Well, what did you think of when you read my headline? Yes, that is exactly what it means and here are a few pointers to work on if you are thinking of becoming the next top-notch salesman.

1- Face conflicts with a big (horse;) smile and go forward!

2- You have to Kick it out of your mind being scared of making a mistake.

3- If you think it is too risky, don't mount this horse.

"Let your hook always be cast. In the pool where you least expect it, will be a fish." - Ovid

4- Nobody is perfect, why should this horse be? Bring it back to life:)

5- There is no excuse for laziness; your horse wouldn't be dead if you spent some time in Knowing it inside and out. (Product Knowledge)

There are positive steps you can take to move forward the right direction toward improving your selling skills. As there are many traits, habits and attitudes required to be a successful salesperson such as negotiation, superior customer service, risk taking, product knowledge etc.; there are two fundamental qualities that need adding to your abilities and that is creativity and determination.

Without these added qualities, you will not be able to take the initiative to come up with creative ideas to get to the top. Some sales people just like to follow the flock, but you need to be creative to stand out above the crowd. Is there something you do differently to sell? Maybe there is something you know to connect with your customers that makes a customer come back to buy from you?

The following are also necessary traits to perform well in selling. If you work in retail sales and in a commission environment and you know the steps of the sale, you know the protocol on the sales floor, how to qualify a customer, how to handle objections, how to avoid returns, how to treat your customers, what to do to get the sale, you understand the meaning of "being convincing" in sales, you know how to play possum to get the sale, you know how to upgrade your customers, you know which bird gets the worm, you know the ins and outs of closing a sale, you know how to challenge the customer to close a sale, you know why you need to be aware of your co-workers, how to control the sales floor, you can read body language, you know charisma is a various parts quality that requires assembling etc.; then you know how to sell a dead horse.

--Gary Zalben--
Transcendental Selling and How to Sell a Dead Horse-Copyright, Library of Congress. All Rights Reserved. For more information about Gary and this article go to: Http://howtoselladeadhorse.com. You can reprint or use this article provided you keep all content intact.