In this post, I will walk you through The Top 10 ways to stand out as a salesperson.
Note that these 10 are not in a rank order. Each one is just as important as the other. However, if you want to stand out and be seen as the salesperson every company wants to deal with, you must exemplify these 10 traits. You must possess these not just some of the time, but all of the time. Let’s get started!
From the Home Office in Tightwad, Missouri
Here are the Top 10 ways to stand out as a salesperson.
10. Trust
The number one quality is trust. This probably sounds cliché. It sounds so trite, but you know what? Trust must always be at the core. I share this one first, because when you demonstrate the other nine things that I’m about to share with you, you will find yourself in a position of creating trust for your customers. Trust is not what you say. Trust is not what you do. No, trust is what you say, and it’s backed up by what you do.
9. Research and Development
R&D stands for the Research and Development Department, and this is the department you want to be for your customers. You want to actively work on research and development for them. What does that mean? It means you’re bringing them ideas. You’re bringing them solutions and new ones that they would not have thought of. Because you understand their business so well, you’re seen as a person highly capable of bringing them keen insights.
8. Timely
Timely means you say what you’re going to do and you do it. You follow through – always! You show up on time. You’re punctual and more importantly, you respect their time. When you say it’s going to be a short phone call, you keep it short. When you say it’s going to be 15 minutes for a meeting, it is 15 minutes. When you say you’re going to have something to them by Tuesday at 4:00, you deliver it to them by Tuesday at 1:00. You always exceed whatever schedule that you create. Timely is absolutely imperative, and especially at the prospecting level, because customers often say, “I don’t want you wasting my time.” What does that mean? That means that you respect their time.
7. Respectful
What does it mean to be respectful? It is demonstrating that you understand where they’re coming from both personally and professionally. Now, I could break personally and professionally apart, but I am going to keep it together, because when I understand someone professionally, I understand him/her personally. And when I understand you personally, I’m going to understand you professionally. When you’re respectful, you understand your position, where you came from, and what your goals are. Being respectful involves understanding you as an individual just as much as understanding your business. When I understand both areas, I am respectful.
6. Listen
Yes, listen. Again, many people say, “You’re kidding me. Really?” But it is amazing how few salespeople truly listen. You want to be the salesperson who not only listens what’s being said, but also listens for what’s not being said. You want to listen to what’s being seen and what’s not being seen. Listening skills involve the eyes just as much as they do the ears. Body language in all forms demonstrates what’s really going on. Listening is about understanding where the customer’s going. Listening is about helping the customer feel more confident in being able to share more insights with you. And that leads me to my next one relating to a level of confidence.
5. Integrity
Integrity means there is a level of honesty. There’s a level of absolute genuine compassion being demonstrated. Integrity means that you’re living out integrity to them as the customer as well as all of their employees. Integrity is portrayed when you’re see as the same person all of the time no matter what. Whether you’re in front of the customer or whether you’re in front of a barista, whether you’re in front of a CEO, or whether you’re in front of a waiter in a restaurant, you are a person of integrity. This is not something you turn on or off. Integrity is 24/7.
4. Helpful
It sounds basic, but helpful is not just helping the customer with what they see or what they need, but being helpful in other ways. I always say that the mark of a great salesperson is when the salesperson is asked for input and assistance on things that they don’t sell, they don’t have anything to do with. What does that mean? That means that the customer must have a level of confidence. They must see trust. They must see integrity. Once they start to see all of those things in you, the customer looks to you as able to help them. Being helpful goes beyond normal expectations. Being helpful goes past what should be done to get the deal. Helpfulness is about creating a long-term relationship.
3. Transparency
Transparency is something that’s often not on display. It refers to those times when an order is not happening right, when something didn’t get followed up correctly, or when you may have dropped the ball on something, you are willing to say, “Hey, here’s what went wrong.” Being transparent is the willingness and humility to throw yourself under the bus. Sometimes you put yourself under the bus if that’s what it takes, because you’re upright and honest with the customer. Furthermore, when you’re transparent, that’s how you demonstrate integrity and trust.
2. Honesty
Being honest, being truthful. Yes, I’m sure you’re seeing how all 10 of these fit together. When you’re honest, it is amazing how nothing else gets hit. You see, you can’t be transparent without being honest. You can’t be honest without showing trust. See how all these begin to come together?
And the #1 way to stand out as a salesperson is……
1. Committed
Do you have a level of commitment to the merchant? Do you have a level of commitment to yourself?
It’s true that when people are committed, they don’t make excuses. When people are committed, they’re focused on making sure the task at hand gets done. When they’re committed, they follow through and deliver on what needs to be done. When they’re committed, results happen. Do customers want to deal with companies and salespeople who aren’t committed to them or to the outcome that they’re looking for? No, of course not! I intentionally started with trust as number one, and ended with commitment as number 10, because ‘trust’ and ‘commitment’ are the bookends to the other eight items.
Here’s some questions I want you to ask yourself right now: of the 10 traits I shared, which is your strongest? And where are your weaknesses?
Focus in on your strength. Take that to the next level, but then look at one of your weaknesses and think about how you can improve and correct that.
How can you bring your weaknesses up to a higher level where you can be that salesperson that a customer says continually demonstrate all 10 of these traits at a high level?
Have a great weekend,
David
