What the top 1% of sellers do differently

Hey everyone.

Welcome back to the podcast.

So I, I'm excited to be recording some new episodes at the moment.

I'm actually just down here in Durban in with my team at Growth Resources, which is great.

But I'm taking the time to record some episodes to share some ideas I've been learning picking up from my team.

And one of the questions I'm going to cover off today is a question that my team in, in I have in growth resourcing ask me on a regular basis and they say to me, how do we become a top 1% seller?

It's a really popular subject at the moment when it, you know, literally sales.

How do people want to become this top 1%?

It's been, you hear it mentioned a lot.

I've done some videos and stuff on this in the past, but I wanted to just do a little bit of a podcast around what this actually means and how do you become a top 1% seller?

And I guess the question is what does top 1% mean and what does that look like?

And more importantly, why does it even matter?

And I guess the thing for me, and I say this to a lot of people when I talk to them about sales and selling and how, how selling grows and evolves.

I think sadly, I'm going to be really honest and say about 80% of salespeople sell badly.

So I think, yeah, I'd probably say 80%.

I think there's a lot of people that are terrible from a sales perspective when they, when they approach it, they approach it solely for their benefit, not the benefit of other people.

It's, they're lazy.

They're just.

There's lots of people that get it wrong.

So I guess if it's top 1%, I guess it's probably about, you know, 15 to 19% maybe of people that do it, okay, that, that do sales in the right way and try and do things in the right.

But then there's that 1% that tend to be just out outstanding and they tend to earn more commission over people or win more deals than everyone else.

They tend to just generate more business.

They tend to get more opportunities.

They, they tend to be that the ones that lead and stand out from the crowd.

And I guess I want to firstly talk about what that top 1% do and let me share some points around that so that you can help yourself become similar 1%, top 1% salesperson or business person that sells and achieves results.

So point number one is they understand their brand and the importance of their brand.

What I mean by this.

And people might say, well, if you sell for a company, I don't need to build a brand.

That's bs.

People are buying from you and they're buying from you.

Yes, your company is important if you sell a service or offering, but they are buying from you as the individual.

And the reality is if they can't see you or know who you are or know what you stand for or what you do, then the chances are you're going to become invisible.

And one what the top 1% understand they have to be known in their space.

Daniel Priestley wrote a really good, good book called Key Person of Influence, where you become the key person of influence in your sector, in your space, and what the top 1% understand is in their market, they have to become the KPI, the key person of influence.

So I really encourage you to think about how your brand is represented if you want to become that 1%.

How visible are you on the relevant channels where your customers and audience are?

If I searched your name on Google, where would I, what would I see?

What would I see for you?

Would I see?

And if you're lucky enough to have an obscure name, you might turn up, but what would I see?

What, what would come about?

For example, one of the things that I encourage people to actually do, and I covered this in our personal branding podcast a couple of weeks ago, is to actually Google search your name.

So if you Google search your name, what comes up, what what you actually see?

And in my case, I know that I had to add sales onto mine because if you had search James White, there's an American run NFL player and a guy that sells fruit juice and an American theologian who have, you know, done very well to build their brand.

So I added sales into my if you search James White, you may not find anything.

Search James White sales.

Pretty much you get pictures and videos and images of me.

So my question is choose is.

Is what do you get if you search your name?

But what does your personal brand say about you?

How do you start to go and educate your market or the audience that you have around the solutions and the elements that you put in place?

And those that are experts at building the top 1% understand that they need to develop their brand so that they're not just someone that people ignore.

So, and I cover this off in other podcasts, but really understand that your brand matters.

It's not just your company.

Jordan Belfort, even in the Wolf of Wall street, talked around the three tens, you, your company and your product and service.

So you as a person, what are they buying into?

And can they see you?

Can they, can they find information?

Can they build trust for you before a meeting or a conversation online before they get to that point?

So that's point number one.

I think point number two around what to do to become a top 1% seller is those that are top 1% are incredibly disciplined with their time.

So time for them is a real, you know, we all, the one thing, you know, we've all got the same 24 hours in a day, but those are at the top 1% know that, that actually they've got to make use of that time better than anyone else.

I remember Steph Curry, the basketball player, talking about how he would go to bed a bit earlier and get up a bit earlier so that he could practice in order to, you know, he said he needs to practice for two hours in the morning.

So he was two hours ahead of everyone.

And if he compounded that over the time he was going to become a better player.

