Wouldn’t it be sweet if you were invited to the President’s Club this year? Can you see yourself basking at the pool bar or lounging under a beachside umbrella? This prize can be yours if you develop advanced selling skills.

The key to more sales is not about being given the best leads. It’s about making the most of the leads you have. Brent Adamson explains how to do this.

When working any lead, you probably have a standard list of questions to ask. These questions should be all about getting to the core of what the prospect does. And, you ask who’s making the buying decisions. You’re gathering this information from online research, social media checks, emails and calls with the prospect.

Then, you're going to put together an awesome presentation so you can move to the big ask. Right? Well, no. Not if you want to be a superior seller.

Adamson points out that the stars in the sales department are the people who have a ‘contrarian mindset.’ What’s he talking about? Simply put, these sales reps don’t take what the prospect tells them at face value. They dig deeper. One example he gives focuses on exploring the opportunities surrounding the business the prospect is in.

The prospect might tell you they’re in the business of selling shoes. Maybe you’ve got a new kind of measuring device that will make fitting a new pair of shoes faster and more accurate. If the prospect likes what you demonstrate, it could be a done deal.

But what if you asked a few more questions? Is it getting easier or harder to sell shoes in the store? Are they selling more shoes online these days? If you had a tool that consumers could use online to estimate shoe size more accurately, would the business owner be able to compete more effectively in the digital marketplace?

Some sales management experts call this approach consultative selling. It's all about taking the time to explore what's really happening at the prospect's business and what might happen in the next year. The willingness to explore these topics with prospects could mean the difference between a good-​enough and a blow-​out year for both of you.