Do you know what the nine core characteristics of a high-performance sales mindset are?
In this article, that’s the question I aim to answer, along with how they’re essential to a salesperson’s overall success.
If you were to ask me what I thought was the most critical area for a salesperson to develop, my answer would be their mindset. I would focus on developing, growing, and nurturing the core characteristics of a Holistic Sales Mindset.
What’s a Holistic Sales Mindset?
When I think of a consistent high-performance salesperson, I view their mindset as being the sum of its parts, each part being a “sub-mindset,” component, or characteristic comprising a holistic mindset.
These are the sub-mindsets that form our principles and our motives. They guide our actions and behaviors within ourselves, those around us, our customers, and the sales process.
You’ll find several sub-mindsets inherent of many top-performers, while also discovering that struggling reps are missing an essential sub-mindset or have several in need of focused development.
As a growth-minded person, I believe these sub-mindsets can be strengthened and further developed over time, giving struggling and high-performing salespeople an opportunity to improve performance equally.
You’ll find that some reps are more evolved and “tapped into” a specific mindset than others, but with work, all salespeople can develope these frames of mind to become well-rounded, high-performing, and complete sales professionals.
What are the core sub-mindsets comprising a Holistic Sales Mindset?
I’ve based these core sub-mindsets through observations and discussions with top-performers (A-Players), hours of book reading, online articles, engaging other sales authors, coaches, mentors, peers, leaders, and tapping into what’s made me successful over the years.
These core sub-mindsets are independent of each other, yet they work in chorus, delivering masterful outcomes. Each being worthy of their separate designation, yet broad enough to accept other would-be sub-mindsets into their description.
If we want to reach our full potential as sales professionals, we must develop and nurture these nine core sub-mindsets. They’re deserving of our attention and should be the focus of our continuing personal and professional development.
Core Sub-Mindsets of a High-Performance Sales Mindset
Positive Mindset – A positive mindset provides top-performers the mental fortitude to accept negativity and transition those feelings or situations into positive outcomes. Refusing to allow negativity or failure to affect their mood (for long) and showing resiliency in overcoming obstacles to their success. A positive attitude enables top-performers to maintain sanity while approaching people and situations with a clear and productive frame of mind.
Growth Mindset – Top-performers use a growth mindset to grow themselves and the people around them. They continuously sharpen the saw while learning, improving, and raising their game. They look for opportunities to help their customers grow personally and professionally through their experience, unique value, differentiators, products, and services.
Proactive Mindset – Top-performers get into action, period. They’re disciplined, motivated, and always doing the next right thing. With a proactive mindset, salespeople can think ahead, plan, and prepare themselves for what’s next. They anticipate what’s needed and put themselves in the best possible position to achieve. A proactive mindset allows them to be in control as opposed to being reactionary.
People-centric Mindset – A salesperson with a people-centric mindset will choose to be a catalyst in the lives of the people around them, empowering them to become the best they can be in life and business. A salesperson with a people-centric mindset leads with their heart, cares about authentic relationships, and serves others. They listen with empathy and develop solutions in the best interest of their internal and external customers.
Entrepreneurial Mindset – A top-performer continuously looks to grow their book of business; they manage risk, leverage resources, and get the job done. They know the value of their time and spend it on productive and profitable activities. They run their territory and pipeline like a CEO, thinking in terms of “best business practices” for themselves, their customers, and their company.
Creative Mindset – A creative mindset and innovative thinking enable top-performers to think outside the box, dive deeper into possibility, draw from different angles, and take fresh, unconventional approaches to creating, advancing, and closing opportunities. This mindset brings new and different ideas to creative prospecting, value-creation, problem-solving, and differentiation.
Value-driven Mindset – A value-driven salesperson is hard-wired to bring value in all that they do. They seek to understand what their customers value and center themselves around becoming and delivering on that value. Their mind consistently works to create win/win outcomes for their customers, their companies, and themselves. That’s right; they bring value to their company as well.
Calculated Mindset – There’s a plan for every action. A calculated salesperson is aware of the likely outcomes or consequences associated with their efforts. They give thought to their actions and think beforehand, being very deliberate in the way they do things. They’re not manipulative or disingenuous; but conscious, purposeful, intentional, and strategic. They have a plan and understand how each step builds on the next.
Assertive Mindset – Top-performers put their confidence into action through assertiveness. They’re confident, but more importantly, their confidence is actionable. They believe in themselves, their ability, their solution, and the outcomes they can deliver for their customers. They’re determined, consistent, persistent, and respectfully challenge their customers with compelling reasons to change.
How To Develop Your Sales Mindset
As I touched on before, many top-performers possess several of these mindsets, while struggling reps find themselves being without them. The good news is that we can develop all of these mindsets over time with a little, ok, a lot of hard work.
The key is to identify your strengths and weaknesses. The first step is to make a list of the above nine sub-mindsets; positive, growth, proactive, people-centric, entrepreneurial, creative, value-driven, calculated, and assertive. Then write your positives and negatives within each, notating what you’re currently doing as it relates to each sub-mindset.
- Are you approaching challenges with a positive mindset?
- Are you helping others grow using a growth mindset?
- Are you taking charge of yourself and being proactive?
- Are you people-centric, seeking to serve and not sell?
- Are you running your pipeline like an entrepreneurial boss?
- Are you outside the box, doing it differently and creatively?
- Are you providing value to those around you?
- Are you calculated enough to know why you’re doing what?
- Are you affecting change with an assertive mindset?
Think about each sub-mindset, be honest with yourself, and analyze your results. It should become clear in what areas you need work. You can find plenty of articles, books, audiobooks, etc. on the nine sub-mindsets I’ve shared, so start putting work into those areas of development. I’ve also written a post with actionable steps to get started on improving your mindset.
Join the discussion here.