Trying to get ahead in a career in sales? In all types of sales jobs, people who display these five qualities are doomed to failure. So if you’re trying to get your sales career path to the next level, here are five ways to avoid becoming a sales disaster story.

1. Waiting For Leads to Come to You

In short, complacency killed the sales person. Sitting around and waiting for sales, leads, contacts, and sales career opportunities to come your way is a sure fire way to end up chasing failure. Even if your company provides a certain amount of leads, you will always lose out to the salespeople who go out of their way to find leads in unexpected places.

2. Bad Disposition

In many ways, selling is like finding a romantic partner. A career in sales requires you to exude confidence in all things. Desperation, in sales as in romance, is a non-starter. But confidence isn’t the only trait a successful sales person needs. Cynicism, negativity, and coldness are sure to send new contacts running for the warm embrace of your competitors.

3. Poor Organizational Skills

You’d be surprised how many sales people try and work on the fly. But in the long run, the better organized workers will always have an edge. And since the digital age has provided more opportunities to schedule and keep track of appointments than ever before, there’s no excuse for disorganization.

4. Making Excuses, Blaming Others

Even if you don’t work on commission, the buck really does stop with you. You’ve probably noticed that the sales men and women who consistently fail to meet their quotas always have an excuse ready. They always have someone to blame for their failures. Sometimes these excuses may even be true, but it doesn’t matter. The best sales people don’t blame anyone but themselves for failures. So if you find yourself constantly shifting blame away from yourself, then it’s time to seriously think about how to start improving yourself, rather than asking why others aren’t pulling their weight.

5. Being Afraid of Failure!

If you aren’t failing, then you aren’t risking anything. And if you aren’t risking anything, then you’ll never see huge potential for growth. Workers who aren’t afraid to be bold will always fare better in a career in sales, period.