Don’t even consider the idea of quitting. When you make a mistake, when you get set back by something or someone, you just find a way to keep moving forward. You regroup and find a better way, and you learn from your mistakes. However, what is better than learning from making mistakes, is learning from the mistakes of others.

Part of grinding it out is studying others and always being a student. If you want to make more sales, you need to study how to sell. If you want more money, you need to understand money so it doesn’t avoid you and leave you easily. If you want better relationships with people, studying human behavior and relationships would be beneficial. The greatest in any field are constant students, never too proud to learn something new, or learn a better or more efficient way to do something.

Don’t be afraid to put in the time, and do the hard work. Anything worth doing, anything that will bring great reward to you, will require hard work and probably some patience on your part. Often times we look at successful people and assume they were lucky, that their success was easy. We don’t know about all the hard work, the failures, the times they were told no or doubted themselves before they finally became successful. 

Often the super successful are regular people like you and me that just simply believed in what they were doing, they refused to quit,  and then they had their breakthrough. Remember that, and go be great because that's what you were designed to be!

For more motivational sales blogs visit www.NewtoSales.org! 

It blows my mind how many people I talk with that shop for a product somewhere, or purchase one, that when I ask them if they have received any follow up of any type after the visit or sale say no! Salespeople and Companies are not following up enough, and too often unfortunately not at all. A huge factor in having sales success is the variety and volume of your follow up.

Many people do not buy the first time they visit you, and no salesperson closes every single deal.

If you know a salesperson with a 100% closing ration, I guarantee it’s 100% because they didn’t count the ones they didn’t sell, and you tend to see this a lot in the car business! Most of the time you will not make the sale of the first contact, and you will need to follow up. I’m in agreement with many sales trainers, especially the Sales Master himself Grant Cardone, who believe it’s critical to follow up as quickly as when they are driving away.

Statistics show that the sooner you follow up, the more likely your customer is to buy from you and not someone else.Why is this you ask? Well, it is my opinion, and I base this on my experience selling the past 17 years, that people still like to buy from other people they like, and believe will take care of them during and after the sale. When you follow up with your customer it makes them feel as though you take them seriously, and it shows them you genuinely care about servicing their needs! The problem is that most salespeople don’t follow up at all, and some studies say the number on that statement is as high as 53% or slightly more than half of the salespeople.

So right out of the gate even if you just follow up once you are ahead of 53% of your competition. But making one call, or even worse sending one email that you can’t even be sure didn’t hit their SPAM folder first, is not going to be enough to really move the needle in your direction. So here’s what I suggest you do….

1- Alway’s make phone calls and follow up by phone.

If you don’t get your customer and you get a voicemail, always leave a message. If someone answers the phone do your best with them, make a great impression and again, always leave a message. I would continue to use the phone as follow up each day, keep leaving messages if there’s no answer letting your customer know you’ll check back another time, but be sure to leave your direct number, and leave the length of the messages in the optimal 8-14 seconds range! Eventually, you’ll catch your customer on one of these follow-up calls, but regardless you will want to do this next step as well…

2- Send a handwritten note to your customer thanking them for their time when you last saw them, and your phone number to contact you.

This is a GREAT tip from Cardone that I have integrated into my follow up strategy and one of the benefits of this is that it makes you feel great sending nice notes to people. I use this to follow up my sold customers all the time, I love sending notes telling my best customers I appreciate their business and that I was thinking of them hoping that all is well in their lives! So, along with your phone call to follow up, now they will receive this nice handwritten note, this will definitely make you stand out from the other sales reps they may have shopped with. Now that you have their attention, next you will…

3- Send a Video Selfie of yourself simply by using your Smartphone.

Send a selfie video on your phone that is really quick and to the point, keep it about 30-40 seconds long just letting your customer know that you were thinking about them and you wanted to reach out to them. Make sure that you put in a call to action that they contact you. Before you send the selfie video, upload it to your video editor (I use iMovie) on your phone, embed your direct phone number into the selfie video so your customer has it once again and see’s it while the video plays. This is a great, personalized, and highly effective follow-up method, they will watch and re-watch this video, be sure to USE IT!

