The 8 Key Character Traits Of Top Sales Pros
Over the last few weeks I’ve had several questions regarding sales people. Besides the fact that a good sales person is very hard to find the main issue is: What does he or she require in character or personality traits to be a success for my business?
I thought it might be worthwhile to list out the character traits that I see consistently, not just in successful sales individuals, but in nearly every top sales professional that I’ve met. According to my research (see below), there are eight:
Goal clarity. Top sales pros have clear, specific, written-down statements of what they want to achieve
Follow-through. Top sales pros do whatever is necessary to make the deal happen and keep the customer happy
Self Awareness. Top sales pros have the ability to understand and control their own emotions, regardless of what happens
Social Ability. Top sales pros can achieve rapport and develop long term relationships with wide variety of people
Optimism. Top sales pros tend to look at the world in terms of possibilities and opportunities, not dangers and risks
Problem-solving. Top sales pros love the challenge of discovering new problems and solving them
Competitiveness. Top sales pros get excited and motivated when they’re confronted with a worthy competitor
Perspective. Top sales pros know that success in life isn’t the money you make, but the relationships you build
Please note that some of these characteristics are personality traits — either you have them or you don’t. But all of them can be developed and grown from even relatively unpromising seeds.
Beyond these character traits, there are the sales skills, like presenting, closing, prospecting, competitive positioning, qualifying, planning, managing resources, objection management, listening, and so forth. These, of course, can be taught to anyone.
The content in this article was provided by Dudley Peacock from Quantum Business Development.
