Episode 759 · Apr 5, 2023

21 Tips to Become a Better Salesperson

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Sales is a skill that shapes every area of your life, not just your business. On The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III walks through 21 practical ideas drawn from Brian Tracy's book *Be a Sales Superstar*, offering a framework that any professional can use to communicate more persuasively, close more consistently, and build real confidence in the process.

George's core argument is straightforward: if you believe in what you offer, selling stops being manipulation and becomes genuine service. Passion for a product creates the natural desire to persuade, and that shift in mindset changes everything.

Why Your Mindset Is the Starting Point in Sales

Before any technique matters, your attitude does. George emphasizes that commitment to excellence is the first step: deciding today that you will become one of the best in your field and staying with that decision until you get there.

"Act as if it were impossible to fail."

That idea, acting as though failure is off the table, is what moves most people past the fear of making the call, giving the pitch, or asking for the sale. Fear of rejection is the single biggest barrier in sales, and the cure is simply doing the thing you are afraid of.

How Preparation and Continuous Learning Drive Results

Tracy's fifth idea, preparing thoroughly for every call, is one George ranks as the most important ingredient in sales. Preparation increases your confidence, sharpens your communication, and directly affects your results. Combined with a commitment to continuous learning (idea six), it builds a foundation that compounds over time.

The more you study the craft of persuasion and communication, the better your conversations become. Sales is a learnable skill, and every hour you invest in it pays dividends across your entire career.

What It Means to Position Yourself as a Professional

Ideas four and twelve focus on how you are perceived. See yourself as a consultant and advisor, not a vendor. Build credibility through testimonials, a professional appearance, and consistent follow-through. When you carry yourself as a trustworthy resource rather than someone trying to close a deal, prospects relax and the relationship becomes the foundation of the sale.

This connects directly to idea nine: building long-term relationships. People buy from people they like and trust. A single transaction is far less valuable than a relationship that generates referrals and repeat business.

How to Handle Objections and Close with Confidence

Idea thirteen is to handle objections effectively, and George adds an important nuance: learn to address concerns in advance, before they come up. When you understand exactly why someone might not buy, you can speak to those concerns during your presentation. That preparation removes hesitation and makes the conversation flow naturally toward a decision.

Idea fourteen is equally direct: be proud of your pricing. Do not apologize for what you charge. Confidence in your price signals confidence in your product, and that reassurance transfers directly to the buyer.

"Learn closing techniques because it is always a process of leading a prospect to a close rather than just coming out of the blue and asking for it."

Closing is a process, not a moment. Trial closes, incremental commitments, and guiding questions all lead a qualified prospect toward a yes without pressure.

Why Time and Territory Management Multiply Your Sales

Ideas sixteen through eighteen focus on the discipline of working smart. Make every minute count. Apply the 80/20 rule: spend your best time with your best prospects, not with anyone willing to talk. Keep your sales funnel full by allocating specific blocks to prospecting, presenting, following up, and onboarding.

Managing your territory well means grouping activities geographically and logistically so you spend more time face-to-face and less time commuting or context-switching. Productivity in sales is a time management problem as much as a skill problem.

How Goal Setting Turns Sales Activity into Consistent Results

Idea nineteen is one George has observed consistently across thousands of salespeople he has trained: most people do not track their numbers. How many calls do you want to make today? How many new clients do you want this month? What you track grows. What you measure, you manage.

Setting clear income and sales goals creates intentionality, and intentionality is what separates top performers from everyone else. Without a target, effort drifts.

Action Steps

Read Brian Tracy's *Be a Sales Superstar*: it covers all 21 strategies in depth and can be finished in a couple of hours.
Pick two or three of these ideas to implement this week rather than trying to overhaul your entire approach at once.
Write down your sales goals: number of calls, conversations, and new clients per week, and review them every morning.
Practice your responses to the three most common objections you face until they feel natural and confident.
Evaluate where your sales funnel is thinnest and dedicate focused time to that phase this week.

Sales is not something you either have or you do not. It is a craft, and like every craft, it improves with deliberate practice.

"If you learn to sell, if you learn to communicate, you're going to be much more successful. And that will carry over into the rest of your life."

That is the real payoff: confidence and clarity that extend well beyond any single transaction. As George reminds his listeners, it is never too late to start living the life you were meant to live, and learning to communicate at a higher level is one of the most direct paths to getting there.

READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT

All right, welcome back to The Daily Mastermind. George Wright III here with your daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education. Today we're talking education. I want to talk to you about sales. Now, I know what you're thinking. I know what most people think when you hear the word sales or selling. You know, most people don't like it. The bottom line is that we've either felt the pressure of being sold or the idea of selling someone on something is not something that we like to do. But what I'd like to explain to you and really have you sort of think about is that no matter what you're doing, and I don't just mean in your business, but in your life, if you don't adopt and accept and learn how to become a great salesperson or communicator, you're going to struggle with success. Because at the end of the day, sales is nothing more than the art of persuasion. communication and I think what you've got to do is you've got to learn how to become a great salesperson now most people try to think of the skills and techniques and closing and things that you would do as a salesperson but what I would argue is that when you become passionate about the products that you have and when you become you know sold behind the purpose of what you're trying to do then you will desire to persuade people to your product your idea your thoughts, your direction, your passion, your interest. And so I want you to take a different perspective on sales and I want you to think about sales under the assumption that you do have something that you're passionate about. Otherwise, sales just becomes the art of manipulation. And I don't think that that's what any of us want, but I also think that you will have a much more successful business and focus if you find the products that you believe in and that you truly believe people need to have in their life to make their life better. And so when you have a product or service that fills a need and that helps create results for people, you're going to be very passionate about it. So I want to share with you today, if we have enough time, I want to share with you actually a favorite book of mine, BSL Superstar by Brian Tracy. I was looking at this the other day because back in 2002, actually, I had, and for many years after I've had Brian Tracy speak for us, and you know, this book that he had kind of signed for me, I go back to every once in a while, and it's 21 Great Ways to Sell More, Faster, Easier in Tough Markets. And I thought, man, what a great title right now, because I'm sure many of you want to be able to sell more, faster, easier, and in tough markets. And so what I'm going to do, there's 21 ideas on how to become a more effective, better, more result salesperson. And I'm going to buzz through these for you because I want to basically save you some time, give you the highlights, and go through these because these are all tips and strategies. And I think Brian Tracy a master at this I mean he trained over a half a million people on sales techniques and strategies 20 languages 38 countries I mean, this guy is by far one of the best professionals when it comes to sales and communication. And I think you're going to really enjoy it. So let me buzz through these 21 great ideas on how to sell more faster and easier in tough markets. The first one is, and these are basically 21 ideas you can adopt to become this better salesperson or this better communicator. The first one is commit to excellence. Make a decision today to become one of the very best salesperson in your field. Keep going and keep going until you achieve your goal. So you've got to commit to excellence. You have to take this idea and know that you're going to run with it to be a better salesperson. Second, act as if it were impossible to fail. I like this, especially in life. You know, do things you fear and the death of fear is certain. Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain. Sorry, I was kind of slow on that one. Do the thing you fear. Because if you act as if it were impossible to fail, and so you just do the stuff you fear, you're going to overcome most of the challenges that you have, especially in sales. Because most people fear picking up the phone, giving that sales pitch, contacting that customer. So just do it as if you were guaranteed not to fail. Now, number three, put your whole heart into selling. Make 100% total commitment to your profession of selling. And I think that's a key. When you have a profession, whether it's your primary objective or not, when you make a wholehearted attempt at whatever you do, how you do anything is how you do everything, right? You're going to be more successful. Number four, position yourself as a real professional. See yourself as a consultant, an advisor, a valuable resource. When you believe in the product that you have, you're going to believe in the results it's going to create for people. Number five, prepare thoroughly for every call. Preparation, in my mind, is the absolutely most important ingredient in sales because it increases your confidence, it increases your ability to communicate, and your results. Let's see here. Number six, dedicate yourself to continuous learning. Learning the skill and trade of sales and communication and persuasion is something you should specifically spend time on because that right there is going to help you to be a more effective professional. Number seven, accept complete responsibility for results. See yourself as the president of your own personal sales corporation, completely in charge of your own life and sales activity instead of making excuses focus on making progress in your sales work. And I think taking responsibility for doing the activity of sales is one of the best ways to create results as well. Number eight, become brilliant on the basics. Learn and practice the fundamentals of sales process. These are things like the introduction, the blast, the probe and qualify, the sales presentation the trial close and the close And I say that we could probably cover that in a different call but a different