If you don’t have your customers’ cell phone number but you have their email, then upload the video to YouTube, copy the link into an email and send that. If you’re new to sales and you want to establish yourself in your sales career right now, then you need to have a great follow up strategy for both your sold and unsold customers. Remember, your sold customers are your best resource because these are people who have already agreed to do business with you and likely will again if you take care of them, but the only way to do that is to follow up regularly. You will on average lose about 10-15% of your customers each year to things like moving locations, death, their needs change, etc. So be sure to follow up and keep as many as you can coming back to see you again and again.

On the other side of follow up, you are going to have to either follow up until the sale is complete with your unsold customers or hope that they will come back to you when they’re ready.Don’t hold your breath! Some of these “be-backs” can and will happen, but the majority of customers who leave aren’t coming back unless you follow up with them and make sure they return.

Wrapping it all up!

The choice is yours, but if it were me I would commit to my follow up right now and get serious with creative ways to do it, this will result in much more sales success for you in your career!

I was reading through some content I created on NewtoSales.org and this paragraph inspired me to write this post.

"Eventually while reading one day, the light bulb went off for me. My problem wasn’t that I couldn’t achieve my goals. My problem was that I was achieving my goals, and my goals were too small. I was living to my reality, not my potential. I was having success, at very average standards. Because of this, I would often lose interest in my goals getting side tracked easily, having to regain momentum over and over again. Thus, getting stuck at certain levels of my life far too long."

Related: Some Easy Steps You Can Take To Reach Big Goals

I mean c'mon, who doesn't make this mistake from time to time. Some of you may be like I was and you're doing this right now in your sales career, maybe your life as a whole. Small and average thinking is an epidemic with millions of people in today's world. We have more information and resources available to us today than ever before, yet as a society we suffer from average thinking, with people constantly selling themselves short. 

Many people fear failure. Even worse are those that fear success. That's right, you read that correctly. I believe that often times people fail to hit targets because they fear what will happen if they succeed. They fear the attention, personal responsibility, they fear not being able to live up to the hype. So instead of reaching their goals and realizing success for themselves, they become their own obstacle in life. 

As human beings we are the only creatures on planet earth that can in one instance create a thought that motivates us to take positive action, and then in the next instance create a thought that paralyzes us with fear. We fear rejection, judgement, and being seen as a failure. This is why so many people never try to do great things in life.

Are You Letting The Small Thinking Of Others Limit Your Success?

In my dealership for instance selling 20 cars in a month is a great accomplishment. I have been fortunate to do this many times, and even sell 30 or more in a single month. But I can tell you this right now about those months when I hit those high sales figures. My personal goals were not hit, and my personal targets were much higher than the final results.

I don't care if someone in my dealership thinks I am crazy because I set a goal to sell 40 cars in a month. I know my personal potential, how committed I am, and how hard I am willing to work for what I want. If I fail trying to sell 40 cars, I'm still going to sell more cars than someone trying to sell 15. The amount of energy and effort needed to sell 40 cars in a month will produce results greater than if I was trying to sell less. Besides, where your energy and focus go, results will show!

See I believe you need to set goals based on your potential, not what your sales manager needs for the month or thinks of your ability. Clearly as a sales rep for your dealership you need to adhere to your employers standards. However, what I am suggesting is that your personal standards be so great, that the standards your employer sets are easily accomplished each month.

Only you can truly know your potential! 

I don't care who you are, where you are, or what kind of training you have. If you decide to commit to your sales career, look for ways to get better every day, and begin working towards goals that are set based on your potential, you will be more successful! But it all starts with you.

The light bulb went off for me, I hope that it has for you as well. Don't set goals based on what someone else wants from you. Don't set goals based on your current reality. Set goals based on what you want to achieve in your sales career, and life. Set your goals based on your potential. I know for me since I started doing this I have sold more cars, made more money, I have happier customers, I've received more recognition, and I have much more career fulfillment. When I hit a target now, the reward is worth the effort.

To Our Success,

Scott

The reality is that until you close the deal, you haven't done a thing for your customer.

Your customer has come to you to solve a problem. Or, maybe they have a need that needs to be met. Some people that buy automobiles don't actually need to buy one at the point in time when they do sometimes. However, they have somehow been motivated to do so, therefore in their reality it's now a need and problem that needs solving.

