Attributes of Highly Successful Sales People

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ales is one of the most important functions for any organization. Sales skills are vital to all types of organizations. This function brings in revenue and hence cash for sustainability and growth. To some extent, majority of the stake holders in the organization are involved in selling. A CEO who is pitching his start up to investors, HR Manager selling a job and career to the job seeker and the Chairman selling the vision and growth potential to the leadership team.

Identifying the core attributes required to achieve sales goals can help you determine if you have what it takes for a career in sales.

As per the feedback of business leaders of successful organizations, the key common attributes of a successful salesperson are as below.

1. They Put the Customer First

The customers expect salesperson to know their business challenges, vision and goals. They shortlist you and your organization after assessing the solution, organizational ability and the customer centricity you demonstrate. Therefore, the salesperson should put himself in the place of the customer and start the engagement with full commitment and involvement in order to win the confidence of the customer.

2. They Believe in Their Product and Organization

Unless the salesperson believes in the product and the organization, he cannot be confident in selling. Successful salesperson know what they are selling, how it is better and have faith in their organization. At the end of the day, you verbal and non-verbal language says it all. So, the good sales people are always confident which gives the customer a great confidence in taking the engagement forward.

3. They are Alert and Agile

A successful salesperson is highly alert and keeps an eye all around. Be it customer or the external environment like competition and industry. They are always ready with their pitch and battle card. They just grab the first opportunity to build a positive customer engagement and take it forward.

4. They are Listeners

They give all their attention to the customer. They just focus on listening in order to understand the pain-points of the customer. Listening help them acquire required information to pitch their product and organization.

5. They are Ultra Fine

They are very subtle. They do not make the customer feel that they are selling something. They are perceived as an advisor/consultant by the customer. They quietly demonstrate why a customer should believe in them and buy from them.

6. They Display Resilience

The good sales people do not get bogged by the obstacles. They know that sales is not a cake walk and they are prepared for unforeseen circumstances. They have the ability to negotiate obstacles in the face of diversity. Even if they are rejected, they take is as a challenge.

It is always a deal at the end

7. They are Sociable

They are extrovert and social. They draw their energy by spending time with other people. They are able to influence people and befriend them with ease. These special traits of the sales people make them apt for selling as it involves meeting new people, discovering them, enjoyable interactions. They can talk on many subjects, which helps them connect better with the customer.

8. They Can Syndicate and Multi-Task

Multitasking and Syndication are the requirement of a sales job. They have various tasks lined up for a day which involves co-ordination as well. They need to call new prospects, build proposal or a visit planned for a closure meeting. They handle it all well and do effective inter departmental co-ordination. They keep everything sorted and are quick in changing their hats.

9. They are Insightful

In today’s information era, the customers are much more informed and educated. They do their thorough homework before reaching out to the vendor. The successful salesperson are always in learning mode. They understand that role is much beyond providing the product information and specs. They learn about their competition, industry and customers which enables them to build a consultative mind-set which makes the customer feel assured of dealing with the right person and the organization.

10. They Display Perseverance

Sales people do not give up. They get across the customer with persistent efforts. In today’s world, everyone’s plate is full with work. The only way to get to a customer is through persistence and patience. It does not matter if it takes a dozen of attempts.

11. They are Fair and Honest

They do not over-sell and give incorrect information. Manipulation may work in short term, but it will burn bridges for future business with the customer and their business connections. It better to let go a deal than compromising on ethics, honesty and integrity. 

They do not indulge in office politics, chats, messengers and small talks. They are highly goal oriented and all their actions are aligned to the objectives. They do not get distracted and act with a purpose. They put in high focus on their work.

13. They Carry a Positive Attitude

They are grounded and have good sense of humour. Their outlook is positive and they are not cribbers.  They emit positivity and make the surroundings positive. They focus on what they can control and do not spend any time on the things that are beyond control. This attitude helps them face uncertainties and disappointments. They are always upbeat. 

14. They Have Wide Exposure and Cultural Understanding

They learn the culture very quickly when they sell outside their geography. This helps them make friends quickly amidst the cultural diversity. They understand the underlying practices and rules of the business for each market and apply them. They are always open minded and have an attitude of acceptance of different cultural and business aspects.