Qualities Essential for an Effective Sales Person

I found this very interesting and thought provoking article on: 

http://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning/effective-salesperson-qualities

Everyone has come across a sales person at some point or the other and might have wondered how these sales people manage to convert a new prospect into a loyal customer. Sales is an important function and a sales person plays a key role in bringing revenues to the organization. In doing so, sales people always exhibit a number of exceptional qualities and characteristics but they may not always be aware of what really needs to be focused on and improved.

A sales job is a tough task because it involves a lot of skills. Apart from having thorough knowledge about their products and services, sales person need to focus on other qualities too. These qualities differentiate them from the other sales people.

Let’s look at the qualities necessary for any good salesperson to start laying down the foundation for his/her success.

• Only a good listener can be a good sales person. Good listening will help the sales person to find out the customer’s needs and wants and make an appropriate sale. This quality of a sales person also brings a change in customers’ behavior resulting in a good relationship. Listening constitutes 40% of a good salesman’s qualities.

• Besides being a good listener, a sales person should also possess the ability tocommunicate. Selling is always a two-way communication process and the success of a sales person depends on his presentation skills. He/she should possess a controlled voice and a good command over the language. He/she should be clear of what he/she wants to communicate to his/her client or customer. This skill is very important if you are learning how to be an effective sales person.

• A sales person needs to be persistent and have a positive attitude. He/she should have the attitude of never giving up something easily. He/she should understand that a sales job is not an easy task and be prepared for it. The world is changing at an ever increasing pace and sales people in order to meet their goals should be open-minded to accept these changes and keep learning.

• A sales person should be a sincere and honest person. He should not cheat the customer for his own benefit or just to make a sale. He should always try to understand the customer’s requirements and give him the best. This quality of a sales person can help him to establish a good relationship with the prospect, which will draw the prospect to become the customer. A good sales person is one who does not hide any truth that can prove detrimental to his customers.

• A person can become a good sales person if he possesses a high level of ego drive. Ego drive is the measurement of how fast you can recover after getting rejected. It is just a part of the job of a salesperson. Good salespeople cannot afford to think that they should be liked by everyone. They should have the ability to learn from their mistakes and move on quickly from failures.

• Selling is an art and it requires a sales person to be energetic and enthusiastic. Sometimes, it helps if he/she is be a fun-loving person and a little entertaining. Because the ultimate aim of any sales person is to make a sale, people with this kind of quality can easily gain the prospect’s attention.

• A sales person should have a lot of patience to succeed. As a part of his work, a sales person will have to explain the entire process or product to a prospect and end it with a placement of the order. He should be pleasant and patient while taking a prospect through all these stages. A person can never be an effective sales person if he doesn’t have the patience for it.

Does every sales person possess all these qualities? Not likely. But it is very important to know what is needed and what one should work on – to identify one’s weaknesses and develop them into strengths. Every situation a sales person comes across needs a different kind of approach to win. The list of desired qualities stated here can just be a check list that may be useful to review your own skill-set.