You will, I have no doubt, disagree with some of the things on the list.

There are many fine attributes that failed to make my top 10 that would maybe be in yours. This is opinion, so feel free to disagree and compile yours.

So here goes:

1. Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills.

Great sales people have a high EQ. They understand people and build great relationships. They do this through Behavioural Versatility. As an accredited trainer in Social Styles andVersatility, I see too many salespeople who are not prepared to flex their style to that of their customer. Many sales people are fast, hungry, goal-orientated individuals.  When they come up against a customer who is slower, more thoughtful and analytical, they become frustrated because they lack the emotional intelligence to understand different styles or have the ability to adapt to them.

People buy people like them.

These soft skills including resilience and patience contribute towards a great salespersons make up.

2. A Robust Sales Structure.

Strong salespeople operate with a strong sales structure.  They have come to realise that they cannot simply chat away willy nilly, but they have to have some structure to their interactions.  We need a sales structure because we are selling to human beings, and human beings have a buying structure. We need to match those thought processes and walk our customer through their own natural process of deciding to buy.

3. Questioning Skills.

For decades salespeople have been brainwashed with OpenQuestions, Closed questions etc.  There’s a real skill to holding a high quality business conversation that flows naturally and the customer enjoys.  

People answer questions at face value, based on the words used in the question.

Therefore we need to take more care about how we craft our questions to get the information we need in a consultative, conversational style instead of letting the same old questions tumble out of our mouth.

We need to find the need behind the need.  Not just skim the surface.  Impact and consequence questions to really get the customer thinking.

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4. Sell “Suitability”.

People buy suitability. That’s why we choose our favourite food on the menu in restaurants, it’s why we try clothes on in a shop. To see if it suits us.  If you are selling to customers and delivering virtually the same “pitch” to them all, then that will not be as affective as tailoring each presentation to that of the particular customer in front of you.  You need to show how suitable your product or service is as a solution to their problem or goal by talking about specific things it achieves in relation to those needs.

5. Charisma:

Quite simply the ability to win the hearts and minds of others whilst being authentically yourself.

Do I like this salesperson? Is what they are saying to me making sense? Are they coming across as genuine.

6. Objection Handling & Negotiation Skills.

The ability to handle objections and negotiate well is paramount for any salesperson.  The ability to persuade & influence another person to make a decision in your favour.  You need solid objection handling techniques, not just an answer for each different one, and negotiation isn’t just dropping your price until the customer says yes.

7. Personal Development.

Great salespeople ask for coaching.  They ask for feedback. “How am I doing?”.“How can I do better?”. Average and poor salespeople shudder at the thought of a coaching session.

Great salespeople also practice.  Not on customers, but with their manager, peers or a coach.

8. Listening Skills.

What the best salespeople do is listen well.  They go beyond Active Listening. They Listen With Empathy. They don’t just hear the facts, they hear the emotion and feeling.  People buy with the emotional side of the brain.  If you listen withEmpathy, you will engage on that emotional level.

9. Planning & Organising.

Being well planned and organised is a trait of a great salesperson. They plan before each call or meeting to understand the customer and have some insight. They plan their routes well if they are travelling around between customers so they can be efficient with their time each day.

They also know which customers to see when to keep a good flow of revenue coming in and they break down targets and goals into bite-size chunks.

10. Mindset.

“I love my job”. That is what goes through a great salesperson’s mind each day.  They are excited about the day or week ahead and cannot wait to get cracking.

They are positive and optimistic. But have a sense of realism.