I have always enjoyed watching the soaring of an eagle up in the sky – always so elegance, full of majesty. It’s an awesome sight! But there are times that they can’t even fly, and most of us have never seen them in their bad times. Eagles do get sick, and sometimes when they are sick they were almost immobilized. They become weak and depleted.

When an eagle crashes, he goes off to a place where he can be alone, often on top of a high cliff. There, he lies out in the sun, face up, spread-eagled, totally collapse. Eagles can look at the sun without any damage, and that’s what the powerless eagle does. He focuses his eyes on the sun and lies there until his strength comes back. And he will soar again!

This is Peter Ng. Welcome to my new series ‘Awakening the Selling Power within You’ – Even Eagle Need to Re-Focus.

At any point of time in our career, we need to re-focus on our profession, especially for those who are in the selling profession. In the selling profession, customers preferences are changing constantly, market conditions, customers are getting more knowledgeable, consumers knows their rights, etc. Henceforth, our sales approach, presentations, closing strategies, etc. must change to cater to the changing requirements. The success formula of yesterday may not be the right answer for today’s economy, and the success formula for today, may not be suitable for tomorrow’s conditions.

As a selling professional, we need to take a step back every now and then when we feel that we are going for a ‘crash’ and re-focus on our presentation style, changing needs, closing strategies, etc. The decision to re-focus will bring you into a whole new world of adventures, opportunities, recognition and potentially great success. You must sell yourself to sell your firm.

The key to making that commitment to your sales career and to earning the rewards it offers – lies in the pride you take in yourself and in your profession.

Here are eight important points to consider:

Re-enlist the support of your family. Family can be a very encouraging – or discouraging – factor when you are in the selling profession, so it is important to have them ‘on your side’.

Listen to your senior managers and sales manager. Solicit their advice as they normally have done their researches and studied the market conditions before launching the products, and gathers relevant information and statistic. This information can be your ‘ammunitions’ to close the sale.

Perfect your presentation skills. Create your own unique effective style of presentation. There is no one ‘overall’ style of presentation to suit each and every individual.

Identify winners and gravitate towards them. Look out for successful people and determine what sets them apart from the others. Make that distinction a part of your selling strategy. Avoid negative people.

Take criticism well. Use the criticism you receive to improve yourself. If you choose to respond adversely to the advice you receive, you will cut off a valuable source of feedback that can make you not just a better salesperson, but a better person.

Be a learner. Resist the temptation to think that you are wiser and smarter than others. Let continuous learning and upgrading be part of your life. It’s the continuous learning that helps you see things more objectively.

Avoid finding faults with others. Look for the good points in everybody and everything – your manager, your co-workers, your customers and your company.

Develop a sense of urgency and enthusiasm. Do not wait for things to happen. Plan, study, practice, prepare, and work as though you were taking part in the Olympics.

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength; not a lack of knowledge; but a lack of will. You become successful the moment you start moving towards worthwhile goals. Re-focus your life today!