"When you master the art of selling, you master the art of living."

Why do people buy from you? Better yet, Why do you buy? And why don't you buy?

What's the number one complaint about salespeople? Better yet, for you as a professional salesperson, what's your #1 complaint?

Things like dishonest, poor listening skills, and only concerned about closing the deal, rather than helping provide a solution are common answers. Now, let's reverse it and determine what makes a great salesperson--from the buyer's perspective?

Well, we could pretty much say the opposite: Honest, good listening skills, and trying to help buyers.

If we look for a moment at the latter, what makes a great salesperson comes down to one true philosophy: Heart.

Top salespeople have heart. They are true to themselves and their clients. They recognize that the reason people buy is the reason they buy:

It makes us all feel good.

Why do you like sales? What is it about closing that big deal that causes your heart to race, the blood to pump, and you to feel that you are alive in ways you never knew possible?

Do you think the excitement comes from getting that big commission check, that special plaque that recognizes you as the top performer at your company, or puts you in the elite category of the best of the best?

It doesn't. If you are true to yourself, do you know where the excitement comes from?

It comes from knowing you helped someone feel better by offering them a service or product that truly provided them a solution. But it wasn't even about a solution. Was it? No, it was about making someone feel better about themselves to lead a more fulfilled life. See, that's what sales is really about, when you get down to it.

Quick question for you:

Which makes you feel better: Getting a top commission check when a client feels you took advantage of them, or getting a top "testimonial" and a smaller commission check? And which do you think results in more revenue in the long run? Which will produce more referrals?

If you answered the latter, then you honestly need to take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself what this all means in the bigger picture.

When you sell from the heart, success follows.

Because when you are true to yourself, when you won't compromise your principals, your integrity or who you are, customers know that.

It is when you sell from your heart that our favorite saying, "Customers do not care how much you know until they know how much you care," become a reality.

At the end of the day, you need to look yourself in the mirror and ask not how many cold calls did you make, how many appointments did you run or how many deals did you close, but did you give it your all? Were you true to yourself? If you were, then no matter what the scoreboard says, in the end, you were a winner.

And customers will see this. You don't have to be Mr. Analytical to know when people are being sincere.

Do you know the hardest part about telling a lie? It's remembering the lie. But telling lies isn't always about telling others. It's about telling yourself, too.

If you lie to yourself, which means forgetting why you love sales-- why when you were asked many moons ago why you got into sales and you answered "I'm a people person," you will lie to your customers. You may not fib, but you won't be true to yourself. And that's the worse kind of lie.

I know, because I've been there, more recently than you may think. The lack of results spoke for themselves. But that's okay. To err is human.

"The measure of a man is not how often he falls or how far he falls, but how quickly he gets up."

If you find yourself in a slump, ask yourself if you have stopped selling from your heart. I'll be you if you are honest, the answer will be a firm, "Yes."

ACTION EXERCISE:

1. Make a list of those qualities that make you a great human being--not a great salesperson, but a great human being

2. Review your last 5 sales and determine which of these qualities did you exemplify in these sales

4. Now review the last 5 sales you did not make and see which of these qualities you did not exemplify.

The results will speak for themselves.

John Cougar Mellencamp once said, "A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."
Sell from your heart--and success will always follow.

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	TBN Testimonial
"I really want to compliment you for the energy you have about you. 'Mastering the art of sales is mastering the art of life.' I believe you are one of the few I've met that really embody that phrase. 'People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.' You embody this as well. You project a great deal of caring for your clients. I find that that in the self-improvement industry, there is a great deal of 'sloganeering' and jingoistic junk. I find the reigning slogans are: 'Take my advice. I'm not using it.' and 'Will that be Visa or MasterCard?' You strike me as different from that. I wish I had a sales manager or someone in my daily life that projects your enthusiasm and optimism. At any rate, I would like to sincerely thank you for your services. I will recommend TBN to others. One thing I have learned in my 50 years is that we did not meet by accident. Perhaps our paths will meet again. I look forward joyfully to that 'Coincidence.'- Jay Krasne, realtor, Re/Max (www.jaykrasne.com)

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