Most, if not all salespeople are not effective by accident. They tend to exhibit some key qualities which helps them get the required results. In this post I have identified 5 habits of highly effective sales people always demonstrate. They usually:

1. Understand People

Highly effective salespeople are quick to understand how people operate and that we are not all the same. They are able to adapt their selling process to engage the potential client/customer in ways that are appealing to them. They can read the situation quickly and know when to push and when to pull back. They know that at the end of the day, people like to do business with who they know, like and trust and so they make that a primary focus throughout the sales process.

2. Ask Great Questions

As I always say when I train salespeople, “The quality of the question you ask will determine of the quality of the answer you get”. Highly effective salespeople are able to ask questions that raise the clients’ awareness in areas that they perhaps haven’t thought of already and are also able to extract the core needs out from a client through this questioning skill. They make this a habit and  understand that without the needs of the client, the selling process will collapse and so they are patient through questioning which also helps the client know that they are out to help them.

3. Listen

After asking great questions, it is important for an effective salesperson to listen to what has been said by the client. Effective salespeople usually demonstrate this by repeating back what the client had said or even picking up on the way things were said and asking questions around that. This is a very important skill as it communicates to the client that you have the intuitive ability to “hear me”. In many situations, clients don’t always have the right vocabulary to express what they actually want so having someone who is able to pick up on that and question further only builds the rapport to greater levels which makes them really effective.

4. Know their Product/Service

This should be a given for all salespeople, however, in today’s business environment (especially for companies that sell services), this is lacking. What the effective salesperson is able to do is explain how their service or product works by using the right terminology, examples and illustrations in a way that immediately helps the client understand. They are skilled at tailoring their pitch to what they have just heard from the client when asking questions and are able to explain in relevant terms how their service is suitable to the client. They don’t go about selling parts of the service that they like, but they base each sales pitch on what the needs of the clients are and the only way you can do this with each client is by knowing your product or service inside out.

5. Add Value

Effective salespeople understand that what gets their customers coming back for more is providing services that add value to the client from the first transaction. They are very much concerned with the client having a great experience and they know that by doing this, they are more likely to come back again to purchase more. They also are focused on providing services that add value to the client as they understand that “a bird in hand is worth two in the bush”. Part of the reason why they become more productive is because they understand the power of word-of-mouth. When they get referrals from their clients, the selling process time usually decreases because trust is already built from the word hello. And as they continue to provide quality service, they eventually hardly ever need to prospect as their reputation as a highly effective service provider precedes them.

What other habits do you think effective sales people demonstrate?