Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other thing.

- Abraham Lincoln -

I have recognized for years that I could teach and then drill selling skills into a promising sales representative and could help my client to create a climate for self-motivation and yet some representatives with extremely high potential for success still would fail at the selling process. To combat this unpredictable failure, I often have counseled clients to hire two representatives to end up with one good one or three to get two. Even though I believed that a new sales person would do well as long as he had been given the right selling and prospecting tools and the motivation to spur him into action, often I saw perfectly capable employees leave the selling profession, simply because of a missing ingredient. I couldnt quite put my finger on the elusive success component, but I did feel it had something to do with an individuals achievement drive. Thats why I initially created our Getting An Edge workshop and self-administered reinforcement series (see http://thesellingedge.com/manual2.htm). After watching good people fail, I sensed that there was a missing factor in our sales training. Now research by Dr. Kevin Celuch, professor of Marketing at Illinois State University, has not only identified and clarified the critical ingredient to sales success, but he has made some vital suggestions on how to instill this factor into individual sales representatives.

Dr. Celuchs has analyzed* 166 previous studies that had been completed on selling success. In his research he found that even with all of the vital selling skills in place and a motivational climate within a given company, a sales representative or service professional will often fail due to what Celuch refers to as a vital mediating factor between a sales persons selling skills and motivation. This mediating factor, is a sales persons own self-esteem. Celuchs study shows an extremely low correlation between sales success on one hand and a sales representatives aptitude, sales techniques, organizational skill and motivation factors on the other. Across a long list of diverse selling activities and abilities, the real indicator of selling success found in the Celuch study was a sales professionals perceived self-efficacy. A belief in oneself was Dr. Celuchs explanation for a salespersons behavior and performance levels. He found that self-belief was the critical intermediary between a sales representatives knowledge and the professionals behavior.

It is interesting that a gut feeling that I have had about sales success for the past 17 years has finally been proven by research. Achievement drive, the self-esteem that drives achievement, is critical to your companys overall selling success. Those of you that use testing before hiring new sales associates should make certain that this critical factor is assessed by your tests and weighted heavily as you make decisions regarding those that you hire. For those sales representatives already in place, you need to assess your programs for helping the employees crucial to the overall success of your organization to maintain and consistently improve their feelings of self-worth. The manual listed in the first paragraph can help anyone to alter negative feelings and attain a personal belief levels that will produce consistent sales success.

* Source: Kevin Celuch, Illinois Stale University. Based on "Perceived Self-Efficacy and Salesperson Performance," presented to Pi Sigma Epsilon research fraternity convention.

Virden Thornton

Serving Discriminating Clients Internationally Since 1983

Virden J. Thornton is the founder of The $elling Edge?, Inc., a training and development firm, specializing in sales, telemarketing, customer relations, and management training, coaching and marketing advisory services. He has trained, coached and advised literally hundreds of clients, including Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, Northern Uniform Supply, The Texas Independent Banker's Association, Deloitte & Touch?, Smith Barney, Jefferson Wells International, The Government of The U. S. Virgin Islands, First National Bank of Arizona, City Laundering, Co. and Wal?Mart to name a few.

Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success, A Realtor's Success Formula, Organizing For Sales Success, and "best sellers" Building & Closing the Sale, 101 Sales Myths. His audio/video tape series entitled Close That Sale, is based on his 50 Minute Series manual Closing: A Process Not A Problem--published by a division of Thompson Learning. He has also authored a client acclaimed self-directed learning series of sales, coaching, customer service, telemarketing, and personal productivity training manuals, outlined in the Books & Manuals section of this site. Virden has a degree in communications (public address emphasis) from the University of Utah.

As a consultant and trainer, Virden has been retained by dozens of banks, savings and loans, and credit unions to help them move from operational, order taking cultures to proactive sales and cross-selling organizations. He has literally trained thousands of sales representatives and managers in businesses as diverse as distribution, auto sales, printing, eye care, uniform and linen rentals, manufacturing, and many others. Virden also specializes in training, coaching and advising service industry professionals (accountants, attorneys, engineers, architects, financial planners, stockbrokers, etc.) in the fine art of "business development."

Virden has taught small business courses at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, a bank sales curriculum at the Center For Professional Development, Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas and a short course on selling at the School Of Entrepreneurship, J. Willard And Alice S. Marriott School off Management at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

Virden and his wife Barbara reside in Avon Lake, Ohio and are the parents of ten children.