And he's obviously one of the world's greatest basketball players.

So the very best I think are very disciplined with their time.

And I'm not saying that you should be so, so rigid that everything has to be by schedule, but what they'll do is they'll, they'll manage time in their diary effectively and they'll make sure that they are, if they're committing to doing something, they'll do it and they'll stick to that and they'll, that shall turn other people away and say, sorry, I'm focused on doing what I've got to do right now.

And I always remember telling people that, you know, one of the, the greatest developer that ever worked for me, if you listen to this, Rob Cullen was, was a, was a great guy.

Him and his brother Kieran helped me when I built my first software company.

And Rob used to work in the office pretty much, you know, he didn't do much more than his 8:30 till 5:30 shift.

But he was just so disciplined with his time.

He would literally make sure that, you know, people were talking at, you know, having a coffee or whatever.

He but sorry, I've got to get back to work, I want to get this done.

Because what his priorities were to do stuff with his family and whatever else and I totally respected that.

So top 1% sellers are incredibly disciplined with their time.

They time block.

They make sure that things are in their diary and they get those things done rather than being in a position where they, they let time sort of fly by and they're Very disciplined with that.

If they put a commitment in to do something, they'll make that commitment happen.

So I guess my question to you is, how disciplined are you with time?

Have a look today, good example today.

Have a good diary and see how much time do you actually, how much does time control you and how much do you control the actions and the elements that you're doing?

So how much time is spent with colleagues or other people discussing things in meetings and then going for a coffee and then, you know, looking on the Internet and looking at emails, whatever else, those things that we all do, but which take our time up versus how much time is being spent by actually focusing on the tasks that are going to make a big difference for you.

And, you know, in the sales world, that might be prospecting, it might well be, you know, creating proposals.

It may well be you're outlining a new solution or some insights to share with the prospect.

But key things, how disciplined are you, your time?

Okay, so point number three, around what the top 1% do, is that they are obsessive about their buyers and the buyers and what, what motivates their buyers.

And I think they obsess by being able to understand really what goes on in the mind of the customers and the people that prospects they're talking to and what that means is that they're in a position where they're able to really add value and make those conversations come alive.

Because people think, wow, this person's helpful and useful.

They know stuff.

There's someone I want to learn with.

So if you're, you know, selling to IT directors, your job as this top 1% seller is to really understand what motivates and frustrates and excites those people.

What are the challenges they're facing?

What are the new issues coming down the line with AI and automation?

What are the things that stop them from.

From sleeping at night and worry them?

And how can you start to understand that?

I really then start to share ideas and information with that.

I've always believed that.

For me, I'm not saying I'm a top 1% seller, I'd like to think I am.

But one of the things that really makes a difference when I talk to my audience, which tends to be business owners of software and IT service businesses, is that when I talk to business owners, I really understand their challenges in running the business and scaling the business and growing the business.

I've been there, I've done it.

So I'm always sharing ideas around how to achieve growth, how to build systems, how to scale how to ensure that they manage people and culture effectively because I've done those things.

So study your buyers daily, understand them.

Really get inside the brain here.

Someone once told me, get a PhD in your customers problems and world become so obsessed by that.

And you know the best way to do that and 1% will do this is they'll get a, you know, white pad out and they'll brainstorm it and they'll look at different elements around what, what might be taking place within that world.

And they become obsessed by their audience and who they're selling to and the people that they're talking to so that they can really understand them and, and become valuable to those people rather than just a salesperson that the other people want to ignore.

And when you really start to understand your buyers, understand what's driving them and get in their shoes and think from, like from, from their perspective, other stuff happens.

So what are the other and that what's the other?

Point number four, the top 1% do they ask better questions?

And I'm gonna they ask better questions in a better way.

So not only do they realize that sales is all about questioning, but what they also realize is that curiosity builds trust far greater than a pitch ever will.

What the top 1% do is they ask questions in the right way.

So for me, you're and I talked a lot about my sim, my podcast around open questions, your how, your what, your who, you're where, your tell me more, you know, which is the problem area for you.

Whatever the these areas, we're not, you know, avoiding why, but those questions are critical.

But it's also about how you ask them.

So I've been training with my team down here at the moment and talking around how humor can sometimes come into sales and the top 1% will also bring humor into it.

Whether, you know, they'll engage and say, you know, they'll add a question, hey, sounds like that's an issue for you, hey, or what would make you smile today.

