Today, I spoke to a large medical distributor sales force at their national sales meeting. I had the pleasure of eating lunch with their award winners—about 10 of them. Whenever I meet top achieving salespeople, I pick their brains. I'm impressed with their success and fascinated by their motivation. I like being their student as well as their teacher. The question I asked each of them was: Why are you successful? Here is a sampling of their responses.

“It's my work ethic. I get out and make my calls.”

“I never make promises I can't deliver on.”

“I love to cold call.” (This came from a rep that turned around an underdeveloped territory.)

“I'm the customer's go-to guy. I have a lot of experience that I use. I deliver on my promises and manage customer projects well. They know I will get it done.”

“I stay current on changes in the industry. Customers want to know what's new.”

“I am part of a team and I know that. I've got the easiest job on the team—selling.”

“I don't promise what we can't do.”

“The customer is always first. I'm flexible with customers. I work for customers.”

“My word is my bond.”

“I'm positively paranoid about losing business. This keeps me on my toes.”

“I like the relationships and friendships I've made in business—both with customers and with other team members on the inside of our company.”

“It's my competitive nature, my passion for the job. I enjoy what I do. I enjoy doing business with my customers.”

A few things struck me. First, nowhere did any of them mention a specific technique, such as closing or negotiating. Their success is performance-driven, not technique-based. This means no games with customers.

Second, I was in the room with 10 top salespeople, but there wasn't a big ego in the room. In fact, most of them talked about the importance of other team members and customers. They were noticeably uncomfortable bragging about themselves. This is indicative of people that will subordinate their egos to a cause greater than themselves.

Third, they take pride in their profession. They understand that professional salespeople earn the customer's trust by delivering on their promises.

All of this is consistent with our best sales practices research over the past 18 months. Top salespeople view themselves as part of something bigger than themselves. They know that success in sales is the result of a team effort. Salespeople may sell the first experience with their companies, but it is the total experience with a company that brings customers back.

Coincidentally, the theme for this sales meeting was: “Every piece counts.” Management wanted to emphasize the power of “we” in success. They know that excellence is the natural outcome of synergy—all pieces working together to create value for their customers.

So, the next time you're with a top sales performer, ask why he or she is successful and sit back and take notes. That sales rep will tell you how to succeed in this profession.