Hi,
With 18 years of sales management experience under my belt, from India to Africa, across Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Cameroon etc, I was often asked by young members of my sales team…” what are the 3 top qualities of a sales rep”…and the following I believe are universally relevant, even today. (I dont profess to know the future, and going by the way business eco-systems are evolving , I dare say that this list will undergo a change in some months and I will be happy to see additions or changes to this list!)
- Empathy: You need to understand customer emotional and financial needs, both as people and as professionals. ( Develop to “see” the business from the other side of the table)
- Persuasiveness: You need to be able to bring prospects to the realization that buying is in their best interests. (This often calls for developing your technical/analytical skills)
- Resilience: Being in sales means that you’ll sometimes face rejection, so you need to be able to shrug off such experiences and move on. (Learn from your mistakes and consciously endeavor to not repeat them , and hunt for other leads)