Insatiably Curious

I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to what makes the best salespeople good at what they do. Here are a few of the characteristics that almost all great salespeople seem to have and some thoughts on how you can develop them if you don’t. Don’t sweat it if you don’t have them all!

1) Insatiable Curiosity (Thanks, and a tip of the hat to Bruce Zutler of MCI Products Group – I mentioned curious and he threw in the “insatiable!”)

The most important part of the sales process is the questioning phase so you either have to be curious or act like you are. The more you know about your client’s world the more likely it is that you’ll be able to help them. If you don’t find out who they are and what they need it’s unlikely you’ll sell them anything. Great salespeople are genuinely and insatiably curious about everything having to do with their prospects. They ask lots of questions, over time, about their personal lives, (to establish rapport) their business, how they do what they do, what they want to accomplish and lots more areas that help them to develop a relationship and uncover what makes sense to the prospect.

Practice being more curious. Ask friends and associates lots of “why” questions. Try to get enough information to figure out what “makes them tick.” If you can do it with friends and associates, you can do it with prospects and customers.

2) Strong Sense of Self-Worth (ego)

The truth is that is almost every company and industry we hear the word “No” more often than the word “Yes.” In order to be able to handle this rejection great salespeople have a thick skin. I’ve often heard it suggested that we shouldn’t take rejection personally as they’re rejecting our product or service, not us. I disagree. People buy relationship and value. When they say “no” to us it means we either didn’t establish and strong enough bond or we failed to help the prospect see the value in what we have to offer. When they say “no” they are rejecting us but good salespeople are able to shake it off and say, “Well, I didn’t get that one but I know that it takes me 3 “No’s” to get one “Yes” so I just need to more and I’ll be in “sale city!”

Know your personal numbers. Review “wins” to discover what went right and remember these things. Review “losses” to figure out how you might have done things differently to try to reduce losses in the future. Remember that no one closes every deal that you only need to hit one of three pitches in the major leagues to be a hall of famer!

3) Strong Verbal Skills (Written too)

Sales is a communication game. The better we’re able to communicate with our prospects the more likely we are to close the deal. Great salespeople are well-spoken and well-written. They pay attention to things like grammar and punctuation in all written communications. It says you’re either lazy or ignorant if you don’t take the time to make sure even your quick emails to a client or prospect are free from spelling and grammar errors. The great salespeople are good storytellers and make sure to include verbal proof stories in their presentations. They know how to verbalize the benefits of what they have to offer and they always tie features to benefits. They understand that from the client’s viewpoint, it’s all about the W.I.I.F.M. and they make sure the client can see it.

If your communication skills need improvement take a course at a local college, join Toastmasters, attend seminars to learn to communicate more effectively. Double check and, if possible, have someone else check your written communications (especially proposals) before sending.

4) Consistent Business Development

The best salespeople know that the pipeline can dry up pretty quickly and are constantly adding new leads to their database and new prospects to their pipeline. It’s part of a salesperson’s daily grind.

There’s no way around it. Schedule time, each day, on your calendar to do business development. If it’s on your calendar it’s far more likely that you’ll do it then if you don’t plan for prospecting.

5) Great Time Management

The best salespeople respect their prospects time but they respect their own too. Time is a limited resource but most salespeople act like they’ve got plenty of it. Great (smart) salespeople protect their own time like a mother lion protects her cubs. They don’t waste time with prospects that aren’t buying and only invest their time where and when it makes sense. They actively monitor their pipeline to make sure they’re working with enough prospects at all times and only work with prospects that will give them a next action step.

Track where your time goes for three days. If you’re like most of us you’ll find that you invest a lot of time in activities that don’t pay off at all or pay off slightly. Focus your time and energy on activities that pay off. PROTECT your time.

6) Constant Improvement

The best are always looking to improve. They read books, blogs and newsletters, watch DVDs, listen to CDs and attend seminars. No one knows it all and there’s always something we can learn in order to help us do our jobs better.

What do you think makes great salespeople great? Write to jeff@jgsalespro.com and let me know what I left out.

As always, get in touch if there’s anything I can do to help you and be sure to

Make It Happen!

Jeff