Later on in the article the author also says that it's luck.
Of course you need to be better than your colleagues to be the best, but also the environment you're working in should help.
If there is demand for the product you're selling, and you can actually offer them an interesting deal, then you have a lot more chance of succeeding in your elite sales person life.
If there's little demand, and the industry has changed and people are more aware, the same old tactics and products are not gonna work anymore. Because these customers also get called by other new sales people with new exciting products and new ways of persuasion.
It's not just about how you make people feel, it's also about the product, company, and market situation, obviously.
The company the author worked for went bankrupt eventually. So I imagine no sales people were doing great at the end.
The shift to luck part of it could be expanded on more I think, its emblematic of many believing they are hot shit at their new job or hobby. You have the right idea: the product matters and the market and shift underneath the best salespeople. But salespeople like this are also like chameleons who don't really care about the product in the first place, they go on to hock something else that's hot.
It also reminds me of every would-be day trader that posts to /r/wallstreetbets. Many will hit a hot streak after they figure out how the options market works, they start getting fancy and making bigger bets and dreaming about quitting their day job. Suddenly the luck runs out and their accounts hit zero. They thought they had the talent and wisdom to conquer the market, but they were just lucky at the casino for a little while.
Of course you need to be better than your colleagues to be the best, but also the environment you're working in should help.
If there is demand for the product you're selling, and you can actually offer them an interesting deal, then you have a lot more chance of succeeding in your elite sales person life.
If there's little demand, and the industry has changed and people are more aware, the same old tactics and products are not gonna work anymore. Because these customers also get called by other new sales people with new exciting products and new ways of persuasion.
It's not just about how you make people feel, it's also about the product, company, and market situation, obviously.
The company the author worked for went bankrupt eventually. So I imagine no sales people were doing great at the end.
So there is no golden rule.