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If your sales people are going to be top performers there is one thing they must have: passion. It’s the key to getting your customers excited about buying your product or service. If your sales team doesn’t have passion, read on and learn how to get it.

The GM of a Canadian company told me that what she looks for in her salespeople is their passion. When the passion is gone, they’re gone.

“I can teach salespeople anything,” she said, “but passion. Either they have it or they don’t. Passion sells.”

Ben Stein, the dead-pan, monotone actor and political pundit – the human Eeyore – represents the prototypical salesperson. The sales pretenders going through the robotic motions until they find their real calling in life.

Can passion be taught? Zig Ziglar can do it. Ziglar tells the story of his brother who barely eked out a living selling pots and pans. Ziglar asked him which of his products he owned. None. They’re too expensive.

“Good grief man, how can you get excited about selling something you won’t even buy for yourself?” Ziglar asked. How could he transfer his passion for his product if he didn’t believe in it himself? Once his sibling purchased his own cookware, his sales took off.

But what if you have a service or product that you can’t buy? Maybe you sell staffing services? Or commercial property? Or multi-million dollar computers? How do you get the passion now? Easy. Talk with your customers. Ask them what they love about it. How it’s changed their lives. How it’s helped their employees. Their customers. Get them excited and they’ll get you excited.

And don’t kid yourself. Customers know if you have the passion. Do you? You’re betting your business on it.

Jerry Hocutt is the author of Cold Calling for Cowards: How to Turn the Fear of Rejection into Opportunities, Sales, and Money which you can pre-order at www.ColdCallingForCowards.com.