I hadn't heard of Ryan Stewman until seeing this blog post, shared on Facebook by Chris Rolando. The writer has obviously thought about the importance of each of these attributes to a salesperson's success, and his observations are worth sharing.
He writes:
None of these traits are (sic) greater than the other. They are co-dependent on each other. There’s no replacing or making up for them either. Just remember, we are not born with traits, they can be learned, implemented and become habitual. It’s really not that hard to get a personality, if you need one. Naturally, everyone is going to have one or two of these traits, but very few will have all five. Those that have all five are the Closers.
Good Listener: The person who talks the least makes the most. As salesmen, we are looking for a problem from the prospect, so we can provide a probable solution. When people are telling you about their problems, they tend to talk a lot. A good salesman has to genuinely care, be empathetic and listen to the prospect. If you’re not a good listener, you lose. No one wants to hear a sales pitch, they want to hear a solution pitch.
These days, people forget a person’s name seconds after they introduce themselves. The guys and gals who listen to others really stand out. When you listen to someone, you show you care. People enjoy buying from people who actually care. There’s plenty of people who don’t give a sh!t out there. Most salesmen talk too much. The way to close is with your ears, not your mouth.
Friendly As a Box of Kittens: If you don’t like strangers or if you’re scared to meet new people, you’ll never make it in sales. Just know this: the sales you make will come from strangers. The people who know you well rarely buy from you. I know this is the opposite of what most sales managers teach but it’s the truth. Ego and vulnerability are to blame for this. It is what it is. The sooner you realize it, the sooner you can sell to strangers.
You’d be surprised how many sales are made due to a smile. People like buying from friendly people. Meeting strangers and exchanging money can create some awkward situations. The friendlier you are, the less time you spend in the awkward zone. Treating prospects like long time friends will get you a lot of sales. Most people’s friends don’t even treat them like friends.
Fast Thinker: If you’re gonna make big money in sales, you gotta be sharp. If you’re like me, and not naturally smart, you gotta work and practice harder than they next guy. Learning every single detail about what you sell helps. When the prospect throws out objections or questions, you’ve got to be quick with the answer. Quick answers scream confidence, slow, thought out answers show inexperience.
Fast thinkers are decision makers. One of the hardest things to do is to get a human to make a decision. When you demonstrate your ability to make fast decisions, others get a sense of confidence from you. Confidence sells product. Plus, you gotta be sharp when the client is throwing you zinger objections and trying to crawfish out of a sale.
People Pleaser: Sales is all about making people happy by selling them what they want/need. If you don’t like to put smiles on folks faces, sales ain’t for you. You’ve got to truly want to see prospects happy and satisfied or you’ll never make it. People can tell by your face and body language if you like them or not. People don’t like paying money to people who don’t like them.
When people buy stuff, they want to feel good about it. If you genuinely care about them, they can tell. When people come to you with their problems and they see you really want to help them, they really want to pay you. The more prospects you please the bigger your check will be. Happy people and closed sales go hand in hand.
Thick Skinned: I saved this one for last because it’s more about them, than it is you. The other four traits pertain to you, this trait pertains to you but is about them. We salesmen are sh!t on often. People don’t particularly care for salesmen. Knowing this, you gotta be able to take the good with the bad. When it comes to buying, some will, some won’t, so what. For every time you’re in a situation where the prospect ain’t cool, you gotta remember the other times when they were.
If you’re not able to take criticism, sarcasm and berating from time to time, you’re not cut out for sales. In a business where the customer is right 99% of the time, you gotta be willing to take it in the shorts and own up when it’s on you. The good news is that after a while, you get used to it and none of the BS matters.
