Seven Habits of Amazingly Successful Salespeople

More than ever today, all of us are selling. In business, we sell our products and services. In life, we're constantly selling our ideas, our plans and more. Being able to influence others is part of the selling process, and we can all learn from people who are successful in selling.

The best salespeople seem to practice a set of common habits. Here are seven habits of highly successful salespeople.

1. They hustle when others hunker down.

When times get tough, the unsuccessful want to circle the wagons and hunker down into something safe and cozy. Unfortunately for them, life isn't designed to be cozy or safe. It rewards those who take risks and venture forth in hustle mode. Successful people have a sense of urgency about them. They know how to embrace hustle mode when it is necessary.

2. They constantly work at being relationship farmers.

They are not pushy salespeople. Instead they are constantly creating, building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships. They think of themselves as farmers — constantly nurturing, caring and doing the day-to-day tasks to grow a strong harvest farther down the road.

3. They thoroughly research their prospects.

The best-kept secret of social media is that it is a brilliant tool for research. One ninja-level trick is to start with LinkedIn to get the basics about a person, such as where your prospect went to school and worked. Then move on to Facebook to get more information about what he or she likes, such as restaurants, vacations, pets, kids or quotes. Then they move on to Twitter and track their tweets, their re-tweets and the people they follow. They learn volumes about potential clients this way.

4. They make direct, personal connections.

They deploy social media with pinpoint, precision accuracy. None of this “My cat is sleeping” kind of baloney. They research like crazy (see point No. 3), and then they take massive action to connect with others in a way that is meaningful to the other person. Let your prospects see you as an ally rather than just another pest trying to fake a common interest only to sell your stuff.

5. They are resoundingly resilient.

They know they are going to get knocked down every now and then. But 99 percent of the time they know they can get back up, dust themselves off, and get back in the game. Smart salespeople learn from mistakes and make themselves better after a bruising.

6. They do self-surgery and give themselves a “try-ectomy”.

They don't settle for a lame, “Well, at least I tried,” pity party. They keep going till they get results. Remember Master Yoda from Star Wars. “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Stop resting just because “you tried.” Successful people know that you don't get paid for trying. You get paid for results.

7. They embrace technology to help people.

Today technology is not a department — it is integrated into everything we do in business. Top salespeople don't get enmeshed in the technology, but always have a mindset to use it to be more productive and help others. They use video tools like Google+ Hangouts, Skype, and Eyejot to connect with more people. As I’ve said for years: It’s not about the e-commerce (electronics), it’s about the r-commerce (relationships).

Terry Brock gives real-world, practical tips on how to generate revenue and increase productivity. He's the former Chief Enterprise Blogger for Skype, former Editor-in-Chief for AT&T's top-rated blog, and is co-author of the best-selling McGraw-Hill book about social media, "Klout Matters." He's also an international Speaker Hall of Fame inductee and travels around the world helping business leaders connect with their customers building relationships and increasing business.