Qualities of great salesman

[LongHaul]

I have little experience observing great salesman (selling a product or service) who are highly productive and was wondering what

traits they exhibited.  Any help appreciated.

[cubsfan]

Having hired many, many sales reps over my career - I'll give you my list:

 

Focus

Passion & desire

Work ethic

Attititude

 

The really great salespeople love to sell, and the real "A" players, as we call them have an ability

to "put themselves in the customer's shoes" - it's about the customer, not what the sales rep needs.

 

If you can identify those characteristics, you have yourself a great one.

 

 

 

[DooDiligence]

It's important to be selling what's appropriate to u.

 

Do u like ideas or r u a things person?

 

Tangibles or Intangibles

 

Ability to transfer enthusiasm is key.

 

Knowledge can breed passion.

 

Then comes motivation.

 

Organization.

 

Gotta sell what you like with integrity (any missing traits will develop naturally...)

[writser]

In finance i'd say (in no particular order):

 

- work ethic

- having no conscience.

- charisma.

- being able to drink a lot.

- loving strip clubs.

[TwoCitiesCapital]

- having no conscience.

- charisma.

::)

 

[writser]

- having no conscience.

- charisma.

::)

 

You are right, that was a cheap shot. I updated my list.

[flesh]

You've experienced a great salesman when you didn't know you were being sold. The opposite experience that's perpetuated by the typical used car salesman narrative.

 

I was a great salesman, I trained great sales people for a decade. I helped dozens of sales people go from slightly better than minimum wage to six figures in a year or so.

 

A great salesman creates a situation where the client/customer volunteers to open up.

 

At once,

they don't care about any particular sale and focus on their craft.

 

It's a process of being willing to do what most people won't, in every sense you can imagine, the good and the bad.

 

The best "closer's" don't have to close a deal, the deal was already closed in the first half of the sales process, introduction/probe/value creating/pain inducing. The best sales people aren't closing the deal at the end, they are taking an order. The sale had already been made. If you find yourself battling at the end of the process, rework the beginning, You neglected to create the rapport/trust/pain in the first place.

 

They have perfect voice inflection, based on what the client desires, they can change the pitch/tempo in their voice and body language, modify enthusiasm levels at will, they are real life actors. They can differentiate between the feelings on the inside versus what's being displayed. Nobody knows what your feeling if you don't show them.  You've got to be careful not to delude yourself after doing this for some time, most end up with a irreversible residual self image that's difficult to recover from and become centered again.

 

In retrospect, I needed sales to prosper as a result of a difficult young adulthood experience. It's a way for someone who's unqualified to make a great living and build confidence. That said, it's not a great way to live the better part of one's life.

 

95% of salespeople who make six figures save nothing. I recall a guy asking me for a 4k advance on his weekly check, 4 days in advance, I denied him. He quit, he was my best sales person at the time, this was the third time in two month's he had done this and I was sick of it. 

 

 

[DooDiligence]

You've experienced a great salesman when you didn't know you were being sold. The opposite experience that's perpetuated by the typical used car salesman narrative.

 

I was a great salesman, I trained great sales people for a decade. I helped dozens of sales people go from slightly better than minimum wage to six figures in a year or so.

 

A great salesman creates a situation where the client/customer volunteers to open up.

 

At once,

they don't care about any particular sale and focus on their craft.

 

It's a process of being willing to do what most people won't, in every sense you can imagine, the good and the bad.

 

The best "closer's" don't have to close a deal, the deal was already closed in the first half of the sales process, introduction/probe/value creating/pain inducing. The best sales people aren't closing the deal at the end, they are taking an order. The sale had already been made. If you find yourself battling at the end of the process, rework the beginning, You neglected to create the rapport/trust/pain in the first place.

 

They have perfect voice inflection, based on what the client desires, they can change the pitch/tempo in their voice and body language, modify enthusiasm levels at will, they are real life actors. They can differentiate between the feelings on the inside versus what's being displayed. Nobody knows what your feeling if you don't show them.  You've got to be careful not to delude yourself after doing this for some time, most end up with a irreversible residual self image that's difficult to recover from and become centered again.

