In 2014, Ben Horowitz published his groundbreaking book The Hard Thing About Hard Things. Horowtiz, a legendary entrepreneur and co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen-Horowitz writes about how difficult it is to start and run a business.One chapter of Horowtiz’s book details what a Good Product Manager is, versus a Bad Product Manager. I’d like to replicate that for my salespeople out there.Good salespeople are the CEO of their territory. They know that they ultimately determine their own success. Good salespeople take full responsibility and measure themselves with the attitude, efforts, and results they put forth on a daily basis.They are responsible for delivering value to the customer or prospect and all that entails. A good salesperson does proper discovery and they take responsibility for devising and executing a winning plan.Bad salespeople have a ton of excuses. My territory sucks, the product is weak, I don’t have enough time, I have too many accounts, I don’t have enough accounts, I can’t do this. When shit hits the fan, the CEO can’t make these excuses and neither can the CEO of a sales territory.Good salespeople are masters in time management. They don’t get bogged down in non-revenue-producing activities for hours at a time. They move the big rocks first - the ones that they know will accelerate deals forward. Good salespeople have a plan for their day before they even walk into the office. They prioritize their low-hanging-fruit and pipeline. Their follow-up is always timely.Bad salespeople complain that they don’t have enough hours in the day, yet they’re usually among the last to arrive in the office and first to leave. They spend more time updating Salesforce than they do actually selling deals. Good salespeople don’t call it quits for the day until they handle their business.Good salespeople are relentless prospectors. They understand that the only way they can continue to eat is to hunt. They are constantly on the lookout for new people to engage with and reasons to engage them. They set the time up every day for focused outbound prospecting. They leverage LinkedIn. They pick up the damn phone. They ask current customers for referrals. Good salespeople will try creative avenues to find new customers.Bad salespeople are farmers, strictly inbound, order takers. If it doesn’t come to them, they don’t get it. They may occasionally try prospecting but realize after 22 minutes that they’ve been on Slack the whole time with their colleague that they sit next to. Despite this, bad salespeople claim that cold calling is dead and that they don’t have enough tools at their disposal.Good salespeople show empathy for their customers. They put the needs of the customer first and work to create mutually beneficial partnerships. They play the long game. They don’t want a customer for 1 month: they want that customer for 10 years. Good salespeople communicate clearly, respond thoughtfully and aren’t in it for short-term gratification.Bad salespeople look at prospects as targets on a dartboard. They are more consumed with their quota than they are with the customer they’re working with. They sling half-baked ideas and deals that are a long-term headache for them, their customers and the company. Bad salespeople only think of themselves.Good salespeople treat sales like a craft, not a job. They are constantly working to improve their game. They strive to get 1% better each day. Good salespeople are like sponges. They soak up information and learn from everyone they come in contact with. They’re hungry.Bad salespeople treat sales like a dead-end job. They clock in at 9 and clock out at 5. They are “just getting through” their days. They have no additional ambitions or long-term goals to improve, yet wonder why they haven’t hit their quota the past three years. Bad salespeople are old (or young) dogs that don’t learn any new tricks.Good salespeople create their own destiny. Bad salespeople wait for someone else to explain their future.If you made it this far, you probably have 1 of 3 reactions. Either you’re a good salesperson and want to continue being one, you aren’t sure if you’re good but want to be good, or you’re bad and you don’t really care.If you’re in the third bucket, you’re following the wrong guy. If you’re in one of the first two buckets, here are 5 ways that you can become (or continue to be) a good salesperson.

1. Take the mindset of being the true CEO of your territory. All of the success and all of the blame rides on you. If you take responsibility and quit making excuses, you’ll be more likely to bring out your best effort.
2. Set up a plan. Spend time each week mapping out areas of opportunity and your plan of attack. If you have a solid plan for each week and each day, you’ll be ahead of many of your peers.
3. Set up time every day to prospect. Whether you’re sending emails, making calls or hitting up social media, you need to block time off each day to make it happen.
4. The best salespeople are empathetic. Here’s a challenge: Call up 3 (new or old) customers today. Don’t try to pitch anything. Just ask how they’re doing. The best thing you can do right now is to play the long game.
5. Spend time up-leveling your skillset. We’re all stuck at home right now, which makes it the perfect time to study up.

Not sure where to start? Check out my Surf and Sales Podcast or my book Addicted To The Process; or join me at the following virtual events:Thursday Night Sales w/ Justin Welsh: tinyurl.com/uygtjvwTransatlantic Takedown: tinyurl.com/sdcc4pwVendor Neutral Webinar: ter.li/ipy4np