If you want to know what it takes to be successful in sales, here are some habits that other successful salespeople have.  It seems to work for them.  Why not for you?
 
1.  They have a huge Rolodex.  Selling is finding customers who need or want what you have to sell.  Successful salespeople find their customers differently than less successful salespeople.  Ms. Maria Smith, former CEO of Benchmark Technology, researched the differences in salespeople's effectiveness.  She found that salespeople were more successful when they had more people resources to tap into. It didn't matter if salespeople had much sales experience or came from a non-sales area.  If they had maintained contact with their mentors, peers, and managers over the years they were able to use their contacts as a source of sales leads and information.  They were also more successful. 
 
2.  They read fast.  Customers value salespeople who possess knowledge and offer unique insights. To get these insights, you have to be current on a variety of topics.  Business and non-business reading is essential.  How do you process all that you need to? You've got to read fast.  Taking a speed-reading course can increase your reading from 250 words a minute to almost 1000 words a minute.  You'll be able to acquire much more information that can be of use to your customers. 
 
3.  They apply technology.  How do you use the information you acquire to serve your customers?  Is it easy to access that information when you need it? Having the information and being unable to access it quickly is the same as not having it at all.  Time spent looking for something is time that could be spent supporting your selling.  The sales greats use technology to manage information.  Their databases make it easy to retrieve information.  With the data they can see where their sales are and what they need to do to meet their goals.  They spend time selling with information, not looking for information. 
 
4.  They're naturally curious.  When they talk with customers and prospects, they use the word 'why' a lot.  They intuitively know when to ask why to get more information.  They know that information is more powerful if the reason behind it is known. They don't guess why a customer is doing something.  They ask why and find out from the customer's point of view.  In addition to why, they also ask great questions learning far more about their customers than less successful salespeople. 
 
5.  They love what they do.  Ask a sales great what they love about selling and they say, "Everything."  Being around them is like being around an energy source.  Their attitude of optimism and belief in the value of their work portrays this enthusiastic attitude to others.  As Dr. Rohit Sachdeva, the founder and Chief Clinical Officer of OraMetrix says, "Passion is infectious.  It's more important than what you know.  Maintaining the passion is the biggest challenge in business."  Great salespeople are able to maintain their passion.
 
6.  They do the unexpected and more for their customers.  Salespeople can go out of their way to do something special for their customers.  Getting customers for your customers; making a personal delivery on a Saturday; and helping to fill your customer's staffing needs are what some salespeople think is their job, and not something extra.  In fact, most salespeople don't make the extra effort. 
 
7.  They're very creative.  Being creative means the process of coming up with new ideas for business.    Sales greats see possibilities where others give up.  Getting told 'no' by a worthwhile prospect is not the end for great salespeople; it's just the beginning.  Using their creativity they find news ways to get to 'yes' with the prospects who are a challenge.  Creativity is the foundation of selling.  It's useful for questioning, presenting, and strategizing.  Believing in your creativity is the first step to being creative. 
 
You may have noticed these habits in other successful salespeople.  When you adopt these 7 habits, the success that others achieve can also be yours.   
 
Maura Schreier-Fleming is President of Best@Selling (www.BestatSelling.com) a sales consulting organization in Dallas, Texas.  Maura works with business and sales professionals on real-world skills and strategies to make it easier for them to sell more and be more successful in business.  Her clients include MBNA, Fannie Mae and Fujitsu.  She writes the column 'Selling Strategies' for the Insurance Record and is the author of the book Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results (1st Books Library, 2002.)  She has appeared on radio shows across the country to discuss selling and business.  Her articles on business have been published nationally.  She has been quoted extensively in the media including Selling Power, Entrepreneur and the New York Times.  Maura is an engineer by training and was Mobil Oil's first female Lubrication Engineer in the United States.  She can be reached at www.BestatSelling.com or 972 380 0200.