What makes a salesperson successful?
Sales rarely happen without a plan. The best salespeople know this. They know they need to have a defined strategy, set goals, and prepare in advance. They know they need to embrace learning, sales training, and practice. They know when it is time to cut their losses and how to manage customer expectations.
Here's the 9 Fundamental Criteria Of Successful Salesperson.
9 Fundamental Criteria Of Successful Salesperson
They Are Subject Matter Experts
There is nothing that creates trust between a prospective client and a salesperson faster than the latter’s intimate knowledge of what he is selling. A sale is lost the second a seller is left floundering after a question from the customer.
It makes sense then that any seller worth his salt knows his product and his industry inside out. They need to be able to answer any question thrown at them with authority and facts. Closing rates soar when a salesperson is the expert in his industry.
They Are Partnership Builders
The best salespeople are those that move away from transactional relationships and begin building partnerships with their clients.
The mindset of one faceless sale being the end goal is damaging to revenue anywhere it has taken hold. Top salespeople invest time in their clients, build rapport, build trust and bonds and that is where not just initial sales come from but repeat sales. With partnerships comes trust. And trust earns revenue.
They Ask The Right Questions
The best salespeople are just pushing product at customers, they are offering solutions to problems. Ultimately that is why a customer looks to buy something, to solve a problem they have.
A good salesperson understands this, a brilliant salesperson knows the right questions to ask and gets to the heart of the issue. They can see where the pain points holding a sale back might be and they craft custom solutions for the prospective client. Asking the right questions paves the way to increased revenue.
They Are Always Learning
In this constantly evolving field where methods of buying are changing, methods of selling are changing if a salesperson stays still he’s dead.
The core basics of selling may hold true forever but top salespeople are always learning. Whether they are undertaking new sales training courses or gaining a deeper understanding of the industry they reside in the best salesperson is always moving, always hungry to keep ahead of the pack.
They Don’t Lie
The best salespeople understand that their reputation is everything. The build their reputation on respect, knowledge, service but most importantly truth.
Once a salesperson is caught in a lie, just once, all that is thrown out the window. And word spreads quickly. That single lie will not only cruel the client it was told to, but will likely see a number of other prospects disappear. A top salesperson tells the truth even if it exposes a service or product’s flaw.
They Have A Clear Strategy
It sounds far too obvious and meaningless to say the best salespeople are goal driven but it is at the very core of what creates success in sales. It’s a throw away comment by everyone, “Yes, of course I set goals.’ But the best salespeople actually do set goals, determine what it takes to reach them. And then attack them RELENTLESSLY.
The best of the best also go beyond what their company. Their own goals exceed what is asked of them and they scrape and scrap all the way to the finish line.
They Know Their Audience
The best sales teams understand their customers, the know how those customers are making their buying decisions and they tailor their presentations based on that knowledge.
Some people make decisions based on emotion, others on figures and others still on relationships built. Tailoring your presentation based on this knowledge can make all the difference.
They Manage Expectations
Top salespeople guide prospects towards optimistic, but always realistic goals.
A sale may fall over if a customer has a different idea of what constitutes success than the salesperson does. And any great seller knows that a product only works when the customer gets what they want, in the fashion they want it. It doesn’t matter how cheaply they can buy it if it doesn’t work for the customer.
So managing those expectations will go a long way to massaging a customer into a position where they are comfortable with the sale.
They Prepare, They Practice
A footy team will practice all week for a match that is over in just a few, fast hours. This is just as important for the top sales teams.
They are constantly honing their skills through sales training courses and other continuous learning. They put these new learnings into practice so when the whistle blows they are ready to perform at their optimum.
WHAT THEY SAY
Testimonials
Elevate’s Advanced Sales Training Fundamentals
The Best Sales Training Plan
Elevate’s Advanced Sales Training Services
There are sales superstars who have been at the top of the game for years. They don't want to move into managerial roles, they want to sell because it’s in their blood, and they are good at it.