 

In retrospect, I needed sales to prosper as a result of a difficult young adulthood experience. It's a way for someone who's unqualified to make a great living and build confidence. That said, it's not a great way to live the better part of one's life.

 

95% of salespeople who make six figures save nothing. I recall a guy asking me for a 4k advance on his weekly check, 4 days in advance, I denied him. He quit, he was my best sales person at the time, this was the third time in two month's he had done this and I was sick of it.

 

Did you go out & hold up his end of the revs?

[randomep]

 

 

My guess at the single most important trait: empathy.

[Gregmal]

You've experienced a great salesman when you didn't know you were being sold. The opposite experience that's perpetuated by the typical used car salesman narrative.

 

I was a great salesman, I trained great sales people for a decade. I helped dozens of sales people go from slightly better than minimum wage to six figures in a year or so.

 

A great salesman creates a situation where the client/customer volunteers to open up.

 

At once,

they don't care about any particular sale and focus on their craft.

 

It's a process of being willing to do what most people won't, in every sense you can imagine, the good and the bad.

 

The best "closer's" don't have to close a deal, the deal was already closed in the first half of the sales process, introduction/probe/value creating/pain inducing. The best sales people aren't closing the deal at the end, they are taking an order. The sale had already been made. If you find yourself battling at the end of the process, rework the beginning, You neglected to create the rapport/trust/pain in the first place.

 

They have perfect voice inflection, based on what the client desires, they can change the pitch/tempo in their voice and body language, modify enthusiasm levels at will, they are real life actors. They can differentiate between the feelings on the inside versus what's being displayed. Nobody knows what your feeling if you don't show them.  You've got to be careful not to delude yourself after doing this for some time, most end up with a irreversible residual self image that's difficult to recover from and become centered again.

 

In retrospect, I needed sales to prosper as a result of a difficult young adulthood experience. It's a way for someone who's unqualified to make a great living and build confidence. That said, it's not a great way to live the better part of one's life.

 

95% of salespeople who make six figures save nothing. I recall a guy asking me for a 4k advance on his weekly check, 4 days in advance, I denied him. He quit, he was my best sales person at the time, this was the third time in two month's he had done this and I was sick of it.

 

Being familiar with the way mortgage brokerage, stock brokerage, insurance brokerage, and car sales go, so much of this is hilariously spot on. Especially the highlighted stuff. I am sure you also ran into the "sign on mercs"?

[LongHaul]

You've experienced a great salesman when you didn't know you were being sold. The opposite experience that's perpetuated by the typical used car salesman narrative.

 

I was a great salesman, I trained great sales people for a decade. I helped dozens of sales people go from slightly better than minimum wage to six figures in a year or so.

 

A great salesman creates a situation where the client/customer volunteers to open up.

 

At once,

they don't care about any particular sale and focus on their craft.

 

It's a process of being willing to do what most people won't, in every sense you can imagine, the good and the bad.

 

The best "closer's" don't have to close a deal, the deal was already closed in the first half of the sales process, introduction/probe/value creating/pain inducing. The best sales people aren't closing the deal at the end, they are taking an order. The sale had already been made. If you find yourself battling at the end of the process, rework the beginning, You neglected to create the rapport/trust/pain in the first place.

 

They have perfect voice inflection, based on what the client desires, they can change the pitch/tempo in their voice and body language, modify enthusiasm levels at will, they are real life actors. They can differentiate between the feelings on the inside versus what's being displayed. Nobody knows what your feeling if you don't show them.  You've got to be careful not to delude yourself after doing this for some time, most end up with a irreversible residual self image that's difficult to recover from and become centered again.

 

In retrospect, I needed sales to prosper as a result of a difficult young adulthood experience. It's a way for someone who's unqualified to make a great living and build confidence. That said, it's not a great way to live the better part of one's life.

 

95% of salespeople who make six figures save nothing. I recall a guy asking me for a 4k advance on his weekly check, 4 days in advance, I denied him. He quit, he was my best sales person at the time, this was the third time in two month's he had done this and I was sick of it.

 

+1  Super interesting.  Thanks.