What Makes a Great Sales Person?

Sales people; everyone has encountered them on numerous occasions and most will have very differing opinions of them. The reason for this is every sales person is different. They are different because a) they are different people and b) they will be selling different things which will require different approaches.

Most people will automatically think of mobile phone sales people whenever the term "sales person" is mentioned and will recall that they ALWAYS seem to pester you when all you want to do is have a look at what mobile phones are around and see how they look in your hand. Although this approach is generally seen as 'annoying' and maybe even off-putting for some shoppers, mobile phone sales people are aware that mobile phones are attractive products for customers and sometimes the temptation can prove just too much. Their persistence in pursuing you whilst you are pursuing a brand new mobile is a key trait that most sales people possess. Some sales people are more persistent than others, some to a point where they are pestering, but persistence helps ensure the close of a sale.

Sales people also need to be approachable. A sales person sat with their hands in the pockets and a scowl on their face is not going to be the ideal person a customer wants to speak to. Likewise, telephone sales people who respond with one word answers and a moody tone are not going to generate the conversations with customers which lead to the all-important sale.


The next thing that makes a great sales person is charm. A sales person display repulsive behaviour does not exactly fill a prospective customer with confidence so an element of charm is needed to firstly reassure the customer that whatever you're selling is genuine and secondly build a rapport with the customer. Charm builds trust and if the customer has a degree of trust with the sales person they will be more willing to listen to what they have to say. 

The final thing that is vital in a great sales person is motivation. It would be a lie to say that every prospective sale resulted in cash in the bank for the company that the sales person represents so there will be rejections. However, the way in which the sales person overcomes those rejections will be a determining factor in their success in their chosen sales career and being motivated to want to be successful is possibly a more important trait than anything else.

Author Bio:

Hailey Grent writes on behalf of MTD Sales Training