Working with successful sales people when you are not very successful yourself can be extremely unnerving. It can actually drive you to the edge of insanity. I know. A few years ago, I was in a sales group barely making my quota while another agent who started at almost exactly the same time was excelling.

I could tell some of the things that made him a successful sales person, of course. He had that charm and ease with people, that ability to talk to anyone about anything and still stay in his comfort zone. It is often said that successful sales people are chameleons, and he definitely exemplified this.

And this is how nearly 200 people earned $100,000 last year with National Agents Alliance – simply by being a chameleon and mocking those who are already successful.

It’s a shame when people fail and blame it on the business model when clearly 200 six figure income earners is not a failing a system.

Back to my story. I may not have been the same social chameleon at that time, but I wasn’t exactly awkward. I had an easy time talking to customers and clients, and could make conversation on pretty much any topic.

Nonetheless, no matter how many sales books I read, no matter how many sales training seminars I went to, I couldn’t make my way up the ladder of success as fast I expected…

Two things happened that skyrocketed my career once I finally I figured them out.

1. I started spending time out of work with successful sales people. I had a big group of friends already so I didn’t really feel like I wanted to go out with people from the office after work. After all I just spent 50 hours with them.

Nonetheless, after one particularly stressful work day I went out for drinks with some of the more successful sales people in the office. I got to see how they interacted with each other, and I finally understood.

The most successful sales people, as far as I can tell, are people who never leave the job. And this what the best sales people at National Agents Alliance are like. In other words, whether they were getting drinks with friends, hanging out with their families, or negotiating a difficult sales deal, they always maintained the same salesman persona.

They used communication as a tool to get what they wanted, and were on their guard most of the time. They were constantly negotiating deals about everything, as if they were practicing. Sales, I began to realize, can be a passion for some people just like writing, programming, or any other career.

What really hit home with me was when I realized that sales was not even a job. It was a lifestyle. So instead of feeling like I was working all the time, suddenly it felt like I was never working because it was so much fun – like playing a game. Using communication to help people get what they already want is a blast!

2. The second thing that skyrocketed my sales was when I began teaching everything I was learning… I didn’t understand then, but looking back now I know exactly why this works so well. You see, when you’re reading, listening or watching something the information is on a one way path INTO your mind.

When you teach someone, the information must flow OUT the opposite way it came in. By running information along the “in path” AND the “out path” you commit it to memory with greater confidence.

People that don’t turn around teach or at least use what they’ve learned forget it in less than a year. It’s fascinating really how much faster you grow when you immediately turn around and teach what you learn…

Ultimately, I don’t think I had what it took to become one of the successful sales people. That isn’t to say that my success didn’t improve in the following few months When I started taking sales into the rest of my life, I noticed myself becoming better at it.

I learned how to get what I wanted in conversations, and I took that skill back to the office with me every day. Today I am still learning, still teaching and still growing with National Agents Alliance. The moment you stop growing is the moment life becomes boring.

Check out our insurance sales training here.

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In our society, there is a lot of discussion about expressing yourself. Everyone wants to get their point across, but people don’t necessarily worry about listening nearly as much. In my opinion, asking questions is every bit as important a skill as expressing your own opinions.

Everyone has an opinion, but by asking the right questions you can refine yours. You can learn from the life experiences of those you come across, and improve your own body of knowledge. Most importantly for the sake of this article, you can help your clients most effectively when using the National Agents Alliance sales system.

Asking questions is an art form. It isn’t just a matter of asking any question that comes to mind. Everyone has had that friend who asks stupid questions all the time, as if begging other people to think for them.

Knowing what to ask and what not to ask can make the difference between a good impression and a bad impression. Whether you’re going in for an interview, meeting a neighbor, or getting together with a very close friend, or a client in your National Agents Alliance business.

You are going to be judged by what you ask as well as by what you say.

Asking open ended questions is a great way to make a good impression and show people that you really care about what they have to say. The great thing about an open ended question is that it can really keep the conversation going.

It can allow the person you’re talking to to not just fulfill your query for knowledge, but to expand on it and perhaps teach you something you didn’t know before. Most importantly, it eliminates the possibility of your partner only answering with “yes” or “no” which gives you the least amount of information.

One of the most important things to remember about asking questions is that it is a way of showing your conversational partner that you’re paying attention. Try to ask a question about his or her area of expertise or something that interests him or her.

Some people just love to talk about their favorite hobbies, work, or even past relationships. The important thing is to know who you’re dealing with and what some of his or her preferred topics are. Then, ask questions to get your friend going.

National Agents Alliance provides multiple audio cds and NAA Power Players provide extensive video training recorded by James instructing the art of asking questions to understand the client.

But just because you are asking questions doesn’t mean you will get answers that are meaningful. One of the things that people like me, who like to hear other peoples opinions forget, is that not every opinion is necessarily an informed one. If you need good information, consult an expert with your questions.

There is enough noise going around nowadays that you don’t need to add to it by spreading someone’s uninformed opinion as if it were God’s own truth. With that being said, National Agents Alliance is jam packed with $100,000 income earners, $250k, $500, $750 and $1 Mill folks that you can personally ask your questions to.

We teach the art of question sales strategies in our NAA Power Players video training series.

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