Today I had a previous customer come in to see me. He had leased a Honda CR-V from me two and a half years ago and was now motivated to make a change. He was aware of our current lease specials, and of course he wanted to keep a "similar" payment to what he currently had which was $291.

He was still 6 payments out from his lease end so I knew right away that a similar payment was possible, but he would be paying more. He made it very clear that at 82 years old, he is on a fixed budget however, and every penny counts. Well, it counts for all of us whether we are 82 or not, I guess.

The best option was the 2017 Nissan Rogue S, which we currently have on lease special for $249 a month with nothing down. I figured since I had sold him before and we are creatures of habit that I would look at what he did on his current lease. I found he did no money down of course. This Nissan lease was perfect, however I had the disposition fee to deal with since we would end up making his final payments opposed to taking his CR-V in trade.

After I gave him a million dollar walk around on the Rogue, he took a test drive and really liked it. It really helps when you sell an awesome product and people get excited about it. I had pulled up a Glacier White with Black interior, he ended up wanting the one he drove which was great. Now I just needed to see how the figures looked, and close him.

I hadn't seen this customer since he bought his CR-V from me over 2 years ago. Where I live in Maine, some people buy from you that are hundreds of miles away. They typically don't frequent the service department for oil changes and tire rotations. This gentleman was one that never came around until it was time for a new vehicle. So, I spent a good amount of time when he first arrived getting to know him again, really re-kindle the relationship that lead to a sale the first time.

I was able to do that, and really I made a friend all over again. This time we learned much more about each other. I didn't want to let him down now that it was time to make a decision. I knew that he was going to make a positive choice, because I was sold enough for both of us. I genuinely wanted to see him drive his new Rogue home to his wife of 54 years because I could tell that's what he wanted as well.

I presented the figures along these lines..

Well Skip, based on the vehicle you selected (pointing with my pen to the price of the Rogue), and what we feel is the best way for you to get out your lease early(pointing now to the $2000 in final payments and Dispo Fee), Your No Money Down, 3 year, 36,000 mile lease payment would be $331 a month (now pointing to the payment with my pen), All I need from you is your approval here....

This is where I looked at him and shut up of course. But he began to hem and haw about the money. He immediately saw that his payment was going to increase by $40. He mentioned to me again, as if I had forgotten from earlier, that he was on a fixed income.

I believe that Skip came to see me because he was ready for a new vehicle. I was completely convinced because of how excited and positive he was about everything.

Payments are too high no matter how much they are. I've never liked a payment, and I've never met anyone else who does either. But we all have them, right?

So I looked at him and I closed him like this...

I said: Skip, let me ask you this.. Do you like the Rogue and think it's right for you and your wife?

He replied: Yes. Then he explained that he thought it was more comfortable and quieter than the CR-V.

I said: OK, do you think that you can find an extra $10 a week to have this vehicle?

He replied: Yes, I guess I can handle that.

I Closed: You like the vehicle, you can afford it, you deserve this, let's do it! (pointing my pen now towards him and the agreement)

With a smile, he said let's do it, took my pen and signed.

Up until that point right there, I had done nothing for him. The moment I closed him, I did everything. He is now enjoying the benefits of his new vehicle, and I am 100% confident he had a great day today. Had I not closed him, or had I turned a money complaint into an objection, I may not have closed him.

Believe in your customers, they know what's best for themselves. But make sure you don't leave the close up to them. You need to be the one who closes. Don't be afraid of this, and don't fear pressuring someone. If it's in their best interest, pressure is sometimes a good thing.

So, be of true service to your customer, and be sure to Close the Deal. 

Have you given any thought to the cost of not closing a deal? Some of you may say yes, and others maybe no. I suspect you are aware there is a cost associated with bringing a customer through the door. Even if you have to go out and get your customers through prospecting, there's cost involved with that as well. Each opportunity comes with an initial investment of money, and potential time.

The average advertising cost per customer when I was in the furniture business was about $300. It is said to average about $250-$350 dollars in the automobile business with some dealers well higher than that. Now, this is just to attract the customer, get their attention, get them to come in, and give you the sales person an opportunity to earn their business. Advertising will bring people in but it won't guarantee a sale, only the close does that.

