How to use the 3 A’s to become more successful at sales

Get these 3 things right and you’re almost guaranteed to have success.

Success comes as a result of what I like to call the 3 A’s:

1. Acumen: Do you have the right set of skills?
2. Activity: Are you doing enough of the right things?
3. Attitude: Is your mindset right for success?

Get those 3 things right and you’re almost guaranteed to have success.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say you wanted to become successful at making sales.

Acumen is fairly straightforward:

Do you have the skills? Do you know *how* to sell?

If not, that’s your first step.

(This free training will help: how to become better at sales)

Activity is also straightforward:

Are you actively engaged in the activities of selling?

• Are you marketing, prospecting, meeting with potential clients, following up with leads?
• Are those activities on your default diary?
• Do you have someone to report to for accountability?
• Are you keeping a scorecard?

Often, a lack of activity is an indication that there’s a problem with your mindset.

Which brings us to the third A:

What is your attitude about selling?

Of all the A’s, attitude is the most important.

Another word for attitude is mindset.

If you want to succeed – at anything – you need the right mindset for success.

There are many aspects to mindset – to learn about them all, see my training here: Success begins with mindset: is your mindset ready for success

Right now, I’m going to focus on the 3 that most frequently get in the way of successful selling.

1. Your beliefs about what it means to be a salesperson
2. Your comfort zone
3. Your identity

Let’s begin with beliefs

What are the first three words that come to mind when I say…salesperson?

Weasley? Dishonest? Pushy? Manipulative? Fast-talking? Slick?

If you hold those things to be true about selling somewhere in your subconscious, it’s going to get in the way of your ability to be effective when you’re out selling your products or services.

How would your mindset shift if you started to believe that selling was leadership? Or helping people? Or being of service?

The most successful salespeople hold positive beliefs about selling and are proud to be salespeople.

Now let’s talk about comfort zones.

Is sales within your comfort zone? Or is it in your growth zone?

Everything you want in life is just outside your comfort zone.

And when you get to the edge of your comfort zone, that’s the growing zone.

And what do we experience when we get to the edge of our comfort zone?

By definition, it feels uncomfortable.

If it’s discomfort that’s keeping you from being better at sales, lean into the growth. (Business coaching can help a LOT with this. 😉 )

With some practice, you’ll soon find that sales becomes part of your comfort zone – my clients often report that they begin to enjoy selling once they get past the initial growing pains.

Finally, let’s look at your identity.

What do you say to yourself about yourself when it comes to sales?

Our identity is anything we say to ourselves about ourselves when no one else is looking.

And we typically say those things like this

• I am ____
• I can ____
• I can’t ____

What do you say to yourself about sales?

Does it sound like this? I can’t sell. I hate selling. I’m not a salesperson.

What might change for you if you updated those statements?

Might I suggest: I love selling. I’m a great salesperson.

Feel like too far to stretch? How about: I’m learning to love selling. I’m learning to become a great salesperson.

Of the 3 A’s – mindset is the most important

You can have acumen and you can take action – but if you lack belief in yourself, if you’re not willing to venture outside of your comfort zone, or if you have an identity rooted in failure – you’ll struggle.

The good news is that your mindset can be changed!

Check out my full-length video training on mindset here: Success begins with mindset: is your mindset ready for success

Or if you’d like to get on the fast track to success, let’s talk about business coaching.

You can book 15 minutes on my calendar here: Book a call with John