What Makes A Good Salesperson?
Salespeople work in many different ways, but they have common traits that drive success.
They are empathetic. This allows them to identify with customers, understand their concerns objectively, and demonstrate their sincere interest in solving customer problems.
They are disciplined. They can juggle multiple things, but they are highly self-motivated to stay focused on the important things that will lead to success.
They have a strong sense of personal responsibility. They know how to overcome obstacles.
They are persistent. They don’t give up easily and will have the inner drive to make another call even though the last one got ignored.
They believe in themselves and the product they are selling.
They are optimistic and upbeat.
They are lifelong learners.
1. Credibility
A sales professional is always looking for ways to improve their selling skills. Top performers want that edge or new insight that can help them succeed. However, sales training won’t be successful if they don’t have faith in the trainer.
You need someone with real-world experience doing the job. They should be able to understand the challenges your team faces and use their sales experience to guide them. Salespeople will be more receptive to someone that’s faced the same challenges and overcome them.
2. A Great Communicator
To be effective, your sales trainer must be a master communicator. They need to hold participants’ attention and engage them throughout the program. They’re covering a fair amount of information in a relatively short time.
They should also be authentic and genuine. A sales professional can spot when someone’s faking it or telling tales.
The personality of the trainer plays an important role in the learning environment. They way they interact with sales teams will impact the kind of behaviour that emerges from the training.
3. Quick to Establish Trust
Trust starts with credibility but goes beyond. You might deem someone as credible based on their resume or experiences and still not trust they can help you improve your sales performance.
Trainers must have the ability to connect quickly with people and foster trust.
In sales training, you are typically asking people to do things they haven’t done before. Trainers need to provide a “safe” environment for people to stretch their thinking.
4. A Proven Leader
Not only should they experience as a seller, but they should also have sales experience as a manager or leader. This demonstrates they have done the job, but also been able to train others to succeed.
5. Adaptable
Effective sales training will adapt to the audience’s needs. Different people learn in different ways. Sales trainers need to be able to craft their presentations and work with teams in the way that best communicates the message.
They also must be able to adapt to change. No matter how well-planned sales training is, something always seems to come up. It may be a client emergency, a reluctant participant, or any number of unpredictable events that trainers may have to incorporate into their agenda.
6. Highly Prepared
Some sales trainers have a canned presentation that they provide to everyone. The top sales professionals know that you need to customise your presentation to the audience you are addressing. This means you want a sales trainer that does their research ahead of time to focus on your specific needs and goals. They will then craft their training based on your industry and your unique business challenges.
This also means the ability to control the environment to provide a rich learning experience. They should have a well-planned agenda and the sense when it’s time to move to the next item or spend more time on the current one.
7. Good Listeners
One of the most effective sales techniques you can employ is listening. When you understand the customer’s needs and understand their challenges, you can present better solutions. It’s the same in training. Sales trainers should be good listeners. They need to be able to discern when a message isn’t getting through and redirect conversations
8. Good Facilitators
When people are engaged, they learn. Along with listening skills, the need to be adept at facilitating discussions. They should ask probing questions to encourage interactions. They should be able to moderate discussions and draw significant conclusions while keeping things on topic.
Great facilitation will draw out best practices and solutions from the group.
9. Practiced at Humility
While you must be able to present in front of a crowd, the best sales trainers don’t let their ego get in the way. They don’t need to be the star of the show to be successful. They should take their training seriously, but not take themselves seriously.
10. Passionate
The best trainers exude passion. They have a love of their craft and they are passionate about helping others succeed. This means they’ll put in the extra work to be subject matter experts and share their enthusiasm with others.
Trainers have high energy and are energized by working with teams. Their passion is contagious.