Traits of Highly Successful Sales Professionals

I am fairly confident that many reading this will disagree, and some will even view me as a heretic; so be it. I truly believe that the very best sales people have the following traits:

They don’t have the best “pitch” they have best questions.

They are genuinely curious and seek to fully understand their clients situation, needs, wants, and concerns.

They are client-focused and give up connection to the outcome.

They don’t “close” sales, they build long-term trust based relationships and become a trusted advisor.

They never view their encounters with prospects as adversarial battles to be won. For them it is not a zero sum game.

They don’t expect to “win” they strive to serve.

They know that if they help enough other people get what they want they will always ultimately succeed (a nod here to Dale Carnegie).

They view their work and a career as a profession and strive to continue learning and growing so they can deliver greater value to their clients.

They study the industries and markets their clients operate in and understand who their competitors are.

They are very good at drilling down to problems, not just identifying symptoms and are effective at delivering solutions.

They are willing to say, “I don’t know, but will find out” and humble enough to ask for help from others.

Their ego doesn’t get in the way. They have no need or desire to show how smart or accomplished they are.

They don’t worry about price comparisons because they know there are no price objections only value objections.

They never blame others for any missteps or shortcomings.

Their goal is to help others succeed and they generously share credit and acknowledge teammates.

Frank Manfre www.frankmanfre.com