The Qualities Of An Effective Salesperson

Salespeople need to possess a certain tenacity. The job requires the ability to listen and multitask effectively. Here are the qualities of an effective salesperson.

They Have The Ability To Listen 

The ability to listen is the most important skill a salesperson can have.

Salespeople need to be able to listen to both what a client is and isn’t saying. They have to be attuned to others and possess great amounts of empathy. These qualities help them to always put the client’s needs first.

“Most people think it’s the smooth talkers who make the best salespeople, but in reality it’s those who have mastered listening and identifying people’s true motivations who are most successful.” – American Management Association

They Embrace Healthy Competition 

Successful salespeople embrace a healthy level of competition. They see it as a way to motivate themselves and their team.

“Salespeople who understand healthy competition will challenge themselves but not at the expense of others. They know they’ll face highs and lows in their careers and they put in effort regardless of whether they’re shooting sales bull’s-eyes or woefully missing the target.” – Forbes

This desire to constantly be improving motivates effective salespeople to keep raising the bar!

They Are Confident, NOT Arrogant! 

There’s a stereotype that those in sales need to be cocky or pushy in order to close a deal. However, the really effective salespeople know this is not the case.

“Arrogance is a poor substitute for confidence and alienates customers as opposed to building a relationship as a trusted advisor.” – Sales Readiness Group

Good salespeople persuade others with their confidence. They know their products inside and out and have a sincere desire to address client pain points.

They Have The Ability To Multitask 

Salespeople need to be able to multitask in order to keep up with the changing needs of their job.

Salespeople who can multitask can perform multiple tasks that are all focused on the same end goal. On top of being able to close sales, they might be required to update client files, send an email or pivot their pitch in real-time.

Multitasking is not to be confused with task-switching, which is doing multiple things that aren’t related to the same outcome (i.e. checking emails or running reports while taking lunch).

For example, “In driving a car you are multitasking because all the tasks you are performing [checking the mirrors, monitoring speed and looking ahead] are to satisfy one goal — to safely reach your destination.” – Medium

Effective salespeople are always ready to jump right into whatever is required to get the job done!

Effective Salespeople Are Resilient 

It’s no secret that a job in sales has built-in rejection.

A good salesperson won’t take anything personally. Rather, they will see objections and rejections as an opportunity to learn more about the customer. They are able to learn from negative experiences and be motivated by them.

“Resilience is the ability to brush ourselves off after getting knocked down, learn from our mistakes instead of repeating them and rebuff rejection instead of internalizing negativity. It’s also what sets high-performing sales professionals apart from the also-rans.” – Selling Power

Whether a good salesperson is born or made is still up for debate. However, those who thrive in sales positions have these qualities in spades. They are effective listeners and good task managers with an innate ability to bounce back!

If you have questions or would like more information, I’d be happy to help. Please send an email, and my team will get in touch with you!