You know, they've got this different way of adding in a bit of humor or a bit of personality into their conversations and that makes a massive difference when it comes to being able to get information from people.

I think if you ask questions in the right way, you can, you can probe, you can dig.

People will share information if they feel like they can trust you to build a relationship with you.

So if you can focus on doing that, you're going to be in a good place.

So asking better questions, no doubt for me is the right thing.

And at the right time.

I was.

So the right question said in the right way at the right time is sales gold.

And that's what the top 1% do really well.

So my question to you is, how good are you asking questions?

How many questions have you got in your list that are open questions to ask your prospects and the people you're talking to?

At what point do you start to use a closed question?

There are times, especially as you come to the end of a call or end of a discussion, where you might use a closed question to be able to book a meeting.

For example, one of the phrases I use of our guys here will be, you know, once you've had a discussion, would it be a, you know, would it be a daft idea to, to arrange a 30 minute conversation to unpack some other ideas to help you?

So again, it's a closed question.

Would it be a daft.

That ear you're looking for the yes or no, but it's asked at the right time rather than being at the start of the conversation.

So asking better questions in the right way, certainly a 1% top seller skill that they have.

So sorry to interrupt the podcast, but.

If you've got a sales issue at the moment that's really hacking you off, challenge me, I'll help you solve it.

Reach out to me.

Drop an email at hello Ameswhite Business and I will help you solve your sales challenge.

There's not one I don't think I can't handle.

There's no sales issue that I can't resolve.

I've seen them all over my career.

I want to help you solve yours.

So reach out to me.

Let's make sure we handle your sales challenges and fix them so you can get back to smiling again.

Now back to the podcast.

Okay, so the next point, point number five is they prioritize follow up, follow ups.

So what top 1% understand is that they're able to read the prospect that they're engaging with and working with, but they understand that they have to follow up.

And most business deals are not one initially in the first conversations or the first, second, two, two or three conversations, they're one subsequently afterwards.

And what the top 1% understand is they've got to follow up effectively on a regular basis.

So if they don't.

And what they'll also do is they'll, they'll schedule that and plan that, whether it's in mainly CRM systems or maybe if they've got a diary system they might use, but they'll plan a follow up at certain points in time.

And they'll also make sure that their follow up isn't just what I would call a lazy follow up, which is how you doing?

Where are we at with a proposal?

It will be a follow up that's based around when we spoke, you shared an issue here.

So here's some thoughts around that.

Or I found this article that might be useful for you.

So it's follow up that's proactive.

It's based around what's helping the prospect do what, what they need to do.

And they'll do it.

And they'll realize that they have to be consistent with that.

They don't give up.

Top 1% understand that, you know, there was a stat a number of years ago that 80% of sales are done on the 5th to the 12th interaction.

And I've not seen a study recently, but I actually think is longer more than that now.

I think it could be 15 to 20 interactions.

So you've got to be consistent.

You've got to engage, but engage with value.

And what, what they'll do is they'll prioritize that follow up in, in, in a, in a key way.

So the next two.

Well, in fact, no, I'll cover this other one first, then I'll talk about the final two, which I think are really, really key because we've talked a little bit about learning and time.

But I think there's two other elements around time that the top 1% will focus on.

The next point is they understand their network.

They understand they nurture their network.

So even though they're focused on using these slides and their time effectively, they also understand that in order to grow, they have to build a network.

They have to be seen and associated.

I think not so much seen and associated, but they have to engage with the right audience in order to be able to find the right type of people.

So for example, that might mean that they understand if they're talking to IT directors, then they need to engage in where IT directors are.

They need to be in the groups that are in where that audience is.

They need to be sharing information that that audience is finding.

So they've really got to engage and nurture their network.

They understand that business happens from building relationships, whether it's, you know, playing, you know, taking people for coffee, going for lunch with them, having dinner with them, going for a game of golf with them.

They understand that, you know, just, just reaching out and speaking to people and making that time.

They understand that it comes from, you know, building their relationships and they want Their relationship to be as expanded as possible, as wide as possible to as many people as possible to understand who they are and what they do, and they make a difference.

They understand that in order to, to be successful, it's about also just, you know, you know, what they know.

It's who they know and how they can develop and build that.

And I always think that the top 1% are really good connectors.

They're good people that can link other people together, and that's what makes them become a central part of something, because they're able to connect people and think people in different ways.

So understanding that they nurture your network.

