What makes a great salesperson? Have you ever really thought about it?
Perhaps you are recruiting. Perhaps you are trying to develop an existing sales team. How are you going to get it right if you are not 100% clear on exactly what it is you need.
I am going to kick you off with my top 10
💭 Great sales people are curious – people (including customers) are fascinating and a salesperson need to be interested to find out more
🦻Listening skills – what are customers saying? What are they NOT saying? In my view, this is probably even more important than the next one which is:
❓Ask great questions – open questions get people to talk, closed questions clarify information, probing questions dig deep and uncover the real issues. A salesperson needs to have a bank of great questions they can use.
🧠 High emotional intelligence – observe both physical and verbal nuances, put yourself in the other person’s shoes. think about why they said what they said. This skill doesn’t always develop fully until people are in their mid 20s
💪Resilience – this is the ability to keep going, consistently, even when there are knock backs (and there will be many knock backs in sales).
😎 Determination – that inner core that keeps you focussed on doing what needs to be done, to get you where you want to go. It’s not an accident that a lot of salespeople end up starting their own businesses. You need determination!
⏩ Quick thinking – in sales you are constantly making connections – what does this mean, what solution might work, how do I overcome this objection, what proof can I offer (and a million more besides)
🦑 Adaptable – you have to work with introverts, extroverts, people in swanky offices, people on building sites, have face to face meetings, virtual meetings, phone calls and a whole array of messaging platforms. Plus you need to learn new things the whole time.
👷Multi-taskers – you have to speak, email, message, manage your time, do your admin, organise work, react to customers, plan, persuade, negotiate, produce reports, projections, hit target and attend meetings. Plus the rest. Phew!
🥰 Caring – ultimately in sales, the role is to help people. Yes, there is of course, a money transaction, but ethical selling means providing the right solution for the customer’s problem. Otherwise buyer’s remorse will be your constant companion.
So there you have it – my top 10.
What would you add?
What makes a great salesperson?
