Sales success comes down to many variables—some within your control and some outside of it. While it doesn't make sense to fret over things you can't control, you can set yourself up for success by considering a few powerful variables within your control.

Anthony Iannarino, an international speaker, author and sales leader, has compiled a list of powerfully strong variables to your success in sales. We explore these variables in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

How much time you spend prospecting. When you work in sales, you have more freedom than most other business roles. However, that autonomy also requires self-discipline, without which, all is lost, says Iannarino. How much time and effort you put into prospecting is a variable that is within your control. Selling is made up of two parts: opportunity creation and opportunity capture. You must create opportunities before you capture them.

How much time you spend selling. A sales title is no indication that someone one spends their time actually selling, notes Iannarino. An increase in the time you spend selling, all else being equal, will improve your sales performance. In addition to spending more time prospecting, you can spend more time with your clients or dream clients. You can spend time with more stakeholders within those clients, creating new opportunities or building consensus around the deals you are working on now.

How prepared you are for sales meetings. Your client's time is a gift. It is the only finite, non-renewable resource any of us has, and their willingness to share their time with you is a big deal. Iannarino says that if you are grateful for their time, you prepare for it. If you haven't researched their vertical market to understand what their challenges and opportunities might be, you are unprepared. If you don't know what factors might be impacting their business now or in the not-too-distant future, you aren't going to be as effective as you might otherwise be.

How you manage the sales conversation. According to Iannnarino, sales reps spend too much time talking about follow-up. The words "follow up" can mean calling a prospective client again after calling, leaving a message and sending an email. Always do your best to control the process. You sell a meeting, then you sell the process and then you sell your solution. It isn't easy to acquire a meeting. It is even more challenging to sell the process. How you manage the sales conversation is a variable to your success.

How valuable you are to your prospective client. You do not get to determine how valuable you are to your prospective client, says Iannarino. You do, however, get to decide what kind of experience you provide them. Call it "approach," or "sales bedside manner" or "salesmanship." Whatever you call it, the variable of how valuable your client found your meeting is within your control and improving it will improve your sales performance.

Rather than worrying about what you can't control, work on what you can control. Master your craft, your work ethic and yourself by considering the success variables above.

Source: Anthony Iannarino is an international speaker, author and sales leader. He posts daily sales tips and insights to The Sales Blog.