3. The professional will not stoop so low as to take rejection personally. They know they can’t sell every client and expect to be rejected, more times than they sell.

4. Professionals are genuinely interested in people, their needs, their wants and even their habits. Because of this, professionals are never without referrals – they will even get referrals from prospect’s that did not buy from them.

5. The enthusiasm of a professional is high, even on the odd times when they are failing. Spend a day with a professional and you will probably hear him say, “Well, I know I can’t sell them all; still, I’m learning from rejections. Now let’s go and sell the next one.”

6. Professionals are always willing to improve, either from seminars, courses, books, tapes or by discussion. You don’t have to sell a winner the idea of further investing in his mind or his profession.

7. The professional will go back to basics at least once a year. He or she is never too proud to know that he too meanders off the track, forgets the fundamentals of selling, and needs to be steered back in the right direction.

8. Most importantly, the professional is not afraid of criticism by others. To them, it does not matter whether it is constructive or otherwise they welcome criticism. Criticism may just be what they needed to improve a specific strategy or presentational function to more effectively sell their client.

Peter Collins