So as you can see, there is a cost to the company you work for when you fail to close a sale. If you work for yourself, you feel the cost of not closing a sale even more. Regardless, you should be aware of the cost of not closing a deal, and the consequences that follow. Take responsibility for the close and the money your company, or you, have invested in the customer already.

When You Fail To Close Your Customer, They Lose.

Also, remember that not only does your company lose, your customer loses when you don't close them. If your customer can truly benefit from buying your product or service, then the truth is they lose by not buying it, right? When you fail to close a deal your customer continues using what they have, or even worst they replace it with your competitor. Take this responsibility very seriously and never lose a deal that can be closed.

There is no one better to take care of the customer than you, right? If you truly care about your customer and want to solve their problem, you will also care enough about them to close them. You won't think about anything else. If you don't close a deal, it should be because of some ethical reason like it's the wrong product or service and you don't have an alternative. The money isn't right or the money can't be made right. The customer doesn't feel comfortable, etc. You should never fail to close someone because of a reactionary response like "we need to think about it" and you gave up on them and yourself.

When you fail to close, your confidence tends to drop a bit. Even the most confident and successful sales person will experience this to some degree even a little bit when they fail to close someone. Whenever you fail to close a deal, you take a bit of a confidence hit that you need to be able to quickly overcome. The best way to do this in my opinion is get another customer to help with your product or service, and close them on it! Self confidence is a sales persons best friend. It allows you to build awesome positive momentum, and it tends to activate your ultimate super power, your smile.

Now, I want to give you a real life example of what I am talking about. Let's say you sell automobiles and you sold 200 cars last year and made $100,000, completely realistic numbers. So that means each sale averaged $500. Not closing a deal would cost you $750 by the time you add the avg. of $250 to get your customer in the door I mentioned earlier and the $500 you avg in commission. Now Add the fact your customer loses out and the self confidence hit, you can see why closing is always the best option!

This is an important point to remember especially when you are new to sales. Many new salespeople are taught and learn how to sell and sell very well. However, in my experience very few salespeople know how to close so very few new salespeople get training on how to really close deals. Most salespeople have very few closes, and the one's they do use are old and worn out closes that have come to be expected by the customer. If you are new to selling, you need to think about having an arsenal of closes, a full library of them. You cannot rely on just a few closes, you need closes for every situation.

Learning How To Close Will Result In Greater Financial Success

Learning how to stay in the close and get your buyer to make a decision is critical to your sales success, and your ability to have financial success as well. You cannot build your business, build your customer base, if you do not close deals and have customers. You have to be willing to ask your customer multiple times to buy using an array of different closes. You may have to stack close on top of close. Can you do this? If you are new to sales you will likely answer no. But, there is no excuse to remain unprepared now that you know the importance and the cost of not closing deals.

You are of absolutely no service or good to your customer if you don't close them. You haven't bettered their situation or helped them at all if you fail to close them on your product or service. The more you are able to see it this way, the more urgency you will have with closing your customer. If you know it's in everyone's best interest to do the deal, then don't feel adverse to asking more than once for a commitment, make the close, and then truly you will be of service to your customer.

So remember, figure out and determine what it's costing you every time you fail to close a deal. I bet you will be sick thinking about missing deals after you do this. Then, you will want to learn how to close like a master. Use this information to fuel your passion for closing your customers, and refusing to accept anything less than yes. Get a win/win experience, become of service to your customer, improve your customers situation, and close the deal.

Something that has always helped me be most successful throughout my career is having a routine. When I am firing on all cylinders, I guarantee you I am starting out my day right and following my best morning routine. There are a number of things I make a part of my most successful routine. You'll see that all of the things I do are simple, easy to do by anyone. I truly set up success for my day with my morning routine. Remember, this is MY routine and not yours. I am not suggesting that this routine is one size fits all. Use it if you would like but that's not my goal here.  My goal is for you to see the value in creating a routine of your own, doing so, and having success because of it. So here you go!

