Aaron Regev: No matter what career you’re interested in getting into, there are certain things that you have to learn in order to be successful.

Aaron Regev, the Sales Manager of a home warranty company based in the United States, has spent years guiding young sales professionals on how to be the best salesperson they can be through his own experiences.

Get a sneak peek of the wisdom that his years’ worth of experience has gotten him as he breaks down the secret formula to being a successful sales representative:

How does the SECRET Formula to being a successful Sales Representative work?

Aaron Regev: “Just like any formula, there are numerous variables that you have to account for and an order that you have to follow to get the right result.

Unlike most mathematical formulas though, the results from this one is interchangeable from person to person — as it is based on what you put into it. But, okay, that’s about enough with the metaphor, I think! Let’s get to actually breaking down this formula so that you can make use of it and find your own success:”

The First Step: Set Realistic Goals

Aaron Regev: “The first step in any kind of plan is to identify your goals. What are you looking to get out of this opportunity? How much do you want to improve? What needs improving in the first place? That kind of thing. OR, looking from a more professional standpoint, you can also start thinking about what kind of quota you’re working on or how many leads you need to generate in order to make a certain threshold.

Once you’ve addressed all your goals, put them in order of how soon you can (or should) accomplish them. If you need to, then you might want to prioritize working on your skills before anything else. If not that, then you might want to start thinking about what the company is asking of you first or, maybe, (if you’re a little further along) how you can make it to the top 5% of your organization.

Whatever your goals are, just remember that they should be achievable! And don’t be too harsh on yourself if you happen to slip on one every now and then. Instead, focus on keeping yourself moving forward at all times.”

The Second Step: Get to Know Your Industry

Aaron Regev: “When I first started at THP (the home warranty company that I’m currently working for), they hired me on to train their sales representatives — so I was placed in a leadership role pretty much as soon as I got in, which meant that I had to know what I was talking about. And, from what the job description required? I did know.

However, that didn’t mean that I had nothing else to learn. I was new to the industry, after all. So, every moment I could, I brushed up on everything I needed to know — as well as everything I didn’t necessarily need to know.

I encourage you to do the same if you want to be anywhere near successful. And I would hope that you continue learning as well. Because based on your goals? This is the thing that’s going to help you get further than anything else.”

The Third Step: Understand Your Customers

Aaron Regev: “Once you’ve got the basics down on your industry, the next thing to do (best done in conjunction with the previous step, really) is to start understanding the people that you will be selling to. As I always tell my trainees, to be able to give your customers what they want, you need to be able to put yourself in their shoes.

And don’t stop there either! Once you’ve got those shoes on, walk a mile (or two or three!) in them. That’s the bare minimum of what you’ll need to do in order to achieve success, trust me on that. The end goal here is to get to know them on such an intrinsic level that you can anticipate what kind of person they are and how they’ll react to certain pitches.

Of course, a lot of this is down to experience as well. But that’s all the more reason to start thinking about it now. Because once you’re on the ground? You need to be able to start taking in information — FAST, so that you know what to do better the next time around.”

The Fourth Step — Identify Customer Pain Points

Aaron Regev: “A great way of fulfilling the previous step is to begin identifying your customers’ pain points. A pain point, if you’re not already aware, is any point of contention for the customer. Whether that’s on the product itself (like a missing function that they need) or something to do with the experience you provide (like inaccessible customer service).

As a Sales Representative, these are the things that you need to know about ASAP. Because, if nothing is done about them? You can be certain you aren’t going to make that sale.

The best way to sell a product, after all, is to solve a problem for your customer. And so, if buying your product is only going to cause more problems? You better believe that they will be moving on from you as soon as they find somewhere better (which there always will be, by the way — if not now, then the next time a startup pops up in your industry.)”

The Fifth Step — Practice Being a Good Listener

Aaron Regev: “Now that you’ve laid the foundation down as far as knowledge goes, the next thing to do is to practice actually being a Sales Representative. Usually, that means having to wait until you’re on the job (because the best way of learning is doing, there’s no doubt about that). But, if you want to stand out from the get-go, then some pre-studying will help.

Now, as far as what you need to know. The basics of being a good sales representative are really to learn when to talk and when to listen. You have your moment to shine, your moment to hit the right points to start a pitch right, but there are also times when you have to practice some restraint and let your customer do the talking for you.

The goal here is to learn how to engage your customer in productive dialogue (and learn how to NOT monologue and bore your customers to death.)”

The Sixth Step — Find Something You’re Passionate About

Aaron Regev: “Once you’ve been on the job for long enough, you may find yourself struggling to get anywhere. Everyone is expected to see a bit of a plateau. Some experience it sooner than others, some later. Some get over it pretty quickly and some can take months (or even years!)

Once you get into this kind of slump, continuing the work that you do is going to start getting difficult. And trust me, it can really hurt your chances of success. You may even find yourself being passed over in favor of someone else — someone that’s viewed as perhaps more enthusiastic or has more fervor for the job.

That is why you have to find something about the job that you love. Something that you are passionate about. And once you find that? Roll with it. Keep it close because it is what’s going to keep you going through the hard days.

And, as an extra note: if the work gets really tough and even your passion is not enough? Find a purpose. Rediscover the reason why you’re doing the job in the first place. It could be for the promotion that you’ve been aiming for this whole time. Or it could be making sure that you can continue supporting your family. Whatever it is, just like your passions, keep it close and it’ll keep you going forward.”

The Seventh Step — Keep Learning!

Aaron Regev: “Tough to say (or accept for that matter) but achieving your goals will not necessarily mean that things are over. Instead, it’s a signal to find new goals — even if that goal is staying right where you are.

Life’s like that. That’s why it’s so important to love your job in the first place — it’s an everlasting effort to always better yourself. Because, while you may feel that, one day, you’ve learned everything there is to know about your job, more likely than not, something new will pop up somewhere along the way. And whatever this ‘something new’ is — whether it’s a new sales pitch strategy or technical innovation in your industry — you’ll need to take it in and master it, just like you did with everything else.

Just remember, the expert sales representatives from a decade ago are completely different from the successful ones that you find now. They thought differently, acted differently, and had different goals. They have, since then, learned how to be a sales presentative of the now — and you’ll have to do the same as you go through your own personal journey.”

Topics #Aaron Regev #Sales Expert #Sales Manager