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Having worked with many sales people over many years, I am often asked, as I was last week, “what makes a good sales person”.  I used to work in the city many years ago, straight after leaving school.  I didn’t do very well and left after about two years.  At my leaving do, one of the senior traders said to me “you’d make a good sales person”.  At the time I didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment or as a way of saying, “why on earth did you think you’d be a good stockbroker!!”  His justification for this statement was that he believed I would be able to talk enthusiastically about my products and generally get on well with people.  I guess it was a form of compliment.  I now find his statement interesting because it starts to examine what people think makes a good sales person.  It also shows what people think about sales people.

Generally sales people don’t get a good press in this country.  They are often considered to be a pain.  When introducing my wife (girlfriend at the time) to some of my family years ago, she was asked what she did for a living by my cousin (I think) and she said enthusiastically that she sold advertising for a national newspaper.  “Oh,” he said, “so you are one of those annoying people that phones me all the time trying to sell me something.”  Not a great introduction to that branch of my family!  Also not true on many levels.

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Why is it that many sales people are viewed as annoying?  I think that the first thing is that they do not sell with the client or potential client in mind.  They are totally fixed on hitting their targets and selling what they want you to buy.  This almost immediately creates a competitive flavour to the conversation.  They try to “get you to buy”.  If a sales person thinks like a buyer they will develop a far stronger relationship.  Why might they want or need to buy from you?  That is the first question a sales person could ask themselves.  Then consider how they can develop a need for the product and match the two together.  Sales people become annoying when they are constantly in contact with a potential buyer selling without considering the needs of the buyer.

It is not only the needs they do not consider.  They do not consider the buyer’s situation.  Are they busy?  Are they stressed? Knowing when to sell is an art, sales people are always told to be persistent but I would add a warning, think about your buyer and think if it is what you would want.

Talking a lot is something associated with ‘good’ sales people.  ‘Having the gift of the gab’, is often the phrase used.  I think learning when to talk is more important.  Talkative sales people are often annoying.  How many times has someone talked and talked and talked, trying to sell you something.  Less is definitely more.  Using information with relevance is one of the keys to successful selling.

Generally, sales people don’t need to talk a lot, they don’t need to be thick skinned, they don’t need to be super enthusiastic and positive.  They need to use some of all of those but they need to know when to use them.  They need to know when to talk and when to listen.  They need to do what they say they will do. Too many over enthusiastic sales people promise much and deliver little.

Some of the best sales people I have ever come across were successful because they did exactly what they said they would do.  They would call back when they said they would, they would send proposals when they said they would, and they generally left such a good impression the client would buy readily from them.  One thing these characters did not do was to over-elaborate matters.  Accuracy and dependability are vital.

So, what makes a good sales person is still a difficult one to answer.  I firmly believe that anyone can learn to sell, personality is one part of sales but is it more important than technique?  I think that a quiet personality can sell as well as a loud “talk the hind legs off a donkey” type character, if not better.  Ultimately the one thing that really makes the difference is the ability to think as the buyer would.  If you can work out what drives the buyer you are able to adapt your selling style to meet that person’s requirements on many levels which will lead to truly successful sales results.

Bill Osmond – MD of Phoenix