They know the sales essentials, they know it in their bones because they have been doing it day in, day out for years.
But there is always more to it than that. Life, in every way, is about constantly growing and learning and that is just so for salespeople as well.
At Elevate Corporate Training our Advanced Sales Training will benefit even the best, the most experienced salespeople in your teams.
The game is changing, what is expected from salespeople is skyrocketing and the blind faith in viewing just the next sale is dying. These new learnings will revitalise anyone that takes them.
Deepening clients relationships
We think it is vitally important that salespeople understand their client’s personal needs as well as their business needs. The best salespeople are selling not just to the business but the individual representing that company. We will teach your teams how best to develop those individual relationships.
Long-term strategic planning techniques
It is not just about the next deal. That simple thought thought will change the way your teams earn. Growing key accounts does not happen overnight, you need to plan how to get from A to B, or Z and we can show your stars how to put long term strategies in place.
Decision maker and Influencer mapping
There is never just one person in complete control of sign off. In every business your teams are dealing with there are multiple levels of influencers and deal makers and we will teach them how to identify them and understand how best to work with them.
Leveraging connections and generating referrals
Referrals, the gold standard in effective leads for any salesperson. Word of mouth, trust, excellent service. These things make a difference and when clients enjoy working with you they tell people. We teach techniques that will generate more referrals from existing clients and connections.
Building your personal brand
What we can do as sales professionals above and beyond our products and services to strengthen client relationships? Delighting the customer with some small changes to your sales process and post-sales service has a huge impact on earnings.
Building Clear Strategy
It sounds far too obvious and meaningless to say the best sales people are goal driven but it is at the very core of what creates success in sales. It’s a throw away comment by everyone, “Yes, of course I set goals.’ But the best sales people actually do set goals, determine what it takes to reach them. And then attack them RELENTLESSLY.
The best of the best also go beyond what their company. Their own goals exceed what is asked of them and they scrape and scrap all the way to the finish line.
So, they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? We beg to differ.
Even the most experienced, most credentialed and successful salesperson can continue to grow and learn … and earn with Elevate Sales Development.
Our sales training courses are run in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra but we also travel to anywhere in Australia to help businesses drive real change.
Customised Workshops to Suit Your Unique Business Needs
Agenda:
Delegates gain an understanding of what else you can use to negotiate, other than price, and understand how to create additional value.
Agenda:
Agenda:
How can we be seen as thought leaders and trusted advisors in our craft – fixers, whom our clients rely on to do business? Attendees should expect to leave with detailed account plans for at least 2 of their top accounts and the skills to repeat for others. They will improve their communication and persuasion capabilities and learn to deliver more revenue and deeper relationships with existing accounts.
Agenda:
We examine all types of lead generation from digital to referrals, maximising our results vs effort ratios.
Agenda:
FAQs
Sales training can be a bit of a dirty word, often conjuring up images of boiler room antics and ABC (Always be Closing) acronyms. We believe sales training is about developing better relationships with customers. We still need skills like negotiating and creating influence to do this but in today’s world our success as salespeople is defined by the value we can add for our clients.
Whether you are interested in increasing sales, reducing staff turnover or improving engagement, running your staff through Elevate Sales Training programs will deliver. Delegates always leave feeling more capable and more confident in their approach to sales.
It depends on the requirements. We find out in the “Discover” phase of our methodology where we analyse current competencies and business needs. We try to keep all workshops to a half day so as to not take sales professionals off the floor for too long. Anywhere from one to five workshops may be required.
Your team should walk away as relationship ninjas. We teach everything from making a good first impression, cold calling, social selling, deep questioning skills and prospecting to closing, handling objections and negotiating skills.
Absolutely not! There are common themes required for successful selling but all our programs are tailored to a company’s requirements and capabilities.
More targets hit. Better staff retention. Improved team moral. Beware, training may lead to increased commission payments to your staff!
Learning is a lifelong journey. We have courses that are designed for beginners right through to the most seasoned sales professionals.