A recent slide show on Inc.com discussed six characteristics of a great salesperson. I found the slide show informative and somewhat insightful. What captured my attention the most was the words used to define a great salesperson:
- Passion for the Product
- Great Listening Skills
- Understanding Early Adopters
- Perfect Execution
- Being Trusted by the Customer
- Bottom Line: Can They Get the Order?
The words that caught my attention were: passion, listening, understanding, execution, trust, and bottom line. At the end of the day, great salespeople are usually defined by the same general characteristics. The ones in this group fit those descriptors.
If every great salesperson has these qualities, what differentiates great from the ordinary?
Of the six descriptors, the two that stand out as differentiators more than any other: Execution and bottom line. The entire sales profession suffers from the ability to listen, understand, and build trust. As a credit to our profession, we have never been more sensitive to our weaknesses in these areas. We are getting better at it. A sales professional with passion is a no brainer. There is not a sales professional in the world who does not have passion. If they don’t, they are a bad hire waiting to be eliminated. What’s left: execution and bottom line.
When it comes to high performing sales professionals, nobody is better than them at efficiently and effectively creating a sales process that gets the job done. High performers have the ability to install a methodology to build relationships, solve problems, close deals and add value. And they waste no time getting it done. If you are attempting to identify a high-performer from a collection of other sales professionals, ask them how they organize, manage and define their activities and their strategy. Their answer will tell you everything you need to know.