Traits of a Sales Person

I frequently get the question what traits make a good sales person? I think it is critically important for managers to know what to look for when it comes to a sales person. This should also be a critical part of any sales training program and as a part of any sales strategy.

Why? Well first of all you need to know what qualities you need to look for as a manager and secondly as the sales person you need to be aware of what qualities you need to work on in order to be the best sales person you can be. It does not matter if you are making cold calls, inside sales or outside sales these traits are extremely important as you increase your ability as a sales person.

Some of these improve others and some can even make up for deficiencies in others, but you should work one all of them as you continually work to improve your personal abilities and your sales training program.

We tried to put these in order of how important they are but really found that hard to do. It is great if you are the most persistence person in the world but if you are not honest and can’t communicate you are still going to struggle as a sales person. So, we did the best we could to put them in order but you are going to need a degree of ability in all of these traits to be successful.

Persistence. Persistence basically means not giving up. Continuing to move forward toward your sales objectives regardless of obstacles or sales rejections. Persistence is going to be what makes you better as a sales person. You are going to face a lot of sales rejections in your career. Ultimately practice is what is going to make you a great sales person. You need persistence.

Resiliency. Resiliency is your ability to recover from sales rejection, the ability to get back on your feet each time you face obstacles. Resiliency keeps you from giving up even when things aren’t going your way which happens a lot in sales. This is especially important early in your sales career. Later, if you have made it long enough to become a sales veteran you won’t face as many sales rejections, at least it will seem that way. Actually, what has changed is you. By then you will have the confidence and tools in your sales tool bag that help you move forward regardless of what happens on an individual sales call.

Confidence. We all know what confidence is, it is your belief in your abilities as a sales person. Being well educated in your product or service as well as good training can really boost your confidence when it comes to cold calls. The other thing that will really build your confidence is practice; this is where persistence and resiliency come in. You need a certain degree of confidence when you start your career as a sales person but you can improve it over time. Confidence is a mindset.

Communication Skills. If you cannot properly communicate you will find it extremely difficult to succeed in sales. Your ability to present your position in a logical and concise manner is vitally important in getting meetings with prospective clients as well as in closing deals. Communication skills are another one of those things that can be improved by practice. Knowing your product or service inside out, having a cold call script, knowing how to handle customer objections and lots of practice will improve your communication skills. Another great way to improve your communication skills is by practicing your sales skills in front of a group of colleagues where one person plays the sales person and another the customer. Be sure to film these drills as part of your ongoing training. This will also help you build your confidence over time.

Hunger. Hunger or drive, the desire to be successful and achieve the most difficult of goals. This is what gets us up in the morning and makes us make that next cold call even when we have been turned down the previous five times. Hunger is about “how bad do you want it”. Hunger is not something I have found the ability to teach, this is one of those few things that you either have or you don’t. Can you be successful in sales without Hunger? Maybe, but you will never be a great sales person. You will never be in the top 20%. Perhaps you can fake it for a while with determination but when things are not going your way, the lack of hunger will reduce your effectiveness.

Ability to Listen. The ability to listen is one of those important traits that will help you in everything from sales to marriage. People as a rule like for you to listen to them. But in sales it is more than just the ability to listen you also have to be able to understand and take action based on what your customers are telling you.

Ability to ask Probing Questions. The ability to ask pertinent and probing questions is a must if you want to be able to determine what your customers want and need. Your ability to close a sale is highly dependent on determining the needs of your customers and how you can meet those needs. Take the time while you are developing your cold calling script to include these types of questions. Don’t be afraid to refine and update these questions as you learn more from making actual sales calls.

Charm. Charm is your ability to connect to another person. In our opinion, charm should be subtle and unobtrusive. You don’t want to be over the top to the point it seems like you are ‘kissing ass’, you need to be friendly, outgoing and empathetic.

Networking Ability. Starting out as a new sales person you might not have a huge network, that is alright but you will need to develop it. How you do this depends a lot on the service or product you are selling. But basically, you use the same types of skills and traits we are discussing here. You can network through social media such as Linkedin or Facebook. You can join clubs or other organizations within your industry. You can go to trade shows or even your local church. The point is, to network you need to put yourself in a position to meet as many people as possible. You don’t necessarily have to start making a sell as soon as you meet someone, just be friendly. Over time you can move toward some sort of a sales pitch. You may find that people will ask you what you do and open the door themselves.

Honesty.  Honesty is extremely important in sales. The reason we put it so far down the list is because you have to have customers or contacts before you can prove your honesty. We did not put it this far down because it wasn’t very important, so don’t assume that. Your long term success as a sales person will depend heavily on being honest and delivering on your promises. If you aren’t sure you can do something don’t be afraid to tell your customer that.

Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm can be defined a number of different ways. Probably the way we see it here is that you want your customers to enjoy being around you. You want them to know you believe in your product or service and are excited about the opportunity to speak with them about it. Again, we are talking about some sort of over the top enthusiasm like a sales pitch specialist on a late night promotional advertisement. We are talking about a normal and noticeable excitement about your job and what you are selling. If you aren’t excited about your product how can you expect your customers to be?

Patience. Perhaps you think patience does not go in the high pressure sales world, you would be wrong. Patience is important when it comes to being able to listen, persistence and resiliency. Yes, we know some sales training and products push for an immediate decision. We acknowledge that is a sales strategy that sometimes works. But, as an overall long term sales strategy being patient with customers can lead to success in the long term. Unless your specific sales strategy calls for it, don’t push too hard. When you are trying to make a sale every communication should have a trigger or action item but they don’t always have to be pushy. Most of the time you will have to work a customer over a period of time to make a sale. That is the normal cycle. There is a theory called the rule of 7. This means a person must see your sales pitch 7 times before they act.

“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman – not the attitude of the prospect” – W. Clement Stone

 

Read Next: Have a Daily Plan