7 Ways to Excel at Sales: Lessons from My 20 Year Old Self

When I was in my late teens and early 20s, I worked in retail sales.

I worked at a snowboard shop, Gap, and eventually became a manager at Athletes World and Nike.

I’ve done sales for various other corporate companies as well, before going to university and transitioning to marketing.

Regardless of where I worked, or what I sold, I was always the number 1 or 2 sales person.

People would ask me how I was able to consistently meet and exceed my sales targets, and to be completely honest, I wasn’t really sure.

Couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

Only later was I able to reflect on what made me consistently a top sales person.

👉 Authenticity / being genuine – speak like a normal person, not like a sales person or a customer service person. Only sell things you truly believe in and don’t sell things you don’t believe in.

👉 Product knowledge – I would take binders home and study every detail of the products. This includes the pros and cons about all the products and my competitors.

👉 Hustle – don’t walk when you can run. Go the extra mile. Show people that you will work hard for them. No sale is too small. Do things others are not willing to do, are too lazy to do, or haven’t thought of doing. Have business cards in your pocket and hand them out. Customers will come back and see you. Remember names, faces, and key details about your customers.

👉 No judgement – never judge a person by what you think they can or cannot afford. Don’t assume you know their limit. The sale is not over until they say it’s over.

👉 Communication – learn what words to use and what words not to use. Cut out any unnecessary fluff. Be direct. Use storytelling. Use an appropriate volume and cadence. Objection handle without fumbling or stuttering.

👉 Confidence – your posture, clothing, tone, expressions, language… should all exude confidence. You are a product expert and authority on the subject. Approach people, don’t be shy.

👉 Friendliness – be friendly! Smile. Give compliments.

All this builds trust, and people only buy from people they trust.

I didn’t know I was doing all this at the time.

The truth was, my secret was that I wasn’t trying to sell anybody anything.

This is the problem I have with how some people view sales and “Sell me this pen” exercises.

There’re no magic trick. No fast-talking, slickster, will get you to buy something you don’t want or need.