A million years ago, I was a salesperson for Dictaphone. Somehow I managed to sell myself well enough so that the company hired me to be the first female rep in Washington, D.C. (Perhaps the interviewer mistook my general feistiness during the interview as real sales courage, but that’s another story.) I was, in fact, probably the worst salesperson in the history of the company, but I learned despite myself, and the experience has left me with a keen interest in the sales process.
Recently, I read a great article by Catherine Brown, president of Initial Call and one sharp lady. Her thesis is that every great sales person must have three essential traits, apart from the ability to close a sale:
- Candor – This means that you’re honest about the capabilities of your product or service—at the risk of losing the sale. Boy, is it ever easy to stretch the truth, particularly if you’re under quota. I did it once, to my eternal shame. It’s a bad thing to do to your customers, your company, and yourself.
- Anticipation – You help your prospect foresee, or anticipate, how decisions they make now will impact the business going forward. Anticipate also means really liking what you sell and believing in what you’re doing. No sleepwalkers need apply.
- Openness – You enjoy learning new things. You seek out the opportunity to acquire new knowledge. You’re intellectually curious and are not “a staunch protector of ‘the way we’ve always done it.’”
Funny, isn’t it, how simple this seems and yet how often these traits seem lacking in the salespeople we deal with? The best salesperson I’ve encountered recently was a young guy at Best Buy. He was well informed, pleasant, and suppressed his chuckles when I asked some truly dumb questions. He seemed interested in what he was doing, and it made a difference. I walked out with what I needed, rather than with what I’d planned to buy. It cost a bit more than I had planned to pay, but he took the time to help me see the benefit of making that decision.
What do you think makes a salesperson great?
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