What Makes a Great Salesperson?

There are still a ton of great reasons why you should consider a career in sales.

It’s a great way to earn a lucrative income, as well as learn how you can prepare for a career in entrepreneurship. If you can master the art of sales, then you can likely master any other business skill.

But many companies struggle to hire a salesperson who can outshine the competition. Salespeople come a dime a dozen, but it’s hard to become the best salesperson.

Here’s what makes a great salesperson:

Great Personality

It all starts with knowing how to present yourself to potential customers. You have to find a way to relate to your customers. They have to feel as if they’re speaking to a friend rather than a salesperson!

For example, imagine if you were selling an engagement to a gentleman who wishes to propose to his girlfriend. You have to find a way to convince him that one particular ring will make his girlfriend happy.

You’ll want to speak to him like a friend rather than a salesperson. You want to wish him good luck with the proposal.

For extroverts, this comes easy. For introverts, this is one of the biggest challenges of being a salesperson. If you’re the latter, you might want to consider taking public speaking courses from Thought Leader to improve your interpersonal skills.

The greater and more affable your personality is, the greater your salary is likely to be. Make sure you read up on salaries for salespeople as you pursue this new career!

Be Knowledgeable

As a salesperson, you must be knowledgeable about the product/service you’re selling. You should also know about your industry and your competitors.

Think about a product that you currently own and how you’d sell it to someone without much knowledge about said product.

Perhaps there’s a PC user interested in buying their first Mac laptop. You’ll have to describe the features of the Mac. You’ll also have to convince this long-time PC user why a Mac is better.

Think about the questions they’ll have about why the switch is worth it. Consider asking them about their profession or hobbies and why a Mac will help them in their endeavors.

Offer Discounts (If Permitted)

You might have to wait until your company grants you executive permissions, but if you have them, consider offering discounts when you can.

You don’t want to always give discounts as some customers might take advantage of it. However, this is one of the best ways to improve your sales record.

Often, the best salesperson understands the customer’s financial woes. One of the most popular salesperson tips is to offer a discount when it looks like the customer is going to back out.

Another option is to offer a deal to the customer if they buy more. If they’re willing to buy 5 books instead of one, consider giving 1 book free. Or knock off 10% from each book or 15% off the total order.

This shows that you have compassion for your customers. While you might take a financial loss at first, this might be the best way to establish a long-term relationship with your customers.

Present Yourself

Unless your company has a strict uniform, you must develop your own fashion style when presenting yourself.

For example, if you work in a corporate setting, you should always dress business-professional. This means wearing a suit with trousers. For women, trousers or a skirt below the knee is considered professional.

In some cases, business casual works just fine. However, even in this case, you want to dress in a stylish manner. For example, you should always consider wearing a blazer over your top.

Always wear crisp and ironed clothing. Never wear torn or ripped jeans—unless that’s the fashion of the clothing store you work in!

To sell high-end products such as cigars, fine wines, or jewelry, then you must aim to look as attractive as possible. If you attend any luxury event, you’ll see that the salespersons are dressed as if they are preparing for a magazine cover photoshoot!

Even if you sell products online, you must dress well. For example, you might record a 30-second video promoting a product. Dress and present yourself as if you were speaking directly to your customers—rather than to the camera.

Introduce Yourself

When you speak to your customers, don’t forget to introduce yourself to them. You want to develop a long-term relationship with them. Once again, you also want to ensure that they feel like they’re speaking to a friend.

When you approach your customer you can say, “Hi, I’m Tim, how can I help you today?” or something along those lines. If appropriate, you can also ask the customer for their name.

If they give you their name, make sure you repeat it with a greeting. You can say something as simple as “Nice to meet you, Bob!” This acknowledgment shows the customer that you’re treating them as a human and not just another person to milk for cash!

While this isn’t profound, this was observed by Dale Carnegie during his training sessions. The practice still works for the best salespersons today.

Keep in Touch

If you’re able and allowed to get your customer’s contact details, then you should keep in touch with them.

This shows that you want to have a long-term relationship with the customer. It shows that you want to continuously provide value to them. It also shows that you’re genuinely interested in hearing about their experience with their purchase.

This also ensures that the next time they buy something, they want to deal with you rather than another salesperson!

That’s What Makes a Great Salesperson

Now you know what makes a great salesperson and how you can become one yourself!

Make sure you exude your personality when speaking to a customer. They must feel like they’re speaking to a friend at all times. You must also be knowledgeable about what you’re selling.

Make sure you dress for the part and always introduce yourself. Keep in touch with the customer to ensure a long-term relationship. Offer discounts when applicable to show compassion for the customer.

You can find more business advice and salesperson tips on our blog.