“What makes a successful salesperson?”

Many people became successful in sales for having a great personality. They make the best out of anything with natural born sales skills. They are the sales reps a sales manager would like to have in his/her team.

When doing lead generation, all sales managers must have their own ideal salesperson when choosing a member of his sales team. I’ve listed down 10 of the most important habits when looking for a sales rep to become part of your team.

#1 Habit: They prepare ahead of time.

Following up or calling a new prospect, a good salesperson normally prepares before making a call. In order to become more effective most reps plans out on what to say to their prospects before calling them. This way, they would know how to handle impromptu questions and are prepared to offer solutions confidently.

Planning makes even better performance. It’s not just their skills that make them succeed, but how they prepare to it.

How should a sales rep prepare? When calling a new prospect, you must:

Know the information of your prospect

Know what to ask for from your prospect

Know everything about your product or service

When following up with a prospect, you must;

Know when to call

Have a list of all that happened during the first call (current setup; what they’re using, if they have provider, etc)

Have an idea about their plans and needs

Related: Maximize Every Call: Know the Different Types of Decision Makers

#2 Habit: They know everything about their product.

By thoroughly understanding the features of the product, sales reps are able to present its benefits with full confidence and conviction which makes it more convincing.

In order to sell anything, sales reps must know everything about their products or services. Why? This helps them understand what solutions to offer and how to address the issues of the prospect and eventually generate leads.

What information do you need to know?

The features and benefits of each product.

If you’re promoting your company’s services, identify what are the things that your company can do to help your prospects and how it can benefit them if they would consider your services.

The shortcomings of your products and services. If there’s anything your product or your company can’t do, be honest about it.

How your product works and its purpose.

The price. You may encounter prospects who would like to know about the price before they would consider your company.

New in sales or not, sales reps must invest time in updating their knowledge and keep up to date on the company’s products and services. Prospects are more likely to trust sales rep who show confidence in what they are selling.

Related: Teach Sales Reps to Sound More Natural Over the Phone

#3 Habit: They based their judgment on facts.

An effective sales rep doesn’t let their emotions affect their judgment.

How to do this?

Don’t take rejections and conflicts personally. Rejection happens but you can turn that into success. Do not be surprised when you encounter prospects who will say “no.”

Expect that not all calls are the same. Every call is different because you’re dealing with different people. You may encounter interested prospects right after a bad call. So don’t lose your momentum. Here are some helpful tips when calling prospects on a bad day

Use rejections as learning and makes extra effort to improve on the following calls.

Watch this short video and make a graceful rebound after a bad sales call!

#4 Habit: They listen.

The most important habit of a good salesperson but the hardest skill to learn when doing lead generation is to listen. Why listening is important in telemarketing? By doing so, sales reps will be able to address the prospect’s concerns, knows what questions to ask and what solutions to offer.

“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know; but when you listen, you may learn something new.” – Dalai Lama

How to become a better listener?

Do not interrupt. Not because it’s rude but you might miss out something interesting that your prospect mentioned that can benefit you later on.

Listen to the emotions of your prospect’s voice. Feelings are as important as facts. It gives sales reps an idea on how to handle a prospect.

Clarify and paraphrase. Don’t just listen to every word your prospect is saying. Instead, understand the exact message the prospect would like to tell you.

Practice. Make it a habit to improve your listening skills. Here’s an activity for you to practice on.

Do this! Turn on your television and your radio. Focus your listening on the music playing in your radio and block the sound of the television. Then switch your listening to the television and block the music playing on your radio. Do this every day to improve your listening skills.

Related: 5 Steps Guide on Reaching Out To Malaysian Prospects Effectively

#5 Habit: They empathize.

Most sales reps think from the customer’s point of view. Good salespeople understand that to become effective in selling almost anything, they must not think about their paycheck but how to help their prospects. They know how to nurture and manage their prospects and follow up on them when the time is right. We, at Callbox, used our very own lead nurture tool to keep track with our old and new leads, that way we won’t be missing any opportunity or sales.

Don’t push the schedule you want rather ask the prospect what would be the perfect time to call him/her. Call them at right time.

Watch full video to know more about Smart Calling:

Show empathy to your prospects with these phrases.

“I hear you.”

“I understand where you’re coming from.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

You can also show empathy to your prospects by listening and not saying anything at all.

#6 Habit: They believe in what they’re selling.

It’s easier to sell a product when we actually believe in it. In order to become effective, they must use the product and believe it can help improve your prospect’s business.

How to show your prospects that you believe in your product or service?

By introducing your products or services, confidently. (WARNING: Be careful, don’t overdo it).

By putting emphasis on the benefits your product or service.

Don’t answer questions about your product with an unsure tone of voice.

By using positive words/ phrases such as; “we can help you with that…” , “ our product can…”

By not using any words such as; “probably”, “I guess”, “I think so/ I believe so”.

Related: Don’t Know the Answers to Prospect’s Sales Questions? Fake it

#7 Habit: They follow up.

I’m sure you will agree when I say, many salespeople fail to follow up their prospects after a first call or after sending a proposal. Some don’t even have any idea if prospect’s opened their email, right? A productive sales rep knows when to follow up their prospects to eventually close a sale.

When to follow up a prospect?

When they’ve read your email/proposal.

When they replied to your email, asking for a callback.

When they didn’t respond to your email.

When they asked you to call them back.

When you set up a time for a callback.

When they have a need.

Find out The Do’s and Don’ts When Doing B2B Telesales

#8 Habit: They understand the buying process of their prospects.

A good salesperson knows that not all interested prospects are more likely to buy after the first meeting. All sales reps must think about how they can help their prospect instead of their paycheck. They know that sometimes it takes several stages for prospects to make a decision.

Here are the 5 stages of the buying process

Prospects realize they have a need.

Prospects are looking for a solution to fulfill their needs.

Prospects are looking for an alternative solution.

Prospects decide to purchase.

Prospects choose what and where to purchase.

Related: Knowing the Different Buying Signals Will Make You A Better Salesperson

#9 Habit: They have a positive attitude.

Everyone will have bad days at times, but an effective salesperson doesn’t let it ruin their day. Instead, they manage their emotions and use their personal issues in life to do better at work. Be positive. Negativity spreads fast affecting other members within the team. Most people want to associate with those who are enthusiastic about their job.

How to show positive attitude in sales?

Don’t dwell too much on the problem.

Focus on finding a solution.

Think that every prospect is an opportunity.

Always believe in yourself and your selling abilities.

Open for changes and new learnings.

Related: GUIDE Coaching: Bringing the best out of a B2B Telemarketer

#10 Habit: Persistent. They Never give up

Having a sale is never easy! It’s not like every day, you will encounter prospects who are interested with the products and services you’re offering. Sometimes it can also be a bit depressing especially if you lose the deal.

A good salesperson never gives up. Instead, top performing salespeople focus on how they can succeed rather than looking at the negative side.

Here’s why you must never give up.

In sales, time is precious. Everything you do takes time. Be patient and learn to nurture your leads so you can turn them into a sale. Re-engage with warm prospects who have gone cold.

Persistence pays off. People buy when they are ready to buy, not when you are ready to sell them something.

No matter how much you teach your sales reps with these habits, if they don’t have the right attitude this can be a bit overwhelming to them. So instead of training sales reps to do all these habits, why not look for the right sales reps with the right attitude and have not just one but all future sales heroes within your team.

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