Have you ever found yourself wondering what it takes to be an effective salesperson? What behaviors make up effective salespeople? What do their rituals, routines, and habits look like?

We do not advocate the morals that the Wolf Of Wall Street presented us with but we know that Jordan Belfort (the real Wolf) knew how to sell. Famous for many things, Mr. Belfort made an impact on many peoples sales methods. The key principle will always exist, “Sell me this pen!”. But it takes more than just a few lines and fancy words to get people excited and engaged in your products. To answer these questions posed previously we turned to our own sales team for answers.

Based on observations and interviews with Commercient sales reps, we came up with a list of 10 of the most useful habits that make (our) salespeople so great at what they do.

1. Effective salespeople are always prepared. An effective salesperson always prepares before making a phone call or sending an email. They thoroughly research their prospects and go into every customer meeting with a game-plan. The most successful and effective sales reps don’t wing it. They have a plan and a contingency plan. They anticipate questions and challenges so they can close the deal.
2. Effective salespeople know their product. Being able to sell the product is only half the battle. The other half is actually understanding what the product does, how it does the thing it does, and why this potential customer needs the product. Salespeople who know their products can empathize with their prospects, therefore making them more effective.
3. Effective salespeople put themselves in their customer’s shoes. They know that if they’re going to make a sale, they can’t focus on the payoff. In order to be successful, they ask themselves how can they help the prospect win? By making themselves an ally of the prospect, they create a win-win situation for everyone.
4. Effective salespeople listen well. A good salesperson listens, really listens, to their prospects. They make an effort to fully understand their prospect by asking questions and listening to both their wants and needs so that they (the sales rep) can provide their prospects with exactly what they’re looking for.
5. Effective salespeople believe in what they’re selling. It’s easy to be excited about—and sell—products we genuinely believe in. The most effective salespeople use or at least have valid experience with the products they are selling—like Commercient SYNC for example. All of our sales reps can give you the ins-and-outs of our product without hesitation because they have experience using the product and understand the “how it works” behind syncing the data between your ERP and CRM system.
6. Effective salespeople are purpose driven. Money can be excellent motivation but purpose is much more powerful. The best sales reps understand that the product they’re selling has the potential to positively impact people, and this knowledge gives them the sense of purpose they need to get the job done and make the sale.
7. Effective salespeople have mastered the art of the follow-up. You’d be surprised to find out how many salespeople fail to effectively follow-up with a lead after the initial proposal.  Effective salespeople make their prospective clients a priority and take the time to follow-up and provide any further assistance they may need when making their decision to buy.
8. Effective salespeople provide potential clients with value. Speaking of follow-ups, effective salespeople often go beyond your average “just checking in” automated email response. They make an effort to teach their prospects something new every time they interact, providing a personalized and valuable experience that could be the icing on the cake they need to close the deal.
9. Effective salespeople personalize their message to their prospects. Sticking with providing value, instead of following the “one size fits all” mentality, highly effective salespeople choose to personalize their pitch for each customer. They’re committed to learning as much as they can about the potential customer so they can pinpoint the needs of the prospect and effectively explain how the product or service they are selling can help them.
10. Effective salespeople have a measurable and repeatable sales generation process. Great processes are broken down into measurable actions. Making each step of their process measurable enables a sales rep to target their weak spots so they know where to improve. Ideally, this helps a sales rep strive to reach a more discernable goal than “sell better.”

At Commercient, our sales reps believe it all comes down to qualifying early and often. They also stated that out of the above 10 habits, providing value to the customer is the most important to them. As the face of the organization, it’s the sales rep’s job to make a good impression and present the potential client with a message that has their best interest at heart.

It’s a delicate balance. You want to provide customers with an experience and solution they can appreciate while simultaneously growing your business. But effective salespeople know what it takes to achieve this. Want to see an effective sales rep in action? Give one of ours a call today!