Want To Be A Sales Legend?

CATEGORY: Mindset

Do you want to be a sales legend?

I know I do. Since the beginning I’ve wanted to make more money than everyone else in the industry and break all the records.

I wasn’t shy about telling people in the office either.

When I started out my sales career I had so much confidence in my future success that I actually trash talked the top sales reps in the office and told them how much better I would be than them in the future. True story. Yeah, I know, pretty arrogant. It came back to bite me later on…

I quickly learned that it was a mistake, or karma getting back at me, because I spent the next 3 months writing no business and eating humble pie. Once my confidence was lessened I had to learn how the sales game worked, and how to be coachable. That’s when I began to realize that I could learn from the people who were successful before me, if I dropped my know-it-all attitude.

If you research into the habits of the worlds most successful people you’ll find a lot of similarities. These habits can apply to all aspects of life, not just sales. However, there are different levels of success. I never expected to find the formula for legendary success while vacationing in Florence, Italy.

The legend I speak of is Michelangelo. He was and is considered the greatest artist of all time. When you consider the title “of all time,” that’s when you become something of legend. Especially since he was alive over 500 years ago and people today still say his skill and talents will never be matched. Just let that sit with you for a moment.

I believe we can reach this same level of legendary status in sales. The more I study his habits and his works of art, I realize there are 3 skill sets that any salesperson could start doing today and then begin a career overflowing with success.

Sales Habit #1: Have BIG CRAZY Goals For Your Career & Life

At 22 years of age Michelangelo spent 2 years of his life and created the Pieta that is one of the main pieces of art showcased inside of St. Peters in the Vatican City and considered on of the greatest pieces of work in history.

At 26 years of age Michelangelo spent nearly 3 years of his life and created another legendary piece of work for the Medici family called David.

Those were just a few of his statues. But then he was asked to paint! He did pretty well there too, I guess.

He created, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the last judgement and even the creation of Adam. Just to name a few.

Then St. Peters in the Vatican needed to be built. So guess who they asked to do it? The obvious choice right? Choose the person who can carve statues out of marble and paint. Now Michelangelo became the architect of St. Peters.

How are your goals set up? Do they scare you at all? Are they so big and crazy that you believe they could never come to pass?

Everything starts with goal setting. Think about what goals you have for yourself in your sales career, and in your life. Then think bigger. If you want to achieve the impossible, you need to first invest in the time it takes to get your mind crystal clear around what you would love in your life.

If you think your dreams are too crazy, think about Michelangelo and just what is possible to accomplish in one’s life.

Sales Habit #2: Work On Your Confidence In Your Skills

Education, preparation and practice help build confidence.

You started your sales career believing that your company would educate you in how to sell and be successful in your job. They gave you a sales pitch, objection handling scripts, sales strategy and direction to prepare you to be successful prospecting. They then helped you practice by providing role plays, and simulations so you could be put into scenarios that could improve upon your sales skill sets prior to going out into the field. That last part is where everything you’ve learned gets solidified in the application of actually doing it.

That’s when it’s on you. You must continue the application of what you’ve learned. Action builds confidence.

The best sales professionals never stop learning. They never stop preparing. They never stop practicing. They put what they learn into action right away and with confidence.

They don’t wait for the sales manager or vice president to encourage them to continue learning or provide extra training. Not if they want to become the best out there.

Michelangelo spent years in education and in mentorship for painting and sculpting. He constantly challenged himself and worked on his craft.

What are you doing to improve your skill sets beyond the rest of your peers? How are you investing in yourself? Remember, there’s education, followed by preparation and then practice (application). If you don’t reach the application point, you’ll lose everything else.

Sales Habit #3: Have The Determination Like Your Life Depends Upon It

When Michelangelo beat out the great Leonardo da Vinci to commission the statue, “David,” they say he then worked on the statue every single day for almost 3 years. It was his responsibility and people were counting on him. The result was a historic, work of art, that was 17 feet high and 7 feet wide. He worked on this one thing. Every. Single. Day. 1095 days straight. You can still see the results of his determination, focus and dedication 500 years later. What makes someone work with that level of determination? That’s what separations successful people from legendary ones. You care about your success in sales. Do you care about it that much? Do you care about it to the point that you are determined to work on your various skills sets for each part of the sales cycle? Are you committed to working on it every single day like the rest of your life depends upon it? Just imagine the kind of success you could reach if you applied that level of commitment. You can absolutely achieve it.

Summary of How To Be A Sales Legend

You can search all around for the habits of successful people but they aren’t all legends. The legends are the ones who leave something behind that inspires future generations. They are ones who drive us all to reach new levels that have never been achieved before. If we follow in the footsteps of Michelangelo, we learn that these are the 3 things needed to become legendary:

Have Crazy Big Goals
Build Your Confidence In Your Skills
Have The Determination Like Your Life Depends Upon It

Create goals for your sales career and your life that are would even amaze you if you reached them. I believe it can happen. Never stop learning, preparing and, most importantly, practicing your sales skills. That will build your confidence. I know you can do it. Work on your sales career with passion, focus and determination to the point that your end result is exceptional. You will inspire all of those around you. We’ve seen greatness. It’s been done before. Now it’s time to make your own masterpiece.

Learn more techniques on how to get legendary results inside of our Modern Sales Academy.