Habits of Successful Salespeople

There’s a big difference between average and good salespeople.

Average reps hit their target most of the time.

But good reps consistently hit and even exceed their target.

And they also earn their prospects:

• Admiration
• Loyalty
• Referrals

By handling objections and bringing up potential problems only to solve them.

So in this blog post, we will learn how to become a top-selling salesperson for your team and company.

Let’s dive right in.

A Good Salesperson

Along with an exciting pitch, a good salesperson offers customers:

• Enthusiasm
• Resilience
• Patience to know their customers’ needs
• Empathy
• Confidence to deal with the product

Good salespeople also know how to handle rejection and learn from their successful and unsuccessful deals.

The following are good salesperson characteristics:

Delightful

Positive first impressions are important when building professional relationships.

So salespeople should have a presentable appearance and inviting attitude.

Enthusiastic

Good salespeople put in the work, even when it’s tough.

So have motivation to get the job done and show that you’re passionate.

Analytical

Let customers know you’re prepared because customers make deals with dependable and fact-driven salespeople.

Even sales reps who ask questions and give the answers they want.

Resilient

Varying sales numbers don’t deter good salespeople. 

So they shouldn’t be discouraged but instead replan and get back to work.

Attentive

Good salespeople know each customer has different needs.

So they actively listen to their pain points to help create a deal they value.

Thorough

Good salespeople are experts in what they sell.

So showing you’re knowledgeable, boosts your reputation to customers.

Empathic

Connecting to customers’ emotionally tells you what they truly want from a sale.

So good salespeople meet customers’ needs in new ways by appealing to their sentiments.

Confident

Being confident in your product or service makes customers more confident in it too.

The same rules apply when you’re confident in yourself.

Adaptable

Sales is volatile but good salespeople adapt to those changes. 

So pivoting in your approach or managing time shifts is a very useful skill to have.

Committed

Good salespeople don’t give up easily and those who are hungry for success will hit their goals.

First understand the qualities that make a good salesperson and then become an effective one through practice.

Being a Good Salesperson

• Find and stick to buyer personas
• Use measured and repeated sales processes
• Know the product
• Objectively review pipelines
• Find shortcuts and hacks
• Practise active listening.
• Work hard
• Follow up
• Personalise messages
• Shadow peers
• Practise people skills
• Be a team player
• Know when to walk away
• Be honest
• Always solve for customers
• Handle rejections
• Ask for referrals
• Be balanced
• Take breaks
• Sleep for eight or more hours
• Believe in what you sell
• Find strong motivators
• Customer’s success is your own
• Build personal relationships
• Stay prepared
• Look for potential customers everywhere

Effective Reps Selling Habits

Find and stick to buyer personas

Clear buyer personas are important for an effective sales process and sales reps who stick to those personas are effective in getting sales.

That means researching prospects to make sure they’re a good fit, sticking to buyer personas and knowing who you’re selling to and why.

Use measured and repeated sales processes

High-performing sales reps use optimised processes to close more prospects.

And they know every deal in their pipeline, the actions to take next and when. 

High-performing reps also always review key metrics and adjust their approach based on them if necessary.

Know your product

Sales comes in two halves, being able to sell and understanding what you’re selling.

Prospects have access to information so gain their trust and add value by knowing your product and why it’s valuable to them.

Objectively review pipelines

Effective sales reps objectively review opportunities, avoiding hearing what they want to and present accurate sales forecasts.

Find shortcuts and hacks

Great salespeople find strategies or techniques that work and use them, until it stops working.

Because reps work against the clock, if they spend more time experimenting they have less time for selling.

And not forgetting the opportunity cost, if they try one thing that doesn’t work, they’ve missed something that does.

So change up your approach selectively to get results immediately so you can implement the tactic or move on.

Practise active listening

Successful salespeople are present when talking to prospects, not thinking or doing anything else. 

Staying engaged in conversations with buyers makes them deeper and more meaningful.

Active listening is hard but valuable to develop, it builds strong relationships and helps position your product as the best option.

Work hard

Successful salespeople are in the office even after hitting their targets, they’re sending emails, scheduling meetings and making calls.

They do this to lay the foundation for the month ahead which helps them exceed their targets.

Follow up

Effective salespeople follow up after sending a proposal and even know if prospects have opened their emails.

They can then use this information to follow up at the optimal times.

