By Tim Shurr, MA

Top sales professionals do things average sales person do not. I will be focusing on 7 key areas that pros put time and energy into. I highly recommend you model them so that you too can experience superior results in this NEW economy.

Area #1: Leadership and Personality Assessment The idea of someone being a "self-made millionaire" is a myth. People become wealthy because of the relationships they develop during their career. Some of the most important relationships you will foster are with your "team." Every top producer has an excellent support staff and affiliations with other sales professionals who share a common vision.

The better you are at identifying strengths, keeping spirits high, and conveying the idea of exceptional service and value, the more prosperous you will be!

Top Pros Know… 1. How to identify the common characteristics of their sales force 2. Discover Core Competencies 3. How to Effectively Delegate 4. The Value of Sales Manager training

1 - 3. What roles does each member of your "team" take on? Typically you will find the… A. Superstar (producer) B. Organizer (systems) C. Socializer (front man, networker) D. Behind-the-scenes (objective feedback, creative) E. Slacker (fun) F. Sales Manager 1. World Class (Servant leader. Brings out best in others.) 2. Impotent (Luke warm. Nice guy but ineffective.) 3. Nightmare (Big Ego, No people skills but in a people-oriented position.)

Your goal as "leader" is to identify what role your people fit into best and capitalize on those strengths. For example, you might have a "superstar" shuffling paperwork when he could be out closing half-million dollar deals. Inversely, you may be forcing people who are good at "behind-the-scenes" work attending networking functions and open houses of which they hate every minute—and it shows!

Identify which people excel at selling, which ones are great with organization, planning, and daily flow, which ones are great for brainstorming, feedback, and marketing creativity, and those who are naturals are forming new relationships. Move them in those directions and the whole team will prosper.

What if you have a sales person who is good at "organization" but you really need her to be out selling? Ask yourself, "What are her strengths and weaknesses? What type of people/groups/organizations does she get along with best? What is her best asset?" Make sure to ask her these questions also. See if you can discover a "niche" market that fits her best. Perhaps she gets along better with "high society" people or "country folk." Perhaps she loves 1st time home buyers. Instead of one-size-fit’s-all professionals, create a team of specialists who mutually support and benefit each other. If you discover greed in your organization eliminate it or suffer the eventual consequences.

4. Sales Managers. These people play pivotal roles in the "team" environment and they can make or break an entire sales force! Nightmare sales managers that are driven by Ego and power can undermine what you’ve worked so hard to create. Often, other team members are too intimidated to say anything about it or if they do, it gets discounted. That’s a BIG mistake! Sales manager training should be required and I’m not talking about dry, boring programs that teach personality types and people skills. I recommend programs that teach sales managers and leaders how to cultivate a "world class" mentality while bringing out the best in others. (Resource: Shurr ! Success Seminars)

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