Need a Sales Boost? Look Inward

I asked myself why some salespeople were more successful than others when I started selling many years ago. My first breakthrough was the discovery of the 80/20 rule, which says 20% of the salespeople make 80% of the money. That means the average income of the people in the top 20% is 16 times the average income of the people in the bottom 80%.

When I first heard that statistic, I was both inspired and discouraged. I just did not think being in the top 20% could be possible for me. But then I learned another fact: Every person in the top 20% started in the bottom 20%. Everyone at the front of the line started at the back.

The 80/20 rule also applies to hard work in sales, but in a different way. It says 80% of success is mental and emotional, not technical and physical. The most important determinant of sales success in any field, economy and market, with any product or service, is self-confidence. The higher your level of self-confidence, the bigger the goals you will set for yourself, the faster you will bounce back from rejection and disappointment and the more you will achieve—in a shorter period of time.

Psychologists say everything you do in life affects your self-esteem in some way—it either builds your self-esteem or protects it from being diminished by other people or circumstances. Your self-esteem is the “reactor core” of your personality that determines your levels of optimism, self-respect and personal pride. Everything you do to build your self-esteem also builds your self-confidence—and that translates into better selling.

To help a struggling salesperson in the bottom 80% gain self-confidence, they first need to learn to like themselves. The more you like yourself, the more confidence you have. The more confidence you have, the more you like other people, including your customers. The more you like your customers, the more they like you right back and are willing to buy from you—and recommend you to their friends.

When you truly view yourself as a valuable and important person, you become more positive and completely unafraid to call on customers and ask them to buy from you.

Brian Tracy is an internationally recognized sales and personal development trainer. He has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and is the author of “Unlimited Sales Success.”