3 Critical Sales Skills You Can’t Do Without

There are a multitude of sales skills that need to be fine-tuned if you are in the business of selling but I believe that some are much more important than others. The three critical sales skills that I believe can make or break a sales person are, Time Management, Adaptability & Persistence.

1. Time Management

This is really a big one for anyone who makes a living out of selling because if you don't know how to manage your time with precision in the highly competitive business world we are in today, you could eventually find yourself looking for another profession. It's not rocket science but it does require a certain amount of self-discipline and pre-planning. At the beginning of each day a sales person should know exactly what they'll be doing and how they're going to achieve it. The secret to successful time allocation in selling is to make sure that the majority of time is spent on proactive tasks that will help to generate revenue. Reactive tasks such as responding to generic e-mails or simply responding to people who are asking for some help, should be kept to a minimum. Unfortunately most people find it hard to say no to a colleague or friend and for this very reason planning and clear daily objectives will help to reduce this.

2. Adaptability

There are a few motives why sales people need to be adaptable but one of the most important reasons is the fact that we must be able to deal with different personality types. There are four distinctive personality types that we can come across during the selling process and we will only ever possess one of them. That means that 75% of the people we deal with will have a different profile to that of our own. If as sales people we are not able to adapt to these differences there is a higher risk that the only people we will end up selling to will be among the 25% in our own personality group.
Other ways we need to be adaptable in selling would be to adapt our presentations in accordance with customer understanding. Some customers will need a more simplified explanation due to their lack of knowledge of the product or service. Others will be more versed on the product and can therefore be spoken to with more technical jargon and specific industry terms.
Certain fields like technology or IT are constantly changing and sales people are required to keep up with the pace. This requires the seller to flexible and willing to change their pitch on a regular basis if needed.

3. Persistence

One of the reasons why positive people are more successful at selling is down to the fact that they don't give up when all seems lost. Positive sales people will always give it one more shot in the hope that the sales opportunity is not entirely lost. This is crucial because selling is all about being persistent. Most people don't buy without 3 or 4 objections which is why sales people should never accept "no" as a definitive "no" People will often say no because they want to put off a decision and not because they aren't interested. Unfortunately some newcomers to sales don't realise this and give up at the first obstacle they encounter. I remember when I started out in the insurance industry I came across lots of sellers who couldn't handle this type of work. The main reason was that they couldn't cope with rejection, even though I tried to explain to them that 99% of the rejection you come across is not a personal attack on you as an individual.

If you can master these three skills you will be highly successful in the rewarding world of selling. The problem with less skilled sales people is that they are too quick to blame external factors for their failings, but if they could take a look at themselves in the mirror and face their weaknesses, the outcome could be an entirely different story.

David Lynch is a Sales Training Designer & Accomplished Author. He has more than 20 years experience in a variety of industries including software, insurance & hospitality. If you would like to learn more sales skills from David you can download a Free Copy of his E-book "25 Mistakes To Avoid When Selling" at http://www.saleswillgrow.com/freesalestraining2.html