Why I succeeded in sales (and how you can too)

I listened to my colleagues' phone conversations and made joint sales calls with them. I noted where they ran into trouble. I paid attention to what worked well. I asked tons of questions.  

I borrowed other people's brains when my own was insufficient. When stuck, I'd ask myself, "How would Jim do it?" or "What would Diane suggest?" I got smarter. 

I kept going when other people quit. I learned from my successes and more importantly, when things didn't go well. 

I redefined all failures as valuable learning experiences. I had to; it was too just too painful to fail so often. 

When I got good at one thing, I moved to the next area of mastery: prospecting, demoing, writing proposals… Slowly, but surely, I figured most of it out. 

Committing was the key to my sales success

At the end of year one, I was 165 percent of quota. By that time, I decided I really liked sales — more than my original entrepreneurial dream. 

It was challenging and ever-changing. It stretched me beyond what I thought was possible and kept me on my toes. 

Over the years, I've used this same process a gazillion times. It works when you're selling new products or selling to new market segments. It works when you take a new sales position and it works when you start your own company. 

It just plain works. Best of all, it's 100 percent replicable. 

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