What Drives Top Sales Professionals?

Respect and recognition as one of the best by their peers was cited by 84% of all top sales performers as factors that are most important to them in a recent study. Top performers were defined as anyone who achieved more than 125% of their sales goal and of the 1,000 sales professionals surveyed, only 15% met top performer criterion. 42% of the top performers believe their sales success is attributed to their likeability and ability to make customers feel comfortable. Another 32% claimed their success stemmed from their dependability and time management skills. 20% claimed that their knowledge was the primary reason they exceeded sales goals, but this group also had the highest sales, exceeding their quotas by an average of 170%.

Top sales performers are driven by career opportunities. Selling is not simply a means to collect a paycheck; they think about their jobs more than 50% of their free time at night and on weekends. Half of the top performers described themselves as individuals who have written or mental lists of their goals and 36% said they try to project what the future will be like five, and ten years or more from now. Only a small percentage -13%­ - said that they take things one day at a time.

The reasons why they decided on sales as a career were evenly split between wanting to control their destiny and the fact sales suited their personality. Only 19% of top performers stated their career in sales happened haphazardly.

The top producers believe that emotionally connecting with customers is the top ranking strategy that leads to sales success. Second most important was tailoring a sales presentation to customer needs and third was asking questions that demonstrate expertise. Top producers noted showing the value of the solution and driving the topics of conversation as the least effective techniques for generating sales.

Top producers are also willing to challenge customers, especially if the direction they are taking is not in their customers' best interest. The best sales professionals have "skin in the game". 36% believe they are personally responsible for their customer's success.

Finally, the biggest differentiators between sales professionals who exceeded 125% of their quotas and those who did not achieve 75% of their quotas are confidence and professional pride.