1.         Thou Shall Work Hard – World-class closers work 12-hour days and 70-hour weeks, regularly. They know the only type of lasting motivation is selfmotivation. They simply work hard as they are driven to succeed.

2. Thou Shall Be Determined – World-class sales reps are fearless. They will march out into enemy gunfire with only the slightest suggestion. Equally likely, they will creatively find solutions using their own initiative. If necessary, they will follow a direct order without hesitation.

3. Thou Shall Be Mature – World-class team members don’t make excuses. They admit their failures and shortcomings honestly, directly, and with introspection on how to improve. They constantly seek training, advice, and guidance with an open mind, and recognize that there is always room to be more successful. Even World-class “old dogs” like to learn new tricks.

4. Thou Shall Operate With Integrity – World-class sales executives are honest, trustworthy and measured in everything they do. They know how to handle confidential information. In all sales situations, they operate with the highest ethical standards. They don’t lie or deceive to get the deal. Their own reputation means everything to them and they believe that reputation is won – and lost – on how they treat their clients, in each and every sales situation.

5. Thou Shall Exceed Quota – World-class closers exceed their quotas, and often set their targets in multiples of quota. Don’t be surprised if a World-class disciple promises 200% to plan and delivers 300%.

6. Thou Shall Take Responsibility – World-class sales teams don’t blame others. They assume all products to be defective, all technical support shoddy, all finances shaky, and all sales support non-existent. With these givens, they will sell anyway. They will sell regardless of the timing, climate, lifecycle, competition, or other people involved in a solution.

7. Thou Shall Be Results Oriented – World-class sales studs don’t use a lot of words that end in “-ing”. For instance, when asked about an account, we are not “working” on it, “hoping” it will close, “focusing” on a new strategy, “targeting” someone, or “planning” to do something. They announce it either has “closed”, “will close” on specific date, or has been “lost”.

8. Thou Shall Be A Company And Team Player – World-class sales pros don’t abuse expense accounts, “steal” company time, or take from their company. They are committed, 100% to their company, leadership, and team. They think and act like owners of the company. World-class team members help their teammates first, and then worry about their own issues. They recognize that teamwork is reciprocal and that they may be in need themselves someday. Selflessness and generosity are part of their constitution.

9. Thou Shall Be Punctual – World-class sellers have perfect attendance, ontime performance, and deliver on their commitments. They strive to do the “common things uncommonly well” and that includes their professional behavior. When they say something will be done by a certain date/time, it always is.

10. Thou Shall Be Very Competitive – World-class winners are the most fiercely competitive, relentless (but fair) competitors in everything they do. Whether a sale, a spirited debate, a sporting event, or some other contest. They don’t like to lose.

11. Thou Shall Act Professionally – World-class sales professionals are polished, articulate, classy, educated, well-bred, but street smart and chameleon-like, easily comfortable in any social or business setting. They are the antithesis of copier and car salesmen, but don’t come off as IBM-stiffs.

12. Thou Shall Work Creatively - World-class sales gurus instinctively find opportunity and creatively make things happen by having confidence in themselves and thinking outside the box. When a creative solution can’t be found, they go back and find one, anyway.

13. Thou Shall Forecast Realistically – World-class sellers give accurate forecasts and see forecasting, planning, and account strategy as a means to success and useful tool, rather than a nuisance. Without fail, they impress us with their forecast accuracy.

14. Thou Shall Manage Time Wisely – World-class sales pros are masters at time management. They plan their work then work their plan. They don’t waste precious sales time with non-essential activities. They also plan ahead, and before the day is done, they have the next day planned out. They are known to regularly work vacations and public holidays to get the job done right.

15. Thou Shall Be Money Motivated – World-class winners seek huge financial rewards and are willing to take risks. They believe at least two-thirds of their pay should come from performance-based compensation. They can’t survive on their base salary.

16. Thou Shall Always Be Positive – World-class believers have a positive attitude about everything. This optimism should not be mistaken for false confidence and hopes that every deal will close, but instead they are realists who believe that greatness can be achieved by simply seeking to achieve greatness. Their positive attitude should be infectious throughout the rest of the sales organization. Pessimism, nay-saying, and bad-mouthing are not part of their make-up. They understand these behaviours are de-motivating, unproductive, and cancerous.

17. Thou Shall Listen Extremely Well – World-class sales studs are great listeners. They know that only through listening they can craft solutions to meet clients’ needs. They demonstrate their superior listening skills by ‘checking in’ in sales situations via ‘playback’ techniques. They don’t miss the slightest of detail or insinuation during a sales call.

18. Thou Shall Be Strong Minded – World-class sales executives have strong opinions and ideas, operate with self-initiative and self-motivation, and are not afraid to question authority. However, they understand how to work within a team, and they are keenly aware of their own limitations and place in the organization.

19. Thou Shall Be Prepared – World-class sellers are prepared. They prepare for sales calls and equally they prepare for internal meetings. In sales situations they know the prospect, it’s product or service, the prospects’ industry and competitors. They also very much understand their own competition and the competitive landscape as it relates to the sales situation at hand. They do their homework and come across to prospects and clients as interested, genuine, knowledgeable, connected, smart and on top of the issues. They have thought through all the dependencies and contingencies in complex sales situations. World-class sales pros stay out ahead of their prospects and clients and it shows.

20. Thou Shall Continually Overachieve and Surprise – World-class chosen ones will surprise, impress, but mostly, they will please.

This entry was posted by John McDonald on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 4:17 pm and is filed under Business, Sales and Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.