Here are seven characteristics that set apart the top achievers from run-of-the-mill performers. Study them to improve your sales performance.

by M. Kay duPont

You deal daily with customers, fellow employees and managers, so you must look, act and feel like a professional. What does that mean? Think about someone you believe is truly professional. Male, female, old, young, friend or stranger, it doesn’t matter. Now, ask yourself, “What does that person have or do that makes him or her so professional?”

One of the ways to be more professional is to study people who already are. Take those people apart in your mind, piece by piece. Ask yourself, “What clothing do they wear, how do they walk, how do they talk, what’s the sound of their voice, what did they just say that impressed me or intimidated me?” You can start being more professional just by emulating some of the people around you.

When I started analyzing professional, successful achievers, I found that many of them had the same characteristics. I’ve listed seven of them here:

Planning. Professionals don’t sit around and wait for life — or their job responsibilities — to take them by surprise. They plan everything, not only what they’re going to do, but also what they’re going to wear, how they’re going to get to work, what they’re going to do after they get there, and just about everything they say and do. They plan their days, weeks, years, jobs, careers and their lives.

The easiest way I know to get stampeded is to let something come as a complete surprise. To control events and not be surprised, you have to anticipate events. You need to see change coming early on and ask yourself, “How can I use this change to get what I want? Where are the opportunities in this for me?” You’ll find that if you can guess where something is going, and then get there first, you’ll have an incredible advantage.

Relating to other people. Non-professionals say, “I have too many important things to handle to worry about getting along with others!” That’s a sad misconception. People skills are more important than technical skills when it comes to getting and keeping a job, advancing in your current field, or even getting a raise.

If you’re an average worker, you spend more than 2,000 hours a year at your job, probably more time than you spend with your family. Two thousand hours is a lot of time to spend not relating to other people. You certainly don’t want to spend your entire career like that!

Relating to others means more than just saying good morning. It also means being aware of differences. If there’s something wrong with your business relationship with someone else, the responsibility might be partially yours. If that’s true, the responsibility for trying to resolve it is partially yours, too.

Professionals understand that if they’re having a disagreement, if a relationship or project is not running smoothly, if communications have broken down, at least 50 percent of the problem is theirs. If that’s true, what was the 50 percent and how can you take at least 50 percent of the responsibility for fixing it? I’ve never seen a disagreement that wasn’t caused by both people. A true professional, however, doesn’t really care who gets the blame as long as the problem gets resolved.

Offering to do more than your share. A lot of people do what they’re required to do and do it well, but just don’t think about offering to do more than they’re paid to do. I know there’s only so much time in the day, and you can’t offer to do extra things if you don’t have the time, skill or knowledge. But most of us could help others more than we do. Offering to do more also includes learning new skills, taking educational courses, reading about your profession or listening to cassette programs. It includes always trying to be more than you are right this minute.

Enjoying life. Enjoying your time on this planet is extremely important to your professional life, your personal life and your career success. If you’re not happy at home, with your life or with yourself, you’re probably not happy with your career, either. Many people need to look at their life and say, “Wait a minute, what am I doing that’s just for me? What am I doing for fun?”

If I asked you, “What are your hobbies? What do you do when you get off work?” would you have to stop and think about it? If so, maybe you’re not doing enough for you. When we become adults, we tend to lose the childlike spirit of fun. We tend to do things for other people, which of course is wonderful, but sometimes you have to do things that make you happy, and sometimes that means getting away without the rest of them. Most of us need some quiet time occasionally so we can get to know ourselves again and renew our internal happiness. I often ask people, “When was the last time you went to the zoo or roller skating or hiking by yourself?” Most can’t remember. Can you?

Owning your life. To me, this is the most important characteristic of a professional. If someone else owns your life, makes the rules, tells you what to do and when to do it, how to do it and who to do it with, then you’re not in control. If you’ll do what I asked you to do earlier, study people who are professional, you’ll find that they’re totally in control of what they’re doing. They may give you the feeling that if someone said, “You’re going to die tomorrow,” they would say, “That’s OK. I know what I’ve done and I’m happy with it. I can go without any mental pain or suffering.” That’s owning your own life. That’s knowing who and where you are and being in control.

That’s why true professionals can always see the bright side of life. They know that things happen for a reason and they’re part of the reason. And if things go awry, well, that’s OK, too, because they have the choice to change it again and make something good of it.

Professional people seldom complain or appear to be unhappy, even if they’re not feeling so great on the inside. If you ask them how their day’s going, most of them won’t say, “It’s OK, I guess it’s the best it can be.” They’ll say, “Great, just great! How’s your day going?”

Listening. Although we spend more than a third of our time listening, most of us don’t really listen very well. Poor listening habits in meetings cost companies millions of dollars annually in wasted time and misunderstandings. To listen most effectively, you need to accept that there’s a difference between listening and hearing. Hearing is a physical process, just like breathing. But listening, like reading, is an intellectual process that can be vastly improved with a little effort. When we listen, we have to deal with our own emotions as well as the speaker’s. We must learn to control our emotions and avoid jumping to conclusions, hear the words as the speaker meant them, not as we felt them.

Take time to lend an ear to the concerns of your co-workers. By caring about the way they feel, you gain their loyalty and they’ll be willing to put forth extra effort when you need it.

Being appreciative. Yes, TLC! Even though professionals make their own luck, they never miss a chance to thank people for the little things they do. Somehow, the busy professional always has time to send a card, make a phone call, say thanks. It’s one of the marks of a pro. Caring is always an asset.

Professionals are sensitive, feeling people who understand the value of flexibility. They know how to say what they mean and get what they want without hurting, offending or confusing the people they deal with, and without giving up their own values. It isn’t possible to be professional when you’re playing destructive games or manipulating people. Nor is it possible to be professional when you’ve set yourself up to be a victim. Professionalism means caring enough about yourself to negotiate “win-win” relationships with the people who share your world. It means being hard on merit, but soft on people, a tradeoff between what you want and getting along. Being professional means feeling good, giving and deserving respect, treating others equally, maintaining personal integrity and communicating with confidence and love.

Did you see yourself here?

M. Kay duPont, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Communication Connection in Atlanta, works with people and organizations that want to improve their business relationships and image. She does this through coaching, consulting, writing, training, meeting facilitation and conference speaking. For more information, visit her Web site, www.tcc-wsa.com.

This article originally appeared in the Progressive Distributor 2001 STAFDA edition. Copyright 2001.

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