There is a long list of characteristics that make salespeople successful. There's also a list of qualities, that can make it easy for you to become unsuccessful.

Here are 10 things you should avoid like the bubonic plague and they include:

1. Unadaptable - in sales you can't succeed with rigid thinking, or an unwillingness to adopt new ideas and new ways of doing things. Think of it this way, your
future should never be behind you.

2. Unauthentic - join the mediocrity brigade and blend in with all of your competition. That's what happens when you fail to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Remember you are a walking billboard and you don't want your billboard to say you're "BORING!"

3. Uncommitted - if you're serious about selling you have to be serious and focused on a steady diet of self-improvement. Salespeople have to increase their knowledge of their customers, their customers' customers, product knowledge, market knowledge, and dedicate themselves to being a team player.

4. Unemotional - Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." You have to be excited about your work and your products if you expect your sales prospects and customers to get excited about these things. Your emotions and passion for your work are contagious. Make sure your customers are catching it from you.

5. Unconvincing - you'll sound unconvincing if you don't absolutely love the products you're selling. If you lack passion and enthusiasm for your products and services, don't expect a long line of sales prospects patiently waiting to become your biggest customers.

6. Unhappy - ever notice how unhappy people are? When you're selling, remember how costly your expressions can be. You can't remove the pain that you suffer, but you can remove your pained expression. Think of every sales call as a leap onto a stage. When you knock on the door it's always show time!

7. Undemonstrative - one of the quickest ways to become unsuccessful is to roam around your sales territory like a walking dial tone, showing little or no outward expression. For Pete's sake, walk with a quick-step and be sure you're always smiling when you're with your sales prospects and customers. And being animated adds to your excitement factor.

8. Unmotivated - years ago I had the opportunity to work with a sales representative who completed a sales training program I did. During the post-training follow-up, he told me he was experiencing what he called the January blahs. He showed me his list of goals for the year. Not a single goal had a completion date during the first quarter. If you want to get motivated establish goals with deadlines ASAP.

9. Unwelcome - so many salespeople wear out their welcome. They stay too long and talk too much. Say less, listen more, and as soon as you've achieved your sales call objectives, end the call.

You'll accomplish more and your customer will appreciate you more.

If your customer has to end the call for you, you've overstayed your welcome.

10. Uninformed - there's a pretty long laundry list of things you should keep up with. Only the well-informed can become extraordinary conversationalists. Today, technology makes this easy to do. You should be well informed about world events, the US economy, business, the stock market, and sports as a bare minimum.

To achieve unlimited selling success you must expunge all these little "UNs.

By Jim Meisenheimer