And my question to you is, how do you build your network today?

What are you doing?

What have you done today to build your network?

What have you done today?

Have you connected with some new people on LinkedIn, for example, or whatever your social channel is that works for you, or have you been to an event recently, or have you, for example, you know, been in a position where you've joined an online webinar, for example, where there's other people?

What have you done to build your network where people can.

Or attended a course, for example, where you can develop your network and who you are.

And I think that's a really key part of maybe being able to sell, but also being able to develop and build these connections, because if those connections that then link people to other people, which is where other stuff happens.

So I guess, you know, the penultimate point before we get into time thing is about the top 1%.

They also know the time and place to do things.

And they've built up that by having what I always talk about, emotional intelligence, emotional sales intelligence.

They understand when the right time is to ask the right question.

And I talked about that, asking better questions.

But closing is fundamentally what we need to do in sales.

And, you know, if you can't close, if you can't have a conversation with someone and then know and spot when is the right time to ask for that opportunity Community, or when's the right time to step back, then you're never going to achieve what you really want to.

So what the top 1% do is they're able to spot that and know when the right time is to.

To.

To ask the question, to move things forward and also to ask the right questions to close.

They understand that in order to close, it's about removing the, the issues and the fears and the challenges that are going on in the mind of the prospect.

It's about remove.

It's answering the questions that Sometimes the buyer won't even tell you.

And what the top 1% are able to do is answer those questions and know what those questions are going to be because they've put themselves in the mind and shoes of their buyer to be able to know what those are and then ask the questions to, you know, how would it feel to put your trust in us and move things forward?

You know, you know, shall we get things set up so we can put this issue to rest?

You know, how would it feel to solve this problem and be in a position where you're looking back in a few months time and this is resolved?

You know, they're able to ask those questions that lead a buyer down a path, which is, which is where they want to get to.

So, yeah, they understand how to close.

And if you can't be a top 1% seller unless you can close, unless you can ask the right questions at the right time to get the deal done.

And the top 1% are able to do that by being able to know the right time and know how to ask those questions.

And I'm gonna, I think I might do another podcast on some other different types of questions to use that I think can be helpful for you to think about.

But, yeah, definitely worthwhile looking and knowing and understand how you, how you can learn to close in that way.

So the final two points, I think are linked to time, but they're, they're based around what the other.

I think the top 1% will make sure they do.

The first one is, I talked about time, but they, they block time for learning the very best.

I, I, you know, I always look at this.

I'm still learning.

You know, if you look at the best sports people in the world, you know, yeah, if you look at the Scottish effort, the number one golfer in the world, or if I look at Yannick Sinner, you know, was it Carlos Alcatraz, the number one tennis player in the world, or, or even if you look at, like I mentioned, Steph Curry, the, the top basketball player in the world, or Ronaldo, these people still have coaches and people who work with them day to day.

They don't just say, oh, I'm the best and I'm okay.

I don't need to worry about learning.

They are hungry to learn.

I remember Cristiano Ronaldo is a footballer.

Was, was always, you know, when he was at Manchester United, had a free kick coach who would stay with him.

After training, so he could practice his free kicks.

And he was already at the top end, you know, top part of the game, but he wanted to become even better.

So the very top, you know, top 1% understand that you've got a block time for learning and you've got to commit to it.

And that might be reading books or listening and observing things, but they're students, they understand that.

They're not arrogant.

They don't think they know it all.

They understand that in order to grow and develop, they've got to do even more and they've got to, they've got to develop more.

And that's how they become even better, because they're able to pick things up and adapt and learn and understand what's new, what's changing, what's going on in their world that enables them to then add better value to the people, the prospects and customers they work with.

So the first thing is, but they block time for it, they make time for it.

And they understand that even though it's a day out from the office, if they go on a course or a week out, sometimes it's worth it in order to keep their themselves, keep the ax sharp, as it were.

And then the final point, I think that the top 1% do is they're really clear about their intentions for the day.

And I think people that are the best at selling know they go into the office not, not thinking, well, what am I going to do today?

They've even planned it the night before.

My three goals today are to do this, this, and this.

And what I'm going to do to make this happen is this, this, and this.

And they've outlined their day and they know what they, their outcomes are, and they focus on making those outcomes happen before they start getting into email or other things.

And look, you might say this is easy to, if, you know, if you're on the road wherever.

But even still, it's still about choice of time, and it's still about what you prioritize above other things.

