your variations in ability to dissuade you from trying. Recognize the possibility that your mental and physical abilities yesterday may have been more effective than they seem to be today. Don’t, however, spend the day lamenting about it. Do your best. In the context of sales, this may mean you’re a little off today. Your propensity for distraction may be more significant, your awareness may be a little off today, or you have a slightly more difficult time building rapport.  

Try, with all your ability, to see if there is a pattern related to how, when, or why your best is less today than you’re usually capable of.  

Did you get less or lower-quality sleep last night? Is there a reason? There are nights that I doze off for a few moments as I lie in bed but then wake up with an idea for an article or a sales epiphany that spins around in my head, keeping me from slowing my thoughts enough to fall back asleep. If this happens, I must get up and write down some of those thoughts.  Even a rough outline can let those swirling thoughts move from my head onto my computer and let me fall asleep. Yes, getting up and sitting in front of my laptop interrupts my sleep, but it’s less intrusive to proper rest than the hours I can spend ruining my sleep.  

Did you eat anything yesterday or last night that is different from those days that your best is better than today?  

For me, if I eat a high-sugar “breakfast” (I put the word in quotes because while you may call a donut and coffee on your way to work “breakfast,” it isn’t.)

A high-sugar breakfast with little nutrition dramatically affects my ability to function in the following hours. The same is true with a breakfast of unusually high protein. Through experiments, I’ve found that a breakfast of carbs, protein, and a glass of V8 is my best combination.  

Was there added stress yesterday or this morning that may affect your confidence today? A cluttered living space, an irrational argument with my spouse, and even wearing clothing that makes me uncomfortable can affect my ability to concentrate and keeps me from doing my best.

“Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other times it will not be as good.” Ruiz, Don Miguel; Mills, Janet. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) (pp. 76-77). Amber-Allen Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Continue To Learn

What skills or knowledge can you add to your mental repertoire today that you weren’t aware of yesterday? 

• Learn a new close. Learn more about the product or service that you sell. 
• Learn about body language. Learn about human behavior. Learn about the operations of the business you work in. Ask your coach (business, personal, or otherwise) to give you a new idea or help you understand something about yourself.  You may find practicing and rehearsing word tracks or sales methods you learned yesterday helpful today. 
• Read your local business journal or trade magazine to understand your market better.  
• Read the trade magazine of the people you primarily present to.  
  • If you sell plumbing supplies, you should have a subscription to Plumbers Magazine.  
  • A subscription to Automotive News is mandatory if you sell to car dealers.  
  • If you sell to the public at large, a portion of your daily agenda should be to read the local newspaper of your target audience.  
• Join Toastmasters to develop your speaking and presentation skills.

If you show up daily, do your best and continue learning and growing in your profession. It also helps you stand out to your management team and your prospects. These are simple, essential, and straightforward steps to improvement.  

Their power is in their simplicity.

Anyone, regardless of current skill level, can do them.

Start today; no, start right now.  

Remember, the customer is ready to buy. He needs you to help him believe. These three simple steps can help you believe in yourself.