What traits would an ideal salesperson have?

Can you start a conversation with virtually anyone? Are you persistent in the face of obstacles?  Do you enjoy the challenge of hearing from a new person and getting them to like you? If these qualities do not describe your comfort zone, then this role won’t interest you.

Customer service or sales experience is useful, but some of the best people who thrived in this role, were completely trained from scratch by our trainers. It’s your personality traits that will help you in this role, more than your experience.

One: You are a rapport builder

You can talk to anyone. You build trust easily and don’t understand how anyone could find “small talk” difficult. To you, small talk is like second nature, and you can start a conversation with virtually anyone.  You like to find ways to establish common ground, win others over, and form relationships with many different types of people. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you, in fact you often find them energizing. In your world, there are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet.

Two: You are persistent

When faced with what looks like a negative outcome, you will regroup, find a new way, and try, try again. You are a shining example of effective flexibility whether you are trying a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th attempt at clearly communicating how something works, or finding another telephone number to track a previously unreachable contact. When confronted with the unexpected, you think on your feet, devise new options, hunt down new paths of least resistance, and find new ways forward.

Three: You are a born communicator

You like to explain, describe, and speak to people. You feel a need to bring ideas to life, and make them exciting and vivid. You can enliven a dry idea with images and examples and metaphors. You can take a product’s features and benefits and use powerful word combinations to make people listen to you. Your communication piques their interest,and inspires people to act.