14 Must Have Sales Skills

Developing Sales Skills for Success

Being a great salesperson, just like any other job, requires skill. Whether it’s a cold call, a pitching to existing client, or closing the deal, a career in sales isn’t easy. It demands determination, intelligence, knowledge and enthusiasm.

Understand the product…

To sell something, you need to know everything there is to know about what you’re selling. Only then will you be prepared those tricky questions from a potential sales target. Be prepared for anything. Not having the answer could mean losing the deal… which brings us nicely onto the next point…

…understand the customer

The key to selling is understanding who your customers are, what they want and, most important of all, the problem they need you to resolve. This also helps when it comes to building a rapport and, creating a mutually-beneficial relationship with your customers, winning their trust, confidence and loyalty.

Driven to succeed

Salespeople are exposed to rejection on a daily basis, perhaps after having worked for weeks on a deal. But the best understand that it’s all part of the job - they won’t let setbacks get them down. Instead, they’re already working towards the next sale - and learning what they can from past failures.

Time management

Likewise, to make the best use of your time, you need to know which prospects to pursue and which to lose. Some leads are worth putting more time and energy into, if you think they can deliver more value in the long term. It’s up to you as a salesperson to learn which ones lead to the gold and which are going nowhere.

Keep learning

Good salespeople are always looking to improve their skills through development courses and learning from others. New sales technologies are developing all time. Keep abreast of innovation in the industry and tools that can help you do what you do even better.

Be a great listener

It should go without saying that every sales professional should have exceptional communication skills, but that doesn’t mean you should always be the one doing the talking. Instead of reading off a sales script, savvy salespeople listen, asking questions and using their intuition and experience to gain insights they can use to close the deal.