There are these kind of salesmen and saleswomen that can sell sunglasses to a blind and ice to Eskimos. On the other hand there are others who although they try hard, their sale stats never rise. So, what is this special thing that makes a salesman successful apart from hard work of course? Which are the special personal characteristics that all the best salesmen share?
Trying to finally give an answer to the above questions we ended up to the top 10 personality traits all salespeople have in common.
- Passion: Salespeople do not need an alarm to wake up, they can’t wait to go to work as John Crossman quotes. Their enthusiasm for their job is somehow transferred to the potential buyer who after that become actual ones according to Tom Roberts whereas Eli Martin points out the entrepreneurial spirit most salespeople have, that means they act like this is their own business and that their work affects their bottom line, not just the bottom line of the company. She also says that salespeople are hungry and never satisfied with the status quo. Even in big sales, they never sit back. They are always looking for another win. They have their tasks already created and ordered by priority, they have checked their CRM Project Management tool all the details for the client they are about to meet and they use all Business Intelligence potentials to check their personal traits and productivity
- Attuned to others: Irina Iliescu shared with us the most important feature when hiring for sales positions: attunement. Being in harmony with potential customers and various contexts is what makes them successful. Talking too much overwhelms people, which is really discouraging. Being flexible is also something that Tom Hopkins underlines. Two clients will never be exactly the same and two sales situations will also never be the same. The key is to be able every time to meet the needs of a variety of clients and situations.
- Skills: It’s a fact that without the skills to carry out specific actions and activities that lead to sales, the stats will never rise. As Nancy Bleeke from Sales Pro Insider quotes the combination of “Skill and Will” sums up perfectly what a salesman need to succeed.
- Product Knowledge: Knowing your product’s potentials perfectly and being able to define how this product can benefit every single customer is the alpha and omega of being successful according to Marianne Pestana. Karl Henkell on the other hand points out the importance of having a great product to sell, as he believes that salesmanship is only an accelerator.
- Servant’s heart: “The great ones know that it is not about them. It is about their clients”John Crossman quotes and most of us agree with him. Practicing empathy and being able to get into your clients’ shoes is a common secret in the world of sales. Chip Bell actually says that salespeople should be more interested in solving customers problems or meeting their needs than simply making a sale. Thus, active listening is something that is also important and to that both Chris Sloane and Edwin Miller agree and it’s really part of the “showing empathy” concept. Reading between the lines and listening to what is NOT being said can lead to useful conclusions. Michelle Colon-Johnson also points out the power of buyer’s reference to their friends over and over bringing more customers to the seller.
- Thick skin: Or in other words, get used to No and being rejected. What Elli says is really true, you’re going to get rejected a lot more than you are going to make the sale. However, you should have the attitude that every no you get, takes you one step closer to that YES! Paul Donehue talks with numbers giving us the statistics indicating 80% of sales being made after 5-12 contacts and 80% of the salespeople quit trying after 1-3 attempts! Interesting, isn’t it? So be persistent!
- Polished and professional: It’s true that most of us when we think of a salesman, we make the picture of a well-dressed and polished person (either man or woman) but as Barry Maher says, that doesn’t mean they are successful. On the contrary, salespeople who are not so slick seem to make more sales. Not being slick though, doesn’t mean that you are not organized, as organization is really crucial for sales according to Sandy Arons. It’s all about being professional to your clients and ensuring that they will receive exactly what they are expecting, on the dates required and with as few challenges as possible. This is what Tom Hopkins believes and we cannot do anything but agree with him.
- Make sense not impression: Barry Maher wrote the simplest and most important tip for successful sales. Making your clients not feeling sold is the whole point. That means that their needs are being met, so if your prospect tell you that what you say make sense, your work is done! Keeping low profile and not acting like a salesman is the key to success!
- Optimistic: Optimism is also something that most salespeople have in common. It takes time to build a pipeline and foster relationships, as Jon Zack says.
- Likeable: Last but not least, the whole clue in sales is to be likeable. Striving to do what’s best for your customers based on a genuine respect and appreciation for them is the best way to gain to build strong, long-term and trustful relations according to Paul
Streamline and optimise sales processes, and close the deal