Step #1 - Wake Up Early

I set my alarm to go off early so I can get a jump start on the day. I stay away from the snooze button. When I am committed fully to my routine I get right up out of bed. If you can beat the sun that's great. Whatever makes you feel good. But I don't know what your schedule is like or how much sleep you need. My advice though, get up earlier enough to allow for a morning before your day really gets started. You want to leave enough room in your morning so you can complete a few things that are small investments in your day, but can pay off big time to set up success.

Step #2 - Hydrate

Grab some water before you grab that morning coffee. Your brain needs the morning hydration, it's like fuel for it. Get yourself a nice tall glass of water. I try to drink 16-20 ounces. I feel refreshed and alert faster on the mornings when I do this. I also feel as though I eat less, and some studies have shown that it will help to decrease appetite in some people. The Japanese live by this and they know something about health and longevity with over 50,000 people 100 years old or older. Drink your water first!

Step #3 - Write Down Goals

I know you've heard this one a million time. So, are you doing it? What you think about in the first 15-20 minutes of your day can really play a significant role in how your day goes. The small little things we do have such an overall big impact on us. We need to be mindful of our thoughts. No better way to set your thinking for the day than to sit and write down your goals. Put some dreams in there, but really focus on the kind of life you want to live and the things you want to accomplish. Give them some thought each morning when you first wake up. You will begin to attract the things you focus on the most into your life. Make sure you focus on positive things to set up success for yourself!

Step #4 - Get In Some Reading

Now some of you may not like to read or read well. If that's the case I would still recommend to those of you who just don't care for it to do this. Read 10 pages of a book about something you're in to. If 10 pages is too big a goal to start then do 5 pages a day. Whatever it is, it will be more than you are probably doing right now. Most people aren't reading even one book a year. So start small and build off the momentum. I did this and it worked great. I found myself wanting to read more each day and being disappointed on the days when I didn't have time to read more than the 10 pages. If you don't read well or cannot concentrate long enough to read then get online and watch videos. Find videos on the subject you want to learn and watch them. The point here is either way, find 15-20 minutes in the morning to put some information in your head. Learn something positive, and new. Get inspired at the start of your day it will set up success for the day!

Step #5 - Exercise

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that when I start out my day with some exercise I set up success for my day. I feel healthier, which make me feel successful. Not everyone takes care of themselves. A lot of people make all kinds of excuses why they don't exercise but truth is, we ALL have time. Unless you're physically incapable of exercising you really should. Your confidence is higher when you exercise regularly. As sales person you need your confidence sky high for massive success. Exercising will also help you with energy, attitude, and overall good health. I would recommend 30 minutes, 5 days a week. You can do it!

Step #6 - Dress For Success

Another key factor to set up success for yourself, is to dress like a professional. Whatever industry you work in, make sure you are dressed professionally. This is key because you will get much more attention and respect if you are. Those that are not dressed as well will pay for it in lower grosses, a less impactful first impression, and lower self confidence. Along with dressing the part, I would also HIGHLY recommend you are well groomed and don't stink. You may find that even weird to mention, but I have see sales people on a hot summer day on the car lot. Just be mindful of your customer's experience at all time and the impression you want to make. Dress like a pro.

Step #7 - Use Commute To Set Up Success

Depending on what kind of commute to work you have will depend on what you listen to or possibly watch, but use the time commuting to work to get in some training or product knowledge. Make this time work for you. When you are driving in your car to work next, play a podcast on your smartphone and listen to something that will help you grow instead of talk radio. I would recommend keeping it positive, and more training material than hype. Use this time to your advantage don't let it be a disadvantage. Don't waste this time like most people, it's valuable and will really set up success in your life.

Step #8 - Show Up Early

My most successful routine has me showing up to work early, every day. This allows me to get a jump start on the day, and set up success for myself. I am in much more control of my day when I arrive early and have time to plan out my day and focus in on the tasks that need to be tackled that day. If you are already doing this that's awesome. If you're not, then it will have a very big impact on your production. I bet just doing this will increase your sales production tremendously as long as you are using the extra time wisely. Getting to work early and not using the extra time productively isn't the point. Use the time to produce, take more action!

