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Personal Selling Skills

To be successful, a salesperson needs to have:

 A set of skills
 A set of personality traits
 A set of personal habits

A set of skills

These can be learnt, practised & sharpened with time & experience :

 Empathy : The ability to see things from the buyer’s point of view

 Communication : The ability to speak as well as to listen, the

ability to send & receive the right signals, verbal & non-verbal

 Persuasiveness, not argumentativeness : A salesperson may win an

argument with the buyer, but he is sure to lose the sale

 Creativity : A successful salesperson has the ability to think on his

feet, take decisions on the spot, devise & implement a course of
action different from the previously planned one

 People skills & networking : The buying decision may be a

collective decision. The successful salesperson identifies the
initiator, the influencer, the indenter, the buyer, the user, the
maintainer & builds up individual relationships with each of these
stake holders

 Diplomacy : The successful salesperson never sides with any one

person or group in a buyer’s organization. He steers clear of all
controversies & he is everybody’s friend

 Performing skills : The successful salesperson wears different hats

on different occasions. He plays advisor to some, information-
provider to some, personal friend to some, consultant to some,
service provider to some. He also plays different roles at different
times with the same person depending on the need of the buyer
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A set of personality traits

These are aspects of an individual’s personality which are inherent in

him. If these traits are absent in an individual, it is very difficult to
cultivate them.

This is why sales managers while selecting salespersons, look for such
traits.

Personality Traits

 Positive mental attitude : Highly optimistic

 Self-confidence : The successful salesperson radiates self-

confidence which assures the buyer to go ahead & do business
with him

 Need for achievement : Very ambitious & has professional &

personal goals to achieve

 Love for selling : He/she has a natural flair of selling ideas,

concepts

 Mature, practical, emotionally stable : The salesperson gas to

handle a lot of rejections & frustrations in the field. He/she cannot
show his/her emotions to the client, nor can he/she afford to lose
sight of the bigger targets & goals

 Resilient : The ability to bounce back from failures, fight back

from adverse circumstances. After all, success is failure turned
inside out

 Freedom-loving : The successful salesperson enjoys working

independently & needs very little supervision

 Pleasant personality : The client is charmed by the successful

salesperson’s pleasant personality & looks forward to further
meetings

 A good sense of humour

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A set of personal habits

• Hard working : This is a profession that demands hard work. A 10

– 12 hour workday including weekends is quite common

• Energetic & enthusiastic : A high level of energy is a hallmark of

any successful salesperson. He works hard, works smart & then
works some more

• Honest & credible : The successful salesperson handles valuable

company resources & is a man of confidence for the client. They
need to have complete faith in his honesty & credibility

• Disciplined : A profession that needs physical & mental toughness

requires a disciplined approach. Some physical exercise is
recommended. The successful salesperson knows that a healthy
mind resides in a healthy body

• Well-mannered : The salesperson is expected to be familiar with

basic good manners, courtesies & etiquettes

• Well-groomed : A good & professional appearance is a must for

success in selling

The habits can be developed, maintained & improved upon. Skills &
habits are areas that an individual can work on & improve.

With the sharpening of skills & with faithful adoption of these habits, an
individual can do reasonably well in sales.

It is the traits that along with the skills & the habits complete the recipe
for sure success in selling.