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by Andy Zahl
Performance in the Sales Industry: In the past couple articles, I’ve mentioned success numerous times. What ties everything in to achieve success? The answer is performance. It seems obvious, but performing at your highest level brings results.
When working your hardest, good things come your way. The time you put in before your big sales presentation directly affects your performance in the presentation. Prior to the Agricultural Sales competition in the National FFA Association, our team put in countless hours of research and practice. We knew our product and evaluated numerous situations. We came into the competition ready and confident in our abilities and came out in First Place. Doing the prep-work sets you up for a winning presentation.
Through hard work come great rewards. For putting in the effort, we had earned success. This relates directly to the sales world, or any industry, for that matter. With each accomplishment, you earn confidence in yourself which pays dividends in the long run. You’ll get a solid resume builder if you land that big account, which transfers to a better future. Always doing the best and getting better is what keeps your prosperous in this industry.
With high performance, opportunities are bound to follow. In Ag Sales, winning First Place gives our team a solid standing at State with a chance to go on to Nationals. This is a fantastic opportunity to better ourselves and prepare us for greater success in the future with sales. Having the extra one-up for the competitive position just because your resume and interviews prove that you work hard and accomplish the job. The opportunities that come to a high performer are significantly more impressive than your below average employee. Makes sense, really.
These rewards combined with the opportunities received, equal more higher profit margins for your company, and in turn yourself. This is especially true with commission-based salaries. These give incentive to go out and achieve to the best of your ability. Who doesn’t like money, right? When you are working at a better level than your competitors, the numbers will show. A happier boss means a happier life.
Alternatively, being able to realize you aren’t where you should be is a very valuable skill. If you see your numbers dropping from previous years, or even if they’re not improving, this is when you need to step back and develop a plan to advance. Figuring out what isn’t working for you and understanding how to turn it around will enable you to have much greater success.
For me, having a commission-based salary is what really helps. I know I need money in my wallet if I want to go to school. The more I sell, the more I make. I find this more motivating than a set salary. I see employees who often get somewhat lackadaisical with a guaranteed paycheck. Having this motivation produces better employees and better results.
Through the CPSP course, this is great at showing hard work. Proving you can start what you can finish in a 6-week course is an excellent indicator of a promising individual. The obvious answer here is putting in the hours and giving it your all is the guaranteed way to success.
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