Before we go deeper into strategies and tactics, think about a leader you admire and ask yourself: is this role model a great salesperson?

You may be puzzled as to why I ask this question, but every successful person has been able to sell an idea to another person. It doesn’t always have to be for a monetary result. If you have a life partner, you have sold the person on having the relationship with you. If you have children, you were able to sell them on the idea of brushing before bed for them to adopt this habit. Everyone is selling someone on something every moment of the day.

And to run a profitable business, you have to be great in sales. If reading that makes you a little nervous, you’re in the right spot. There are certain things that great sales leaders commit to that have helped them get where they are now. Usually, by the time we notice that someone is mastering their business and sales, they’ve put in the work. It’s not about working hard, it’s about working smart.

So, you probably want to know what the sales leaders are doing that you’re not. We’ve put together 5 strategies to help YOU become great at sales.

Everyone wants to learn how to make more money, but not everyone will get it right. We all know a person who has given up on sales. They’ve decided to be complacent in their lack, and have convinced themselves that digital marketing is a one-trick pony, and if what they tried the first time didn’t work, they gave up.

Too bad for that person. Someone like you, on the other hand, knows you’ve got what it takes to rise to the challenge. You’ve committed to the idea that you deserve more, and you’re willing to work smarter because what you want goes way beyond your business. Sales is a way of life.

Life is for the living, and that requires money. You deserve all the things that life has to offer, and you’ll need to cut out a lot of noise to get it, but it’s yours for the getting. If what you’ve been up to so far makes it feel like you created a job instead of a business, and a business instead of the life you want, read on. We’re sharing tips to help you get great at sales.

5 Strategies to Help You Become a Great Salesperson

1. Mind on The Money

You’ve got to commit to the idea that making sales is a way of life and understand where you are and where you want to be in regard to your finances. Are you living the way you want to be? This is the same for your business. If your business is not reaching its financial goals, you’ve got to see it so you can change it.

A mistake a lot of people make, usually just before they give up entirely, is they commit to the alternative. They say, “Sales are too hard.” This mindset echoes thoughts like, “I’m okay where I’m at.”

The first thing that anyone who has mastered sales does is get their money mind focused. They turn toward it, not away from it. What you need to do is to get crystal clear on the amount of money you want to make, but more importantly, why you want to acquire such an amount of money. The most successful salespeople know what they want and why they want it. Their reason has to be so big that it is their mission to achieve the financial goal.

2. Follow-up

I’m sure you’ve heard of this before. That’s because even if you’re just starting in sales, you probably have. A big part of sales is follow-up. It’s not about doing it once. And most salespeople give up after the second time. Did you know that 80% of sales are closed at the 8-12th attempt? So, when you give up on the 4th call, you’re leaving money on the table. That buyer will be purchasing from someone else if you don’t follow up with them more often.

Sales reps tend to create stories that the follow-up is annoying. Maybe someone is a busy working mom and they don’t have time to talk, or maybe the person on the other end of the call or email will be angry. The mistake is that you create a story that your follow-up bothers people. The truth is that people are busy and if you don’t follow up, they miss out on a service. Sales calls aren’t annoying, they are a service. You’re offering someone access to something they’ve expressed interest in. And if your services can improve their lives and future, you have the obligation to help them.

3. There’s More Than One Way

Even the best sales teams close an average of 30% of all sales. It’s not a bad number, but you need to reach your customers on their preferred platform.

Commit to many ways of communication. Great salespeople know to use all the resources available, as sales come from everywhere. Use the internet, phone, in-person networking and meetings, social media, and referrals.  You’ll open the doors to a lot of opportunities by getting out there with creative follow-up strategies. A hand-written note is underutilized in this age of technology, but it is one of the best ways to follow up and that would seriously leave an impression with your prospective clients.

4. Write it Up

All sales require some form of contract or proposal to close. Write it up, be prepared to stop talking, and start writing.

The sale proposal or contract outlines the agreement between the buyer and the seller. It’s also very tangible, so when a buyer sees what you’ve been talking about on paper, they’re confident to move forward.

Sometimes a buyer is so busy, they don’t have time to talk. There may be an opportunity to send them the written agreement to close the deal without even being face to face with them or on the phone.

None of that will happen if you don’t write it up, so the best people in sales know to have it ready at a moment’s notice. You need to provide every prospect a written agreement or contract every time, no exception. People usually make the decision to buy before they actually make the purchase. The written contract provides them easy access to their already-made decision.

5. Lifelong Learning

When you’re obsessed with making sales, you’re obsessed with learning. To be great at sales, you’ve got to be willing to learn how to win, over and over again.

There are so many resources available to help you reach your goals. It’s the people like you who watch and participate in sales training and role-playing that go furthest the fastest when you’re willing to look at the results and continue to grow. To learn is to grow in revenue and in life. The more you learn, the more you will earn.

The best leaders in business and sales know this. When you make sales a way of life, you commit to your financial goals. Be willing to learn and never give up. You will WIN the game.