And what the top 1% will do is prioritize the actions that they know are going to help them get to where they want to get to.

And they make those things happen before anything else.

And they know what that looks like.

They're planned, they're focused.

And here's a little thing to you to, you know, as we sort of reach the end of this podcast episode, if you were to write down the night before the top two or three things that you wanted to get done that day, the next day and then if you woke up and made those happen, and especially if those were tasks that were going to help you win some business or move a deal forward, I guarantee you, you will feel, you feel you walk around a bit like a peacock because the, the dopamine hit we get when we say we're going to do something and then we do it, makes us feel incredible, makes us feel stronger.

And if you build that chain where you do that for two or three days at a time, not you're going to become unstoppable and disciplined with your time, but you're going to start seeing stuff that really matters, the important but not urgent stuff.

If you've ever listened to Stephen Covey, have a look for Steven Covey's Important but Not Urgent matrix, where we generally, we, we generally put things aside that aren't particularly urgent.

So we, we do things that are urgent but not important.

But the important, the not urgent stuff, we leave.

And what he says is if you can focus on, you know, those areas that you need to get done, they're not, they're not screaming at you today, but they need to be done, then it will help you build a better, successful business and career.

So write down what are the things that you can do that are important but not urgent, that can help you win more business and bring deals in and look at what those are.

And if you can become disciplined to be able to focus on that, you'll be in a great place.

So there you have it.

Look, it's a slightly longer episode, maybe today than normal, but there's my top 1% sellers do.

It's what I've seen from working with great salespeople over my career.

They are, they are incredible at what they do and how they do it.

And yeah, I think if you can start applying these ideas into your business life day to day, you're going to do better, you're going to sell more, you're going to become more successful in what you're doing in your career.

And I hope that is what happens, because the only.

I'm very grateful that you listen to the podcast and it's great to have you here, but my single goal is to help you become more successful for whoever you are, whether you're running a business, selling, whatever, I don't mind.

I want you to become more successful.

It's what drives me to do these podcasts is to help you achieve more.

So I want you to become successful and I want you to become a top 1% seller so you can have the best life with your family and loved ones.

So that's why I do what I do.

And if you put these elements in place and start to apply it day to day and build those daily disciplines, I think you'll get there.

So I'm gonna, as I always do, finish the podcast with an inspirational story.

And the inspirational story this time around, and this comes from an interesting one that I heard about.

It's a guy called Chen Si, who in China, there's a Yangtze Bridge, the River bridge, which sadly is an area where sadly so many people commit suicide.

And I say this because it's been quite a sad time for me recently with a member of my team that sadly committed suicide.

And yeah, that's been been tough for me to think about and consider.

And when I saw this story about this gentleman who basically every weekend he basically stays on the bridge and patrols the bridge looking for people that might be committing suicide and he stops them from doing it and he talks to them and builds empathy with them and gets them to a place where they don't want to do it.

And I think, wow, what an incredible thing to do to help people save their life and turn their life around and not have the sadness that comes from that happening.

So Chen Zi in China is my inspirational story.

And I think he's doing a small thing that he can do to make an impact in a big way.

When you think about how many people that he will impact in terms of who will touch the person that he's engaging with, you know, how many of their people, their lives are engaged with, it's.

It's huge.

So Chen Z is my inspirational story for today.

So that's it for the podcast this week.

Hope you've enjoyed.

Are you going to become a top 1%?

I hope you are.

It's what I would love you to be.

But as ever, I say to you, thank you so much for listening.

We, the numbers are growing in the podcast.

I'm really proud and excited that we're continuing to grow month on month and people are downloading it and they're listening to it and sharing their, their insights.

And again, if you can, that helps me.

I had someone share something the other day on, on Instagram, someone share about it on.

On it on.

On LinkedIn.

Please do.

If you enjoy the podcast, you think it can help other people share it, let other people know so we can grow and build, so we can help more people achieve the sales success that they want.

But as ever, that's it from me.

Have a brilliant week.

Stay safe.

Keep smiling, keep selling well, keep realizing, you know, as I always say, to eat or beat and you have a choice.

Take control or be controlled.

I want you in control.

So have a great weekend.

See you next week.

Take care.

So thank you so much for listening to this episode.

I hope you enjoyed.

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It helps us ensure more people can get the insights and ideas they need to get incredible sales results.

Look forward to seeing you on the next episode.