The secrets of top sellers – acceptance, partial closure, and the process before the results

If you are a salesperson or sales manager, you already know the answer to this question: What is the difference between a salesperson who occasionally reaches their targets and one who consistently exceeds them year after year?

Most salespeople believe that the answer lies in working harder, pushing themselves even more toward their goal. But this is where many make their biggest mistake. Instead of focusing on the destination, they start manipulating the path to get there—and the result is often burned-out salespeople and irritated customers.

Daniel Hedh, one of the sharpest voices in modern sales methodology, has a completely different perspective. And that changes everything. In this new discussion with Jonas Olofsson from the podcast "We Love Sales People," Daniel continues to share the insights that drive successful sales organizations. Here are three of the most important ones:

1. Top sellers love the process—not the goal.

You wake up with a sales target in mind. Naturally. But according to Daniel, this is the first mistake. The difference between an average salesperson and a top salesperson is not in their level of ambition—it's in what they focus on.

"If you look at less successful people, they work hard for a short time and wonder what the hell the results are. If you look at really successful people, they work hard and think there is more to do."

This is more than just a motivational speech. It's about shifting your focus from the destination to the journey. The goal is a direction, not a final destination. And the path to get there—the process of developing, improving every day, becoming a better version of yourself—that's where the joy lies.

Many salespeople have heard this phrase before: "It's the journey, not the destination." But for top salespeople, this isn't a cliché. It's a living, breathing way of working. They understand that when you love the process, when you truly care about the steps you take every day, then the results will almost come naturally.

2. YOU CANNOT COACH RESULTS – ONLY THE PROCESS

If you are a sales manager, this is an insight that can transform how you develop your team. Daniel takes this directly:

"Results are always unpredictable. Because you often end up disappointed. But it's the steps you take that lead you to the results."

Many leaders make the same mistake as many salespeople: they fixate on numbers. A salesperson hasn't reached their target this month – so what does the leader do? They focus on the target. Why didn't you get there?

But this creates frustration, guilt, and often a less committed sales team. What would happen if you asked instead: What steps did you take this week to get closer to the goal? Where in your sales process can we improve something? What feedback did you receive from customers and how did you handle it?

Suddenly, you have something you can actually coach. The process. The steps. The development. And the results? They follow automatically.

3. ACCEPT AND PARTIAL CLOSING – THE SALES TOOLS THAT CHANGE EVERYTHING

So far, this has been about mindset. But Daniel also takes us into concrete sales methodology, presenting two of the most powerful tools in systematic sales: acceptance and partial closure.

What is acceptance? It's simple but powerful: your ability to get the customer's honest opinion about something. And partial closure? It's building agreements step by step during the sales process.

Why is this important? Because many salespeople do the opposite. They are afraid of the customer's honest opinion. They try to corner the customer, to get a yes rather than to understand what the customer really thinks.

But Daniel presents a completely different picture of the sales process:

"I tend to view my cell processes as a corridor. Here you have the big decision door. And on the other side of the corridor, there are lots of different doors that could symbolize escape routes. My job as a salesperson is to take the customer on this journey."

In other words: Your role is not to force the customer down a narrow path. Your role is to guide them forward—and genuinely understand how they feel along the way. By using acceptance, you get customer feedback. Through partial closures, you build agreements. And when it's time for the big deal? Well, you're already in agreement. It becomes almost anti-climactic.

And here's the real genius: This isn't manipulation. It's genuine selling. You show that you care about the customer's honest opinion. You build trust. And you create a sales process that actually works for both parties.

Next Step

This is just a fraction of the knowledge Daniel Hedh shares. Want to hear the whole conversation, get more concrete examples, and dive deeper into how top salespeople actually think about the process? Listen to the entire episode of "We Love Sales People" here.

Would you and your sales team like to get the tools to implement these strategies and reach new levels?

Adviser Partner helps you build a sales culture that delivers results. We specialize in developing salespeople and leaders through our proven Way of Sales methodology—the same successful method behind Daniel Hedh's and many other successful sales leaders' performance.

Contact us to learn more about how we can transform your sales team.