8 Traits All Successful Salespeople Share
Years ago, I was working as a sales rep in the financial industry. My manager at the time had been promoted after being the top producer in the company, and was still closing more business than anyone as a producing sales manager. Before he had joined the company, he was the top producer at a previous company, and at the one before that.
Typically, the best salespeople are the best no matter where they’re working. Of course, there are ways to get an edge on the competition by using technologies (like Spiro’s sales automation CRM) which are designed to help you make more money, but the best salespeople succeed primarily because they all share the same traits. Here are eight of the traits all successful salespeople share:
1. Attentiveness
Smart phones, SnapChat, and every other one of a thousand distractions every day have turned us into restless screen-junkies looking for our next fix. But successful salespeople know to pay attention to the customer, who should be the most important person in the world when you’re speaking to them and working on their deal. Pay attention to what they want, and you’ll succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
2. Resilience
One of the toughest things for people new to sales to get over is the constant stream of rejection that you experience in your day to day activities. While it can take some getting used to, once you’ve taught yourself to be resilient in the face of failure, you’ll have made it over one of the biggest hurdles on the way to becoming a top producer. Remember; every “no” you hear is putting you one step closer to that “yes.”
3. Confidence
No matter what you may think, if you’re not confident in yourself and your sales pitch, the customer will know it. You can say all the right things, but if there’s no energy and conviction behind your words, you won’t close the deal. Confidence can’t always be taught, but it can make the difference between a commission check that buys you steak and champagne, and one that buys you a soda and fries off the dollar menu.
4. Persistence
How many people are crazy enough to keep calling a prospect day after day, even after they’ve given you multiple reasons why they can’t move forward? Not many. But successful salespeople develop their persistence, and see objections as the starting point for a sale. Studies have suggested that it takes up to twelve follow-up calls to close an average deal, but most average salespeople don’t even make it past the first one.
5. Curiosity
Contrary to popular belief (and contrary to what some managers think), successful salespeople aren’t mindless drones executing a script. The best salespeople are curious about the world, about their products, and about their customers. Only through curiosity do you learn everything that it takes to be successful, and only through learning do you advance to the next level of your sales career.
6. Humility
Salespeople aren’t known to be the most humble bunch, but ask yourself how many times you’ve seen the biggest talkers consistently performing at the highest levels in the company. Extreme success takes dedication and hard work day in and day out, and hard work breeds humility. When you slow down and admit that you don’t already know everything, the world will open up to you and you’ll find success behind doors you never even knew existed.
7. Passion
This is probably the most difficult trait for the average salesperson to emulate because it’s something that can’t be faked. Passion is what allows you to raise the energy of your customer when you’re presenting to them and they see how committed to their needs and to your product you truly are, and it’s what will motivate you to make that extra call when everyone else has left the office for the night. Passion can’t be bought, and those who possess it become an unstoppable force.
8. Authenticity
There’s a great quote from Dr. Seuss that goes; “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You!” Dr. Seuss knew that authenticity was one of the most important traits for all people, not just sales reps. The authentic salesperson will close the deal over their inauthentic counterpart 90% of the time, because it’s an intangible part of human interaction for which there is no substitute. So the next time you’re pitching a prospect, stop sounding like a salesperson. Be yourself, and sell yourself before you sell the product.
