Almost every writer on marketing and sales and some time comes round to the tricky question of what makes a great salesperson.
In fact this is a hugely difficult question to answer. Everyone’s views are naturally biased by their own unique experience. And one persons experience can never match up to hard evidence from research. But in a field where there has been relatively little rigorous research, the vocie of experience can add depth and flavour.
I’ve been lucky enough to work with hundreds of salespeople from over 20 different countries – so at least my own personal, biased thoughts are based on a reasonably large and diverse sample.
So here goes – my top 4 characteristics of world-class salespeople. Bear in mind that my viewpoint and experience is biased towards people who sell high value professional services:
1. Passion. It’s a characteristic that’s been highlighted many times before, but which is nonetheless vital. My experience has been that the fundamental characteristic all great salespeople share is an absolute belief and passion in the product or service they are selling. That passion infects customers and makes a major difference in the trust they place in the salesperson.
Sometimes people joke that “if you can fake sincerity, you’ve got it made”. But my experience has been that customers can easily spot this. It’s impossible to fake real passion. You either need to find passion for your products and services, or find other products and services to sell.
2. Likeability. Before anyone will buy anything from you, they need to trust that it’s going to do what you say it will. Sometimes the product or the evidence speaks for itself – but more usually, it’s the salesperson who will need to be trusted.
Of course, it is possible to tryst someone without liking them. But it’s rare.
3. Resilience. Pretty much the only thing that can be guaranteed in sales is that you will face rejection. And often. Successful sellers just can’t afford to need everyone to love them. They need a think skin.
4. Willingness and Energy to Learn. A salesperson who starts out with limited skills, but a real passion for learning and self improvement will soon overtake the skills of one who rests on their laurels. Especially with the huge changes in technology and the different ways of interacting with customers today.
If you can build your skills in all these areas you’ll be well on your way to a super successful career in sales.
Ian Brodie helps professional service firms to improve their selling skills and win new business. To get a free copy of Ian’s ebook on how to get more referrals, sign up to his newsletter on how to get more clients.
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