No small business can succeed without a great sales team. But you may be wondering: What does that even mean? What makes someone a great salesperson?
Being able to simply talk well doesn't work anymore. People are more suspicious of double-speak and silver tongues. You need something more than someone who can hold up a conversation, and you need a more perceptible trait than "persuasive" if you want to hire the right people or know what training your team needs. Here are five traits your salespeople must have if you want to succeed.
They Connect with Listeners
Just being a smooth talker doesn't work for salespeople anymore. Modern consumers know enough about sales talk to look at a sales pitch with suspicion. You need people who can overcome that skepticism.
This involves being able to connect, being good listeners, letting prospects know they were heard, and more. Add it up and it means having people who can be empathic and see things from the consumer's viewpoint.
When evaluating potential hires, see if they are just talking about the product or if they're asking about the consumer's needs before they discuss your products or services as potential solutions.
Finding someone who can do that won't be easy. Having them take a sales aptitude assessment is an excellent way to identify their understanding of each area of sales and gain a good understanding of their motivations and personality.
They Can Identify a Good Customer
One of the main barriers sales professionals face is the idea of disqualifying a customer. Some prospects may seem perfect on the surface, i.e., they're in the target market, so they must be willing to buy. However, target markets aren't exact and you will get buyers you don’t want. There will be people for whom your offering will simply not be a good fit.
They're Good Listeners
Feedback is important for your small business. It informs the effectiveness of your current direction and can help point you in a better direction. However, it's not just useful for planning – it's vital for sales as well.
Most salespeople who fail to stop and listen to customers will never be great. However, some won’t be able to listen because they're still feeling their way through the pitch, and that's OK. With time and training, they'll eventually be able to listen. It's those who know the pitch inside and out and still can't pay attention to the client who will end up burning your company.
They Know How to Make Offers
Sales isn't just about selling a product; it's about finding the right fit. Think about subscription packages. Businesses offer options to customers that suit their needs and their budgets. This allows them to get more of a market share than they would if they only offered one option.
Your sales team must do the same thing dynamically. They should know enough about your company to know what options are available to customers. While this isn't something you can directly test for, this is something that can be solved with training and constant updates on company offerings.
They're Steadfast When They Need to Be
Once, the customer was always right. Sales departments would bend over backward just to please them. It's tempting to stick to that mindset as a small business, as it can feel like you need every customer just to survive. While that might be true, the problem is some consumers are just wrong.
Often, their error is due to a lack of information. What's important is that your sales team knows how to stand their ground without being rude. They must be willing and able to explain to clients why they are wrong without driving them away. While it won't always happen, it can make other consumers trust you more because you're willing to do the right thing even at the cost of a sale.
Your small business's future is built on several pillars of success, and one of the biggest is your sales team. If you hire the wrong people or fail to train them properly, you could find yourself with no or slow growth, customer complaints, and poor reviews.
What To Do
Invest in your team. Make it a priority to find the best salespeople you can. Most of all, learn these skills yourself. Your team won't be the only ones who'll need to pitch.
Need help? We are experts in training your teams to sell professionally so you grow and prosper. Our validated sales assessments will help you hire the candidates with the right skills, motivations, and personality the first time while identifying the weak areas in your existing sales team.
Interested? Get in touch and let's set up a time to talk about how you can quickly have a sales team that starts bringing in more good business faster than you ever thought possible. Brian Tracy USA: 877.433.6225 Email Me feedback@focalpointcoaching.com