Personalise messages

High-performing salespeople learn about prospects to tailor their messages by understanding pain points and explaining why their product is a good fit.

Focusing on how their product can improve customers’ lives and the results it provides, builds relationships to place you above competitors.

Becoming a Better Salesperson

Shadow peers

To improve objection handling, find salespeople who are better than you in your company and ask to shadow them on a few calls.

Learning from peers helps you get better at your job and builds relationships with coworkers.

Practise people skills

Small talk is a skill that’s important to salespeople’s success so practice making others feel at ease.

It will help them open up, zone out and laugh.

Be a team player

The best salespeople know it takes working with others to build a career and a successful sales team.

So help colleagues and ask for help for a long and fulfilling sales career.

Know when to walk away

Don’t waste time on deals going nowhere by knowing the average deal length and using it as a guide for how long to spend on a deal.

But if an average sale is 45 days and you’re working up to 90 days, try Reverse Negative Selling.

Be honest

Don’t promise features that don’t exist, prices you can’t deliver or services your company can’t do well.

You might close a deal but won’t keep their business and end up with bad reviews and poor word of mouth.

Always solve for customers

Don’t oversell customers on services or features they don’t need.

Be honest with customers on what they need to solve for their business problems, they will reward you with renewals and referrals.

Handle rejections

Not winning every deal and buyers not liking you is part of sales and although it’s important to improve, it’s also important to move on from rejections.

So, think about why you weren’t successful with prospects, ask outside opinions and move forward quickly and positively.

Ask for referrals

The easiest close comes from referrals, so ask for one introduction every day.

Because the social proof is there, outreach is direct and sales cycles are shorter, then when you’ve closed, ask for referrals and follow up on those leads.

Effective Reps Life Habits

Stay balanced

Salespeople have a lot of highs and lows compared to other professionals.

Successful reps manage their emotions and stay in the middle, when things go well, don’t get cocky.

When business is slow, don’t become demoralised because sales will pick up soon.

Take breaks

In sales, activity leads to results so more emails sent, more meetings booked, more demos set, the more deals closed.

But working 10-hour days every weekday and even weekends is bad for your mental and physical health, also it’s unproductive.

Even the highest-achieving people in history prioritised sleep and a balanced schedule. 

With breaks being proven to boost memory, focus and the quality of ideas.

So to prevent burn out, give yourself a break and do something else apart from work that will give your brain a rest.

Sleep eight or more hours

Getting less than seven to eight hours of sleep per night will cause you to suffer from ailments, like:

• Irritable
• Low motivation
• Anxiety
• Symptoms of depression
• Distracted
• Less energy
• Fatigue
• Restlessness
• Bad decision making
• Making more errors
• Forgetting things

So to be better on sales calls, make sure to prioritise your sleep.

Effective Reps Motivation Habits

Believe in what you sell

Be passionate about what you sell by using the product and believing in its value.

Or find testimonials from customers and examples of how a product improves people’s lives to give you motivation and social proof for prospects.

Find strong motivators

Salespeople need to be motivated, like wanting to buy a house, always wanting to be at the top of the leaderboard or prove to themselves they can do well in sales.

So ask yourself your main reason for wanting success and if you can’t find an answer, find a motivator.

Customer’s success is your own

Salespeople don’t stop working, they touch base frequently with customers for feedback and to give suggestions.

Customer’s success lets reps know which strategies work, builds client relationships and drives customer loyalty.

Effective Reps Life Habits

Build personal relationships

The best salespeople build relationships with people everywhere they go, in a genuine way to make people want to talk to you.

Relationships are key and a desire to help can take you far.

Stay prepared

Effective salespeople prepare before calls by doing research on prospects and getting the information they need before meetings.

So go in with a plan and a contingency plan to anticipate challenges or questions and prepare effective responses to never lose the sale.

Look for potential customers everywhere

Top performing reps look for potential customers everywhere they go.

It’s important to read the room, like giving a new friend advice when they mention life insurance, for example.

Conclusion

There’s no magic to becoming a good salesperson.

But building the habits mentioned above over time to give customers a positive sales experience.

You can even start being a high performing sales reps by simply having:

• Passion
• Knowledge
• Self-determination
• Adaptability

Now it’s over to you.

Tell me the habits that made you into a successful salesperson.

Let me know in the comment section below.