Three traits of the very best sales people

Sammy Papert

At virtually every AdSeller training session, I share the qualities or personality traits I believe make the very best sales people in the galaxy.  Since it's been ages since I published these – and, like ALL messages, require repetition – here they are again:

There are THREE ... in order ... think about it before reading further and let me know if you agree, disagree or if this lineup can be improved.

PASSION:

Enthusiasm, excitement, energy, love, whatever.  You get what I'm trying to say.  I'm 100 percent certain this is #1!

I've seen it countless times – when someone displays these traits or qualities, they will be well received and virtually every time, prospects will react positively.  You can almost see them saying to themselves: "...if this rep feels so passionately about the product she is selling and is so certain it will help me, by golly, I believe I'll give it a try?!!"

Haven't you seen that happen?

Equally important is that "passion" is completely controllable.  No matter what kind of day you are having (or, night before!) for the 10-15 minutes you might be in front of the advertiser you can be passionately loveable and irresistible.

PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE:

Guess what?  No matter how many different products you are selling today, there will be m-o-r-e tomorrow.  Therefore, it will get harder and harder to thoroughly understand what the value proposition is for the entire portfolio of products and services you bring to market.  That's why it is even MORE important than ever to understand what the advertiser is hoping to accomplish and have a good grasp of their products and services.  This is critical to providing the right solution(s).

Product Knowledge – of yours and theirs!

PERSISTENCE:

Every sales person gets told "no" – or, far too frequently things like, "I'm thinking about it" or "let me get back to you" – frequently. 

The fact of the matter is that a "no" is preferable. Why?  Because you still have to service those slow thinkers, right?  A "no" gives you time to pursue the thousands of prospects who you should be chasing.

Yet, since most have (should!) a hefty list of prospects or lapsed clients, it PAYS to be pleasantly persistent in a way that effectively works as the advertising equivalent of water drip torture.

No = not now as I see it.  And, by systematically reminding prospects of the myriad ways you might be of service, of things that help them make decisions (media, products to carry, market intelligence, better paths to market, etc.) they will eventually give you a chance.  Or, not, it should not matter.  Be pleasantly persistent anyway!

There you have it. The best sales folks anywhere are passionate, know their products and those of their clients well and are perpetually, pleasantly persistent.

Right?!

Let me know what you think and good selling out there. 

S.W. Papert, III is president of Wormhole LLC.