Selling is...

…a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it’s a negative judgment of the activity, the profession, and the people involved in it. For others is a misconception of what it is and how it’s done. Some think there are those who are born to do it and others who know that even with natural talent, becoming a good salesperson is a skill to be developed.

I am going to try to take the mystery out of selling and to clear up some misconceptions about it and what it takes to be good at it. And while my perspective may be comprehensive, it isn’t all encompassing, so I welcome feedback on anything I missed or might have mistaken.
  

For simplicity, I am going to go through the qualities and activities in an order that echoes the sales process, beginning with:

Strong salespeople are driven to be effective and don’t leave opportunity to chance. Rather, they are proactive in planning their business and their activities and are intentional in what they create with every sales interaction.

Rather than wait and see what happens, they create a connection and make something happen.

Rather than wing it and rely on personality or the relationship, they prepare for the interaction so that they are ready for what might happen…and can direct the interaction to what they want to accomplish.

They are pointed toward the goal and focused on the actions needed to produce a sale.

Now, go get prepared and focused!