For the most part, you won't sell anything...

This is my first of many relatively short posts about what I have seen and experienced in the world of sales from a rep, to a manager, to simply an observer.  The first thing I want to address is how hard it is to be successful, and why most people will undoubtedly fail.

Selling is difficult.  It is one of the most stressful jobs you can find yourself in.  Almost everyone at some point in their lives has held a job where they are required to sell some type of service and/or product.  Whether it be a waitress pushing tonight's special, a car salesman making you feel uncomfortable (these guys get a bad rap in my opinion), a girl in retail telling you how great you look in that ugly sweater, or a local business owner just trying to make a living.  However, the most common outcome for most people who have dipped their toes into the pool of selling, is failure.  You get out of it for a number of reasons:

- You burn out
- You can't hack it
- Your boss expects too much
- Stress/Pressure
- You aren't good at dealing with people
- Reading and reacting isn't your thing
- Lack of organization
- Lack of drive

The list goes on and on.  The point is that selling is extremely difficult.  I always want to say that only the strong survive, but that is not at all the case.  The mediocre survive forever.  The elite will make tons of money.  The weak would rather do anything else, and soon will.

There are a number of reasons why most people won't ever sell anything or ever make any real money in sales, but for now I want to focus on one particular reason - WORK ETHIC (or lack thereof)

See you can't teach work ethic.  You either have it or you don't.  Ask any business owner what the hardest thing to find is.  The answer isn't "clients."  The answer will always be "someone willing to work their butt off for me."

You will never find any successful salesperson that wakes up at 9am, stops working at 5pm, and goes to bed at 10pm.  You will find quite a few who make a decent living, but you don't want them on your team.  You want the truly elite who are "on" all the time.  They network nonstop, log every conversation they have, follow up relentlessly, know how to prove value in 30 seconds or less, and never stop closing.

The unfortunate reality is that most salespeople have nothing to offer besides a warm body willing to pick up a phone every once in a while and play the numbers game until they reach quota.  They run from client calls, hide behind voicemail, and never take the serious steps needed to establish that one relationship that will make it all worth while.

So for the most part, you won't sell anything....but if you're in that elite group of salespeople that are truly in it for the profession, the company you represent, and most importantly, yourself, then congrats, you are already a success.

Dave Altimari
"You become what you think about all day"