🏁 top performer habits

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Exchange sales hustle with recovery

Ian Koniak reveals how top sellers outperform not by working more hours, but by protecting their energy and resting well:

➤ Pre-block four vacations a year

These are non-negotiable. Doesn’t matter where you go.

Key is full disconnection. No Slack. No inbox. No “just one call.”

✔ Time off is real only when you’re unreachable.

➤ Track your sleep like a key metric

If you’re sleeping less than 7 hours, you’re underperforming.

Use any tracker. Sleep isn’t just health—it’s fueling your calls and meetings.

✔ Sleep is your best performance multiplier.

➤ Block daily breaks in your calendar

He protects 12–1 PM every day. Lunch, walk, quiet time—it’s recovery, not reward.

Three hours of deep, focused work → One hour of reset → Final push.

✔ Burnout doesn’t come from work. It comes from nonstop work.

➤ Stop working at 5 PM—every day

No nights. No weekends.

Parkinson’s Law applies: the less time you give yourself, the more efficient you get.

Don’t say yes to everything. Protect your time like it’s revenue.

✔ Productivity comes from limits, not endless hustle.

➤ Eliminate busy work

Every movement ties directly to a quarterly goal using a system.

Slack and email? Batched. Internal meetings? Minimized.

If it doesn’t move pipeline, cut immediately.

✔ If it’s not tied to impact, it’s not on the calendar.

Why mindset beats talent in sales

Mark Hunter outlines key habits differentiating top sales performers from the rest, backing them with real-world examples from his own business:

1. Know your products

Deep product knowledge isn’t about rattling off features.

It’s knowing the product well enough to translate features into business impact—without needing a SME on every call.

✔ Aim to know your product like the internal experts do.

✔ Helps you sell value, not features.

2. Prospecting is a habit

Top sellers prospect all the time.

They constantly improve their questions, targeting, and channels—even if they’re already good at it.

✔ Stay consistent with the basics, but always improve your approach.

✔ Revisit your ICP regularly to adjust your tactics.

3. Let the customer talk

High performers make buyers lead the early conversation.

They listen deeply to uncover real needs to prevent assuming too much.

✔ Let the prospect control the flow so you can learn more.

✔ Every good discovery call is built on silence and curiosity.

4. Refine your sales process

Use one-sheets and custom talking points based on profiles and outcomes.

This speeds up closing deals and keeps messaging consistent.

✔ Build reusable sales assets tied to common buyer outcomes.

✔ Share value-adding content with prospects before they become customers.

5. Objections are patterns

He writes down every objection in his CRM.

Not just for that customer, but to spot patterns.

If an objection blocks a deal, it may help close the next.

✔ Keep an objection journal—write consistently on progress.

✔ Learn what’s surfacing across deals and how to respond.

6. Closing is always planned

Top performers don’t get jittery at the close.

Low performers scramble. Top performers glide.

✔ If you’ve earned the close, asking for the deal is natural.

✔ Confidence at close comes from preparation, not pressure.

7. Identify your network

He’s always identifying smart, connected people and looking for ways to build genuine relationships.

✔ Relationship-building is a daily effort, not an endgame strategy.

✔ The right network creates opportunities before you ask.

8. Invest towards growth

Top sellers don’t wait on their company for training.

Buy your own books, listens to podcasts, and seeks out knowledge.

✔ Take ownership of your professional development.

✔ The most successful reps are also the most coachable.

9. Protect your mindset

Mark admits he’s been in a “valley” recently.

But, his mindset stays focused on gratitude and action.

✔ Track what’s working—review your pipeline and celebrate small wins.

✔ Your emotional state impacts performance more than your product does.

10. Use data as your strategy

From CRM insights to call ratios, top sellers rely on data when sharpening decisions and identify bottleneck options.

✔ Don’t just log activity—analyze it carefully.

✔ Know your own numbers: how many calls = a close?

11. Faithfully protect your time

The best reps make time as their most valuable asset.

Every habit above makes them a lot more efficient.

✔ Eliminate time wasters and other distractions.

✔ Block off time for prospecting, learning, and thinking.

12. Reflect weekly—win or lose

At the end of every week, review what worked and what didn’t.

Every day ends with a small, personal celebration.

✔ Debrief weekly to track progress and course-correct.

✔ Daily wins keep your momentum high—even on tough weeks.

Break your process to win more deals

Gal Aga distills 17 years of sales lessons into 9 clear hard truths that many reps learn too late—but you can use now for greater performance, and better client relationships:

Stop selling, start enabling

Most deals aren’t closed on your calls—they’re closed in meetings you don’t attend.

→ Reps waste time on pitches instead of helping buyers build consensus

→ Shift your focus instead:

What internal steps does the buyer need to take?

Help them getting towards those steps

Buyers move faster when you guide them through their own internal process—not yours.

Break your process for progress

Your sales process is only a sliver of what your buyer needs.

✓ Think like a project manager, not just a salesperson

✓ Help buyers plan, gather input, make internal docs—whatever moves their process forward

Default to your process only when you have nothing better.

Don’t confuse busy with progress

Champions love weekly syncs—until they realize nothing’s changing.

→ Sending them another deck isn’t progress

→ Prepping them to win internal meetings is

If they aren’t equipped to sell without you, your deal isn’t moving.

Setting budget is not a disqualifier

“No budget” rarely means “no money.” It often means:

⇢ You haven’t shown enough value

⇢ They can’t justify product cost yet

Don’t ask:

“Do you have a budget in mind?”

Ask instead:

“If this delivered [X value], could you get support to fund it?”

Multi-threading isn’t adding CCs

Multithreading processes fails when it's shallow.

✓ Build 1:1 relationship and trust with multiple people

✓ Support their roles directly—don’t group everyone into one conversation

✓ Ask how each stakeholder sees success, not just your champion

Adapt your discovery for execs

Executives have no patience for long Q&A sessions.

→ Open up with a story

→ Always deliver insight first

→ Let the conversation flow

Execs respond to relevance, not structure.

Outbound ≠ Inbound

Outbound intro calls fail when treated like inbound.

✓ Start with productive insight, not questions

✓ Use a short demo or visual if it helps the conversation

✓ You don’t need every pain point—just one for discovery

Partnering with these newsletters:

• Big Desk Energy: Startup stories and lessons

• B2B Whales: Proven B2B sales strategies

• Dynamic Business: Business is hard

• Creator Spotlight: Grow with social media and newsletters

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P.P.S. Stay tuned for this week’s newsletter issues on effective LinkedIn prospecting, cold email secrets, and advice for better discovery.