episode But at the end of the day understand there is a process to sales And that if you don't understand and qualify your prospect and capture their attention initially, qualify them and then present, you could be just given a presentation to somebody that doesn't actually need or want your product. So that's really important. Number nine, build long-term relationships. When you create relationships in sales, you will be more effective. People buy from people they like. Number 10, be a financial improvement specialist. Look for ways to demonstrate to your prospect that your product or service has a definite return on investment. That is a key. Don't be an expense for people. Be a return on investment for them. That's so huge. Number 11, use education selling with every customer. I do love this, especially now, because most consumers are becoming more educated. So the more you educate, the more you give information, the more value you give, the better you're going to sell. Number 12, build mega credibility with every prospect. Everything counts. Be sure that you look the part of a believable and trustworthy sales professional. Use testimonials. Use credibility. Those are all very, very important to validate any type of product that you're trying to sell. Number 13, handle objections effectively. Learn how to resolve customer concerns, and I'm going to add, in advance of getting the concerns. When you know how to respond to an objection, you're going to be more confident and you're going to be more productive. If you don't practice and understand the reasons why someone wouldn't buy your product, it's going to be extremely hard for you to sell your product. Number 14, deal with price professionally. Be proud of your product and your pricing. Don't apologize if you have a higher price. And that confidence is going to come through and that confidence is going to help your customer, professional partner, affiliate, whoever it is, be more comfortable buying and purchasing your product and doing business with you overall. Number 15, know how to close the sale. Learn proven sales closing techniques. There are techniques. When you just fumble around or more importantly, most salespeople or most people just don't ask for the sale. Learn closing techniques because it's always a process of leading a prospect to a close rather than just coming out of the blue and just asking for it. Understand that there are trial closing methods. Understand that there are ways to lead your prospect into a close on a sale. Number 16, make every minute count. Your time is most precious resource you have. It's all you really have to work with. So make every minute count in your presentation and in your communication. Number 17, and I love this one, apply the 80-20 rule to everything. Spend more and more of your time on the most important and valuable prospects and customers. Sometimes we spend a lot of time on individuals that are not qualified to buy our product because they willing to engage us And you have to realize that your time back to that time point is so critical as a sales rep It not about staying on the phone or being in front of people that are willing to talk to you It about being in front of the right people and leading them through the prospect and the process of the sale and not wasting your time. Number 18, keep your sales funnel full. This means you've got to have a certain amount of time for prospecting, for presenting, for follow-up, and for onboarding of your product. Understand those different phases so that you'll always have your sales funnel full and you'll always be productive. Number 19, set clear income and sales goals. One of the biggest challenges I've seen, and I've had thousands of salespeople that I've trained and have worked for me, is that they don't track their sales goals and activity. What you focus on grows. What you track will get results. So make sure that you set goals. Be intentional with what you're doing. How many calls do you want to make today? How many people do you want to talk to? How many new clients do you want for your business? You've got to be intentional with your process of selling. And then number 20, manage your territory well. Now this is the idea that you could spend less time traveling and more time face-to-face when you actually group your activities together and you time chunk, like a lot of productivity and time management individuals have said. So manage your territory and your time, I would say, well. And then finally, practice the seven secrets of sales success. And I'm gonna leave you with that little bit of a nugget because I want you to actually follow up and look at this book. This book, Be a Sales Superstar by Brian Tracy. It's a read you can do in just a couple of hours. There's tons of powerful messages, stories, examples. But I wanted to give you those 21 today for a couple of really important reasons. Number one, I want you to prioritize your ability to sell and communicate. And number two, I want you to learn that everything in life, almost everything in life, everything in life, as far as I know of, can be a learned, trained skill if you put time and attention on it. And selling is no different. The more you understand and learn and grow with sales, the better you're going to be at it, the more results you're going to get. And I promise you, if you learn to sell, if you learn to communicate, you're going to be much more successful. And that will carry over into the rest of your life. You'll be more confident. You'll be more fulfilled. You'll feel more productive. So learn and apply the principles of sales. I hope that's something that will help you today. That's my message. I'd love to hear what you maybe struggle with when it comes to sales or communication. Hit me up on The Daily Mastermind. Also, if you haven't downloaded The Daily Mastermind mobile app on iTunes or Android Marketplace, make sure you do that because we're adding a whole bunch of new content in there as well. And I look forward to talking with you soon. Once again, my name is George Wright III. This has been The Daily Mastermind. Have an amazing day.