The 5 Top Sales Techniques that Matter Most

What Are the Top Sales Techniques?
As a sales leader, this is the question you should be asking – what are the traits and behaviors that distinguish top solution sellers from average producers?  Once you have the answer and act upon it as you recruit, hire and develop your sales force, you can boost sales significantly.

Five of the Top Sales Techniques
Get more of your salespeople to the peak of performance by looking for these five common sales traits. Granted, your whole team may exhibit these attributes to some extent…but it’s a matter of degree. The most successful solution sellers are:

1. Personable
   Successful salespeople have a magnetic personality. They attract others because they are eminently likeable. They have a natural warmth and optimism that draws people into their orbit.

   Top sellers are expressive and sometimes larger than life. They enjoy company and know how to build meaningful social relationships. They just seem to be born knowing how to relate, entertain, and connect with clients.

2. Passionate
   Top consultative salespeople truly care about what they bring to the table and sincerely believe they can help solve their customers’ most pressing problems. Sure, they always have their eye on the bottom line, but their heart is in helping their customer.

   Top sellers understand that a successful and satisfied customer will come back and can be a source of referral business. It is in everyone’s best interest (the seller as well as the buyer) to provide the solution that really works.

3. Flexible
   While we may admire perseverance as a general trait, carrying this to an extreme does not serve salespeople well. There is a time to let go of a potential sale if it is not moving forward or if the customer is too far outside the target client area – any time you have to force a square peg into a round hole.

   The flexible salesperson knows how to move on to more fruitful and mutually beneficial pursuits. When too many red lights line up in your sales cycle, the best sales reps know that their time could be more productively spent pursuing better target clients.

4. Curious
   One of the most critical traits of top salespeople is their desire to know more – about their client’s situation, needs, and wants. They are expert at asking effective questions and probing for all they need to truly help their client.

   They don’t just check off the list of standard so-called “discovery” questions. They really listen because they genuinely want to know how to best serve their client.
   

5. Persuasive
   Again, it’s all a matter of degree. The best B2B sellers know how to present a solution in a way that actively involves the buyer in the entire buying process.

   In effect, the buyer and salesperson work together to craft the best solution. Rather than have to “push” for a sale, top solution sellers knows how to “pull” a client through to the final step of closing.

The Bottom Line
If you want a top sales team, focus on hiring for and nurturing these five sales skills in your sales force. You (and your sales forecast) will be glad you did!

Want to learn more about other top sales techniques?  Download The 30 Most Effective Sales Questions to Get Right When Selling Solutions