We are each responsible for our own success - or failure. Winning at a career in sales is no exception. To ensure a win, you must take a proactive approach. Prevention of failure is an important part of that process. If you find yourself saying "I'm not cut out for sales," "I'm not pushy enough," "I hate cold calling," "I can't take the rejection," or "My manager is a jerk"-you are heading down the wrong path.

Here are some recurring characteristics and traits of salespeople who thought they could hit a home run in a sales career, but who struck out in their attempts. Many of those people had a bat on their shoulders, but failed to swing at the ball as it passed them by. Hopefully none of these apply to you.

They don't believe in themselves. If they don't think they can do it, who will?

They don't believe in their product. Lack of conviction is evident to a buyer and manifests itself in low sales numbers.

They fail to set and achieve goals or fail to plan. Always define specific goals for the long term-what They want-and the short term - how they're going to get what they want.

They're lazy or just not prepared to make the sale. Their self-motivation and preparation are the lifeblood of their outreach. They must be eager and ready to sell or they won't.

They can't handle rejection. Prospects are not rejecting them. They're just rejecting the offer they are making, or, they are rejecting because we don't suit their needs.

They fail to master total knowledge of their product. Total product knowledge gives them the mental freedom to concentrate on selling.

They fail to learn and execute the fundamentals of sales. Read, listen to tapes, attend seminars and sales meetings, and practice what they've just learned. Everything they need to know about sales has already been written or spoken-learn something new every day.

They fail to understand the client and meet his needs. Learn to question and listen to the prospect.

They can't overcome objections. This is a complex issue. They are not listening to the prospect. They are not thinking in terms of solution. They are not able to create an atmosphere of confidence and trust suitable enough to cause (effect) a sale. People are not afraid of failure, they just don't know how to get success.

They can't cope with change. Part of sales is change: change in products, tactics and markets. Roll with it to succeed. Fight it and fail.

They can't follow rules. Salespeople often think that rules are made for others. If they think rules are not for them – they should think again. They cannot "break" the basics. They can only break themselves against them.

Success in professional selling comes to those who think in the long term. Those who start in sales for a reason and who have chosen to succeed. After that success decision is made you need only to trust the process and keep learning.

Neil Greenberg is a sales manager with a DC based e-commerce company. He also keeps his blog, Sales Sherpa (http://salessherpa.blogspot.com/) fresh with articles on sales, goal setting, motivation, and more.