“What makes a great salesperson? I’ve often thought about this – especially when I am interviewing sales candidates for an open position. If you search for it on the Internet, you will get thousands of hits, so I guess there’s a lot of other people trying to figure it out, as well.
Every sales organization is looking for that star salesperson. Most companies realize that a few of their salespeople make the lion’s share of the sales. What makes these people the stars?
Although sales skills are important – and while you need to understand how to make a sales call and handle an objection – it’s the personality, the demeanor, the work ethic, and an individual’s character that make a great salesperson.
If you’re a salesperson involved in direct selling – or sales management – you can learn from their success. By emulating these characteristics you can improve your sales skills to become a more successful salesperson. I know it’s not a good idea to generalize – but I’ve noticed during my sales career that athletes often make good salespeople. When I was in IBM sales training, many of the young men and women had been college athletes.”