As fun, exciting, and rewarding as a career in sales can be, it can also be very tough. It can be competitive, hard work and at times, daunting.
If you do want a successful like as a salesperson there are a set of skills that one must possess in order to beat off the competition, and to stay on top of the game. Some of these skills could be naturally possessed skills, and others can be learnt, taught and adapted.
No matter your current sales skill level; whether you are a complete novice, or a seasoned professional, we have put together our top 7 sales skills that we believe every sales person must work on to ensure overall success.
Entrepreneurship
Every good sales person should have a passion for entrepreneurship, or even some form of business acumen. Sales people are normally leaders within business, so they should have an understanding of how business works so that they can tailor their sales strategy to run in parallel with what the customer wants, needs and desires.
Empathy
Understanding your customers emotions, verbal and non-verbal cues along with understanding their pains, their fears and worries will help you to build deep relationships with prospect; and it is from these relationships where the majority of sales will occur.
Active Listening
The are of listening is crucial for a salesperson; normally a prospect will tell you everything they are looking to buy, as long as you allow them to talk.
Take your listening to the next level by actively listening; never interrupt your prospect, and prove to them you are listening by repeating back key words and phrases, seeking clarification and also giving physical hints that you are listening (nodding, agreeing etc).
Time Management & Organisation
To sell anything, you must be willing to split your time across a whole range of activities ranging from prospecting, to presenting, and right up to customer service and admin. It is very important for a sales person to limit their time on non-income generating tasks, and to focus on those that are going to bring in sales, and to ensure everything is done to the highest of standards.
Communication Skills
Sales people use the majority of their time communicating with prospects, and at times suppliers too. This communication must be exemplary; whether it’s written, verbal, or both! Customers must know exactly what they will get from a product or service, and a sales person must be able to explain everything in a clear and straight forward manner that any prospect will understand.
Relationship Development
As we alluded to earlier, one of the most important aspects to a successful sale is that of the relationship between the salesperson and the prospect; people buy from people, and if the relationship isn’t there then rarely the sale will follow. The best sales people in the world are likeable, and are able to build relationships easily.
Product Knowledge
Finally, one of the most under-rated skills for a sales person to possess is solid product knowledge. To develop trust with a prospect, and to be able to sell a product or service, a sales person must know their own products inside and out. Therefore, even before you try to sell anything, get to know everything you can about your products, services and your processes.
There are so many important skill sets a good sales person must have and it was very tough to narrow these down to our top seven. If you would like to add anything to the list, or would like to learn more about how we can supplement your sales offering, please do get in touch.
