By Joseph Cerra

What Makes A Great Salesperson? Empathy.

What makes a great salesperson? Ive often thought about thisespecially when I’m interviewing sales candidates for an open position. If you search for it on the Internet, you’ll get hundreds of thousands of hitsso I guess there’re a lot of other people trying to figure it out as well?

Every sales organization is looking for that star salesperson. Most companies realize that a few of their salespeople make the lion’s share of their saleswhat makes those people the stars?

In this series of upcoming articles, Im going to present those characteristics that Ive found in most great salespeople. You can learn from their successby emulating these characteristics, you can improve your sales skills, and become more successful.

Top Characteristics

There are proven characteristics that can make a good salesperson a better salesperson. As we discussed in previous articles, study and practice are essential to learn the basics of selling. As in any trade, you can learn from reading sales books, and working with more experienced salespeople.

Company sales training typically is about learning your products features and benefits, pricing, competitive advantages, etc. Once you’re on your own, in your sales territory, and on quota, nothing is better than practice to hone your skillsand the more presentations that you make to potential customersthe better off you’ll be.

But, how do you get to the next leveloff the bench and into the game, “so to speak.” What do the star salespeople do differently than most salespeople?

Empathy

Star salespeople can recognize and appreciate their customer’s needs, and communicate with them, on a personal, as well as a business basis. This is empathythe ability to connect and mentally transpose yourself into the prospective customers situationto first understand, and then to meet their needs.

Star salespeople do this well, and customers ask for them, because the customer realizes that this person understands, and relates to their needs, as a person, not as just a salesperson.

Many inexperience salespeople are intimidated by high-level executives, especially if the prospect is older than the salesperson. It’s hard to relate to someone that you dont feel is a peer. You need to overcome this to make the sale. You may be less experienced than the prospect, when it comes to your business experience, or younger, but you need to realize that if you did your apprenticeship correctly, and studied your product, that you are an expert, and more than equal in this aspect of the business relationship.

Dont act like a salesman, but like a businessperson, and a friend. Pretend that this is your best friend asking you for advice on purchasing a product.

What would you tell your best friend in the way of advice? You not only represent your company, but when you make this sale, this is the person that depends upon you to provide good service and to navigate them through your companys bureaucracy.

So, you represent the customer, as well as your company. You need your prospect to understand, and believe that you have their best interests in mind, and not only your own financial interests.

Talk to your prospect, and relate to them as a person. First and foremost, you need to understand this persons problems and needs before you can provide a solution. Question, and listen until this person, “tells”, you what they need. There’s an old adage that, God gave you two ears and one mouth because you should listen twice as much as you talk.

Put yourself into your prospective customers position, and try to relate to their issues to understand the situation. Repeat what they’re sayingor, what you, “think they’re thinking”, to make sure that you understand it, and check that they agree. How would you fix the problem if it was your best friend asking for advice, or a relative?

Before your prospective customer will truly listen to you, and hear your solution, you need to make a connection them. Look them in the eye when they’re talking, and try to get them to do the same with you, until you feel that bond.

Then, as a friend, show them how to fix the problem. What does this person want, what do you wantmaking a deal should be a win-win situationyou’re not just selling something, if you want to become a star. Follow through, and ask for the order, when you do your part.

To understand what I mean about a connection, think about your experience with dating. Most young salespeople have more experience dating than selling. When you first met someone new, there’s that awkward time where you struggle to find common ground.

As you get to know one another, it often gets easier to talk. If you dont care much for the person, you just want to get away, and move on with your life. But sometimes you meet someone, and you just hit it off immediately. You find its easy to talk with the person, you enjoy their company, and you both have a good time.

Call it what you will, a spark, chemistry, or whatever, but the two of you made some kind of a positive mental connectionyou’re communicating at a different level than when you first met. Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that you flirt, with the prospect, thats not professional. Its about making a mental connection with a person in a business environment, like you do in a personal relationship.

In a business relationship, you’re trying to create a similar type of connection with a prospect. Just like in dating, if you dont make that positive connection, when you call back for a second date, you’ll get the business version of, Im sorry, but Im busy on Friday night, or worse yet, never a call back. If the connection is made, this prospect will listen to you when you make a presentation, and take your telephone calls, after you leave.

Star salespeople can usually make this connection easily, and prospects listen to them, and take their advice, because they’re communicating at a higher level, and the prospective client senses that the salesperson has their best interests at heart.

This article is an excerpt from Joe’s new book, Make More Sales, Make More Money, available in Amazon’s Kindle Book Store, www.amazon.com, search on Joseph Cerra.

Joe can be reached by email at www.evcorp@salesassoc.com, or, visit us at, www.salesassoc.com for a free chapter from this new book.

About the Author: Joe Cerra, the founder of Evergreen Ventures Corporation, has over 30 years experience in the software and hardware industry. In 1987, he published The Sales Associate, a book on how to use a personal computer in salesone of the first books ever published about computerized contact management and sales automation, and has recently authored the 25th anniversary update, Make More Sales, Make More Money. A free chapter from this new edition is available at,

salesassoc.com

, and Joe can be contacted directly by email at: evcorp@salesassoc.com.

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