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3. A professional salesperson believes he is a professional.

He doesn't see what he does for a living as just a job. He understands that it is one of the most fundamental and important functions, not only in his company. but in the economy in general. He realizes that he touches and influences hundreds, if not thousands, of people, that his work supports and enables a number of other families, and that he represents much of the visible face of the company that employs them. These are serious responsibilities, and the professional salesperson understands that to do this well, he must see himself as a professional.

4. A professional salesperson continually invests in his own development.

Over the 20-plus years that I have been training salespeople, educating sales managers, and working to transform sales organizations, I have stumbled upon an observation that bothers me every time I communicate it. It's this: Out of a group of any 20 salespeople, only one has invested $25 of his own money on his own development and improvement in the past 12 months.

The non-professional salespeople don't think it's their responsibility to improve themselves. They won't buy a book or attend a seminar without their bosses paying for it and requiring it of them. To them, it's just a job.

The professionals invest in themselves. Since they see themselves as professionals, they understand that they must constantly and continually "sharpen the saw." They buy the books, get the newsletters, attend the conferences, listen to the podcasts, etc.

Can you imagine your CPA, as he delivers your tax return, mentioning that he hasn't spent any time updating himself in years? Or the doctor, as he goes into surgery to work on your spouse or child, off-handedly tossing off the fact that it's been years since he bothered to take a class or upgrade his skills.

These seem like silly examples. But most salespeople (95V0) don't bother to take the initiative to upgrade their skills and develop their competencies. Only the professionals do.

5. A professional salesperson always acts with the best inteiests of his company and his customer above his own.

There is, resident in the psyche of every professional salesperson, an obligation to "serve'" Ultimately, the professional salesperson does serve two masters: his customers and his company. A professional understands that the sales he makes are the tangible expressions of win/win solutions for the customer as well as profitable transactions for his company.

The professional will not "push" an inappropriate solution onto a customer, just to make a sale. He's in it for the long term, understanding that his reputation as a professioial is worth far more than any individual deal' "Integrity" is the overriding personality trait, and adher"n"" io a strict code of ethics is the specific expression '

The unprofessional salesperson sees his company's -anuge-ent as, under the worst scenario, the enemy with whom to contend, and under the best, as a somewhat less than competent irritant to be tolerated. The professional undershnbs that he is an employee of the company, and has a responsibility to nurture the company's interests' He is mindful of his need to provide a return on the company's investment in him, and seeks continually to increase his profitability to his emPloYer.

6. A professional salesperson recognizes a responsibility that is larger than just the job.

A professional salesperson, by virtue of the demands of his jo^b, naturally develops exceptional "people" skills' He knows how to get things done, and how to work effectively with a variety of people' These are skills that are helpful in his communities as well as his position. Since he's a professional, he invests some of his time in the larger community, serving on boards and task forces, coaching the elementary-age kids, adding his input to PTO meetings' etc' He gives i portion of his income to those less fortunate than himself.

He understands that he is one of the world's more fortunate individuals and accepts the responsibility to pay it forward. I once heard this expression: "Service is the rent you pay for the position you occupy in society." Professional iaiespeople occupy a favored position and accept their responsibility to PaY the rent.

A profesiionll sales force is an incredibly valuable asset io any organization, and the acquisition and development of a-professional sales force is one of a business's greatest accomPlishments.

- Dave Kahle has trained tens ofthousands ofdistributor and B-2-B sales people and sales managers, authored eight books' and presentid in 47 states and seven countries' Reach him at ( 800) 3 3 1 - 1 287 or via www.davekahle'com' l.ni-mr' brand treated wood is a borate treated-l oroauct desisned for interior house framing in Ha jli.bor" trealed wood resists attack -by Formosan iermites and numerous hbusehold

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By Amy Schuman and Christopher Eckrich