Successful people make habitual what most people consider a hassle. There is nothing convenient about success at anything. To succeed in school, you must study endless hours. To succeed in sports, you must spend more time in the weight room and practice field than on the playing field. To succeed in sales, you must conscientiously attend to the principles of your profession.

Personality theorists have long studied the link between personality and performance. Conscientiousness is the single common denominator of success, regardless of the job. This word draws part of its meaning from its root, conscience--governed by scruples. The other part of its meaning refers to how thoroughly, painstakingly and attentively one approaches a task.

In our study of top-achieving salespeople, five of the ten ways buyers describe top achievers contain factors of conscientiousness. So, how conscientious are you about your job? This checklist will help you decide:

1. Do you do things without your boss having to tell you to do them?
2. Do you seek ways to service customers before there is a problem?
3. Are you timely and efficient with your paperwork?
4. Do you take the initiative to improve things before someone else suggests it?
5. Are you committed to producing the best quality work possible?
6. How reliable are you?
7. Do you hold yourself to high standards of professionalism?
8. Are you fully committed to your goals and are you willing to pay the price to achieve them?
9. Do you thoroughly complete tasks or do just enough to get by?
10. Does your performance inspire confidence in others?

These questions are painful for some people and enlightening for others. Of all the factors that contribute to success, you can control how conscientiously you approach your job, regardless of the work you perform.

By Tom Reilly, the guy who wrote the book on Value-Added Selling