Step #9 - Write Down Top 5 Tasks, Do Them First

You want to focus on the things that really matter like servicing your customers, and solving problems. So, each day when you get started write down your top 5 tasks that need to be done, starting with the hardest or most feared. Then, tackle the list right away. Cross them all off as quickly as you can so you can concentrate your efforts on your customers, or prospecting for customers. Don't let a difficult phone call you dread making ruin an entire day. Make the call and move on. Get it? Good! If you want to set up success in your life this will help you do that.

Step #10 - Stick To The Routine Come The Weekend

When you really get rolling you won't have any variation in my morning routine during the week. This will really help you set up success. It won't matter if it's the weekend. You'll feel so motivated by your goals that you won't want to deter from your routine and the progress you're making.  Your mind will be use to getting up, getting hydrated, getting filled up with good messages and content. On off days from your main job, you might spend some time on a side hustle creating new income, or a hobby you have always wanted to be successful at. Stick with your successful routine even on off days. For the super successful there are no off days.

In this post I want to cover the 10 Traits of Successful People. There are clearly traits that successful people have that contribute to their success in life personally and professionally. I would like to give you some insight into my top 10 traits. Take a look at your life to see if you have some or all of these traits yourself. As someone new to sales you can implement some or all of these and create a successful career. Here are my top 10 traits of successful people.

Successful Trait #1 – Obsession

Successful people are obsessed with what they do. They don’t do anything half way, it’s always all the way, all in. In order to be successful at massive levels you have to give all of yourself and be obsessed with your life. Whether it’s family, career, or community the successful are obsessed with success in all areas of their life. This allows them to go to another level that the average person just never gets to. Be Obsessed!

Successful Trait #2 – A Great Attitude 

You know that a good attitude is an important quality to have in order to be successful. But the most successful around you don’t have a good attitude, they have a Great Attitude. They have a great attitude because they know it’s the only way to approach every are of life. Successful people know that sometimes the difference between getting the deal, meeting the right person, having an impact on someone or anything else could just simply come down to attitude. Have a great attitude!

Successful Trait #3 – Setting Massive Goals

Successful people are goal setters for sure. However, the most successful among us don’t just set goals they set massive goals. They set goals so big they are slightly out of reach at the moment but these goals push them to reach their potential. They write their goals down every day and review them so they stay motivated and remember what they are working so hard for.

Successful Trait #4 – Taking Responsibility 

You will never see a massively successful person pass the buck. They take responsibility for everything in their lives. Nothing happens to them, they make things happen. When you can get yourself to a point where you take responsibility for all that happens to you, good and bad, you will have reached a new level of success.

Successful Trait #5 – Reading 

The average American reads about one book a year. The most successful people in this world read an average of a book a week. Readers are leaders, they are more successful, more knowledgeable, and more creative. Reading is without a doubt one of the fastest ways to become more successful. A book changed my life and my career in sales. Read more here on that!

Successful Trait #6 – Showing Up Early And Staying Late 

This is something that truly separates the massively successful from the average person. The top people in any company or organization are usually willing to be the first one through the door in the morning and often times the last one to leave. They are not clock watchers waiting for the day to end. They are dedicated, determined, and it shows in their work ethic!

Successful Trait #7  – Doing More Than You’re Paid To Do 

The most successful people around us don’t worry about whether or not they are doing more than the job description calls for. They are the one’s willing to do more than they are paid for so eventually they are paid more for what they do. They become more valuable to their organization this way as well.

Successful Trait #8 –  Training Regularly  

Anyone who has achieved massive amounts of success in their lives knows you never know it all. Also, they know that you have to keep the saw sharp. Successful people train, daily. This keeps their skills sharp and gives them opportunity to learn something new.

Successful Trait #9 – Hunger

Like the great motivational speaker Les Brown made famous, “You gotta be hungry!” It’s true, and all successful people are hungry. They are hungry for their opportunity. They have a fire in their belly that roars and fuels their daily efforts. Stay hungry!

Successful Trait #10 –  Giving Back

Finally, one of the best traits of a truly successful person is they give back. They give because they know giving is the best way to success in every area of life. Making a difference in lives of others through giving of your time, talents, services is not only personally rewarding, but it leads to more success in your life. Be a giver and you’ll have great success.

So, there are my 10 Traits of Successful People. What do you think of my list? Agree or disagree with any? Would you like to see something added to this list? I would love to hear your opinion in the comments below.