Voss Graham of Lawn and Landscape Magazine wrote a great article on how to become a sales superstar. To become a sales superstar, you need to master 10 critical decision-making areas that create sales success, as follows:

1. Sales superstars are always learning – learning in-depth about their customers; reading about selling, business trends and industry trends; and even attending training and development sessions. To become a sales superstar, you need to constantly sharpen your skills.

2. Business acumen – you must speak in terms that are important to customers, not just about product features and benefits

3. Preparedness = Do customer research before meeting customers. Get more information about your customers and be more knowledgeable than your competitors.

4. Industry knowledge = Knowing the industry is a requirement. This allows you to anticipate trends in your industry and help you guide your customers to better business decisions.

5. Questioning skills = Many sales people make the mistake of talking too much and boasting what they think they know, which turns off customers. To become a sales superstar, learn how to ask the right questions — questions to educate or guide the customer, uncover their biases, and learn what benefits or solutions would address the needs of the customer.

6. Listening = you need to actively listen to the customer. Focus on what the customer is really saying.

7. Think like an owner = Learn how to connect all the dots, taking time to think about customer satisfaction after the sale and what it takes to ensure success.

8. Creative problem solving = The key word is “creative,” which involves looking at the customer’s situation and thinking about different ways of solving the problem.

9. Practice, practice, practice = Work on your skills using role plays, application exercises, even video a customer simulation. Using video in the practice sessions is the fastest way to gain immediate improvement.

10. Self confidence = confidence is the key to having the winner’s edge.