The 16 Qualities of a Good Salesperson – Traits That Set Them Apart

4 Types of Sales Personalities

The personality of a salesperson plays a big part in their selling approach and determines how successful they will be. 

Salespeople come in four basic personalities. While these each have qualities that set them apart, the truly great salespeople will have qualities that straddle the four sales personalities.

The same personality traits also mark the people sitting across the table from you in sales presentations – the customers you sell to. Knowing how each sales personality type behaves will, thus, greatly improve your selling skills.

1 Assertives

These individuals are confident, driven, and competitive. They approach their work with diligence and always come to presentations fully prepared.

2 Amiables

Amiables take a carefully considered approach to selling. They eschew aggressive selling tactics and instead prefer to gently guide the prospect through a process of discovery and learning so they fully understand their problem and solution, doing this before they have raised queries. These salespeople are helpful, friendly, and easygoing.

3 Expressives

These individuals are enthusiastic, talkative, and extroverted. They are the most likely to wear a customer down by bombarding with information before they make their pitch. This sales personality is very persuasive, likes to go into detail when pitching, and seeks to build personal relationships with their prospects.

4 Analytic

These individuals are logical and like to critically analyze problems and solutions. They will not make claims they can’t support with tangible facts and data. They are data hounds They are impersonal, and direct, and prefer to use facts than go into long persuasive speeches when pitching.

According to business experts, the best sales representatives are often a mix of the four main types of personalities.

Sales skills are an essential part of any business, whether you’re trying to sell a product to an investor or a car at a car dealership. However, not everyone has what it takes to be a successful salesperson.

By identifying the characteristics of successful salespeople, you can determine whether or not you have what it takes to be a successful salesperson. Business owners can also use this information to identify which candidates will be the best fit for their company.

How to Harness the Different Sales Personality Traits And Close More Sales

Knowing the personalities of your prospects can help you tailor your sales approach. Each type of prospect will respond differently to different types of sales pitches.

While each personality type has a sales approach that fit it best, sometimes you need to switch things up and use a mix of several personality styles. 

Here is how you use the different personality traits when selling to the different types of prospects you will encounter in the field:

Assertiveness

To be successful at sales, you need to be professional and polite, as well as honest. You also need to be able to quickly and clearly explain the benefits of your product or service. Use data to back up your claims, and you’ll have more success closing more deals with customers.

Amiability

When you’re pitching a product, it’s important to remember that you’re not just selling an item- you’re selling a vision. Build rapport with your potential client and tell stories about how your product has helped others in the past. 

Instead of overwhelming them with information, gently guide them through the process and offer personal guarantees. By doing this, you’ll be more likely to make the sale.

Expressiveness

When communicating with clients, it’s important to use descriptive language instead of numbers. Building rapport with the client is also very important. Lastly, checking in with your client regularly ensures that both of you are on the same wavelength.

Analyticity

Be kind and patient when talking to the person on the other end of the line. They likely have already done some research and are just looking for some guidance. Give them some numbers and data to support your claim. Keep things factual and professional.

With that said, what do top salespeople do differently that makes them so successful?

The 16 Top Qualities of a Good Salesperson

According to business experts who we spoke to, successful salespeople share common qualities. Here are 14 skills and attributes successful salespeople have in common:

1 Customer-centric

Your customers want to know that you actually care about them, that you aren’t just interested in selling them something, and that you have considered why your solution is best for them. Great salespeople care about their customers.

2 Confident

If you don’t believe in the product or service you’re selling, then how is the customer supposed to?

If you can clearly explain to a customer how your product or service will solve their problem, then you’ve won them over.

Want more sales strategies? Check out our article on how to close the deal!

3 Always ready to make a sale

A good salesperson should always be aware of her environment and be prepared to present her product at any time. They are always in selling mode.

4 Subtlety

Great salespeople educate, instill confidence, and don’t look like they are selling. They indiscernibly demonstrate why consumers should trust them and purchase from them.

5 Resilience

The top sales performers are able to deal with difficulties, overcome obstacles, and improve their performances, even when faced with challenges. They view every failed sales attempt as a personal challenge to eventually succeed with their next prospect.

6 Motivation

Motivation is the driving force that pushes you to get up every day to go and push for more sales. It is the WHY of doing something, which for a salesperson should be to deliver great solutions for clients.

Motivated salespeople enjoy talking to their customers. The more topics you can talk about with a customer, the better chance you have of connecting with them.

7 Tenacity

You are going to be very poor at sales if you give up easily. The best salespeople don’t take NO for an answer. When confronted with an objection, they try to address it head-on. If that fails, they try another approach. They look for an excuse to come back again; this time more prepared to fight for the sale.

8 Inquisitiveness

Successful salespeople ask a lot of questions. They ask deep-searching questions. Not to annoy the prospect but to get to the heart of their problem and uncover the best solution for them.

