There comes a time in every writer on sales’s life where they must address the thorny question of “what makes a great salesperson?”. Now is my time.
This is a very challenging question to answer. We’re all biased and see the world through the lens of our own experience. No one persons view can ever compare to a rigorous scientific trial or experiment. But it certainly can add flavour and depth. Especially in a field where there haven’t been to many rigorous studies performed.
I’ve worked with salespeople from over 20 different countries – so at least my observations are based on a broad and diverse sample.
So here is my list of the top 4 characteristics of great salespeople.
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.
It’s sometimes joked that if you can fake sincerity you’ve got it made. But I’ve found that almost no one can fake real passion for what they sell. Somehow, some way, customers just pick up on it. What do you do if you’re not passionate about your products? Either get passionate (talking to customer about how they benefit from your product is a good start), get another product you can be passionate about, or get out of sales.
2. Likeability. Being liked is the foundation of being trusted. Its how relationships start.
Now it is possible to trust someone without liking them. But in the world of sales, someone who isn’t likeable never gets the opportunity to prove their trustworthiness. It’s a basic pre-requisite to building relationships.
3. Resilience. Rejection is endemic to sales. It’s something every salesperson faces almost day in, day out. So if you need everyone to love you, sales is probably not the career for you.
4. Willingness and Energy to Learn. The pace of change and the need to continually adapt and improve approaches has never been as great as it is today. The salesperson who commits to continuous learning, and applies themselves wholeheartedly will soon catch up and outpace more talented rivals who rest on their laurels.
So if you can get good at these 4 areas, you can be a great success 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.