Who Makes A Good Salesperson?

I Googled this question and got over 6 million results. And, as it’s easy to do, I floated off to the blog-o-sphere, happily reading away, away, away… is there an echo in here? Much of what I found was as I expected. I didn’t expect the general opinion to be what I consider the most important attrib­utes of a good sales­per­son; however, I was pleas­antly surprised by some of the thoughts.

To answer this question, we must define a good sales­per­son. Is it a top producer? I’ve observed top producers who were sociopaths, with no regard for the customer, company, or the truth. Is that who you want rep­re­sent­ing your orga­ni­za­tion? Keep in mind, these are producers — they’re rain­mak­ers — they will bring profit. On the other hand, I’ve seen people of good character, fail to make it rain, because they lacked drive and motivation.

A good sales­per­son rep­re­sents your orga­ni­za­tion honestly, prof­itably, and proudly.

In a Uni­ver­sity of Florida White Paper, a reference to a Sardar and Patton article, “Who Makes a Great Sales­per­son, Links Between Our Heritage and Our Future,” was fre­quently quoted in my online search. Among the traits of suc­cess­ful sales­peo­ple, the paper lists the following:
• Pos­sess­ing high energy
• Having self-confidence
• Being money hungry
• Seeing obstacles as chal­lenges
• A com­pul­sive need to win
• Desiring the affec­tions of others

For the most part — I agree; however, I’ve seen being money hungry, and the need to win, drive sales­peo­ple to ruth­less­ness. I’ve watched the need to be liked cause unde­liv­er­able promises offered too many times to clients.

In the afore­men­tioned Uni­ver­sity of Florida White Paper, Greens­burg And Greens­burg are credited with listing empathy, ego-drive, and ego-strength. No argument there, other than I believe there are addi­tional important ingredients.

In a Forbes.com post, Lauren Wray lists good listening, integrity, teamwork, follow-through, and swagger as the keys to a great sales­per­son — all are on my list as well.

A good salesperson…

• Enjoys helping others. They are empa­thetic to customers’ needs, and they get a kick out of helping and watching others succeed.
• Is ethical and honest. They’re someone of good character who makes good character choices.
• Uses every resource available to learn their product, company and industry. They don’t have to be the lead.
• Develops leads — not waiting for leads to come to them, but actively prospecting.

For me, what makes a good sales­per­son isn’t always, or only, the “bottom line.” A good sales­per­son is — FIRST — a good person.

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