When you ask a lot of questions and take time to actively listen to their answers, truly interested prospects aren’t annoyed. They are impressed by your desire to understand their needs fully.

Speaking of listening, that’s another quality that marks great salespeople apart:

9 Active listening

Great salespeople listen to their customers’ problems before trying to sell them a solution. Active listening is what sets marketers and salespeople apart. 

In marketing, you craft a message and convey it to your audience, while in sales you ask a question and listen to the prospect and don’t draw conclusions until you have fully understood them and can match your solution to their problem.

10 Multi-tasking

Multitasking in your sales role is a natural thing. You’re trying to follow up on potential and existing clients, nurture new leads into becoming customers, and close deals. You do it all concurrently.

Without the ability to carry out more than one task at a time, you are going to struggle to meet your quotas. You simply don’t have the time to chase and close one lead at a time.

11 Insightfulness

Today, most customers do their research before contacting vendors. Providing just spec sheets and product information is not enough. As a salesperson, you have to offer valuable insights that help prospects understand their problem better and not tell them what they already found out on their own.

At the same time, be willing to engage the prospect in honest discussion. A salesperson with a consultative approach seeks to identify a customer’s needs and tailor a custom solution that fits those specific needs.

12 Persistence

Persistence is key when contacting clients. Reminding them that you’re there with solutions, and giving them multiple chances to connect, is the best way to get them to call you back.

Customers may take a while to respond to your messages, but don’t give up! Being consistently persistent is the key to maintaining good relationships with your customers.

13 Honesty

Successful salespeople understand that lying to get the sale is a bad idea, because not only have you burned that bridge but all of the potential other bridges that branch out from that contact are lost.

It’s better to lose out on deals than to compromise your integrity. Have lines that you will not cross no matter how desperate you are for the sale.

14 Focus

Successful salespeople understand what they need to do to be successful and set goals for themselves to achieve that success.

The best reps are always focused on their goals and don’t get sidetracked by things like office gossip or email. They know what it takes to close a sale and work hard to achieve their targets.

“They always act like they have a purpose,” says growth expert, John-Henry Scherck. “They apply a deep focus in everything they do in order to achieve sales success.”

15 Optimism

Top salespeople tend to have an upbeat and positive attitude.

While grounded in reality, they focus on what they can control and remain optimistic that they’ll achieve their goal. They don’t let setbacks drag them down.

16 Cultural awareness.

When making international sales, it’s important to be aware that cultural differences, such as time, decision-making, and expectations, may differ from what you’re accustomed to. 

You must show patience and understanding to potential customers from different cultures to increase the likelihood of making a sale.

‘Building relationships is key to many international markets. This can take much longer to build, but is well worth it.’ –Ed Marsh, founder of Consilium.

The best salespeople work well in a team and are able to push team members to success. Now that you know the traits of a great salesperson, it’s time to build a winning sales team.

How to Build a Successful Sales Team

A great salesperson is more than just someone with the right qualifications. They are also someone who will help your company succeed. A high-quality salesperson will also help you reduce turnover and increase productivity.

A diverse sales team is key to success in any company. They are able to mix and match different skills and personalities to achieve the best results.

It’s important to compare the skills of potential reps and weigh all the factors to determine if they are a good fit for your company.

These are some of the things that will improve if you have an excellent sales team:

• Top sales reps can increase revenue. 

Salespeople inspire and motivate clients to see the value of your products and services and the benefits they can reap.

• Improved reputation: 

Communication and service are key to converting prospects into paying customers. It is important to make a positive impression on leads. This will help build a stellar business reputation that you can use in the long term.

• Trust builds strong relationships: 

People will be more inclined to buy again from companies they trust. This is a secret that great salespeople know and share with their clients to build a relationship so that prospects become loyal, repeat customers in no time.

Salespeople form the backbone of any company that is sales-oriented.

They are the brand’s ambassadors to customers and create value for prospects. They are responsible for generating revenue and finding new customers, as well as maintaining healthy relationships with existing customers. This is all to ensure the success of your business.

Conclusion: How to Be a Better Salesperson

Great salespeople that shatter their quotas consistently share common traits. These are the qualities that mark them from average sales reps. Among other qualities they have, great salespeople are optimistic, confident, persistent, and care about their customers. If you can master these sales qualities, you’ll be well on your way to success in sales!

---

Need Help Automating Your Sales Prospecting Process?

LeadFuze gives you all the data you need to find ideal leads, including full contact information.

Go through a variety of filters to zero in on the leads you want to reach. This is crazy specific, but you could find all the people that match the following: 

• A company in the Financial Services or Banking industry
• Who have more than 10 employees
• That spend money on Adwords
• Who use Hubspot
• Who currently have job openings for marketing help
• With the role of HR Manager
• That has only been in this role for less than 1 year

Just to give you an idea. 😀[/sc