Top Traits of Great Salespeople

Opinions were split on the fabled smooth talker, with about 68 percent seeing it as an essential part of sales, while a third disagreed, equating the trait with dishonesty.  Some participants felt smooth talking didn’t hurt, but others warned it could backfire, particularly if words were not backed up by actions.  “Talk can be cheap,” was one response, while another said customers “don’t want stories, (they) want integrity and honesty.”

For 83 percent, likeability was simple and straightforward: “Who wants to talk to a jerk?”  But for some, likeability was dependent on integrity, stating, a “good salesperson needs to be perceived as a decent person who treats customers fairly.”  Others, however, cautioned that salespeople should “keep in mind that you are a supplier, not a friend.”

Nearly all respondents believed being a good listener is important, but many felt it was also somewhat rare.  Stoiber agreed, saying many “people who get into sales don’t even ask questions.”  Instead, some were so eager to show off their sales presentation they forget to stop and let the customer talk.  “Ask the question, let them answer,” Stoiber says, “then shut your mouth.”

Rick Eastes, vice president and general manager at Seald Sweet West International, Inc. in Dinuba, CA agreed with Stoiber: “A good salesman nods, waits, and remains silent.  Every time, eventually [the customer will] start talking about what’s really important.”  Further, Eastes believes intuition also plays a role: “You’ve got to pay attention to clues,” he says.  “You need to understand how [your buyer] gets paid and what’s important to him, how he is judged by his superiors.  Once you understand how a buyer gets judged, you can develop strategies to meet those points.”  

Top Five Traits

As part of the survey, we asked participants to rate the five traits that most characterized the best produce salesperson they had ever known.  At the top of the heap was “Deep Understanding of Customer” at 65 percent, followed by “Confident” (55 percent), “Great Listener” (44 percent), “Creative and Flexible” (42 percent), and “Organized and Detail Oriented” (38 percent).  These top traits come as no surprise to most dynamos in the field.  Anthony Totta, marketing strategist at Grow My Profits LLC in Lees Summit, MO, believes a top priority for a good salesperson is having a personal interest in the customer’s business.  “Know your audience,” he says.  “Understand that it’s not about you, it’s about them.”

Minos Athanassiadis, managing partner at Bakersfield, CA-based Fresh Link Group, LLC concurs: “If you don’t understand your customer, you’re not going to be able to effectively sell to them…  You need to relate to your customer’s needs.”   Stoiber believes a good salesperson listens to everything the customer is saying, whether it’s “about traffic patterns, the changing customer base, unemployment, or the inability to get good help.  A good salesperson is listening to all of this and asking, ‘do I have solutions to any of those problems?’”

Leonard Batti, executive vice president at Glendale, CA’s Mixtec Group found much of the time, buyers “think the issues they have are insurmountable; then they find a supplier who can understand what they need and provide a program or a solution.”