Sales seems like a simple idea: one person has a product that another wants to buy. But in reality, sales is much more complex. It takes skill to succeed in this market. You aren’t born a great salesperson, but you can learn to become one. And for those who succeed, sales is a rewarding and lucrative career.

If you’re curious about working in sales, you’re in the right place to learn. We’ll dig into what makes a good salesperson, the responsibilities of the job, and the skills you need to succeed.

What you’ll learn:

• What is a salesperson?
• The importance of salespeople in business
• What makes a good salesperson
• 8 responsibilities of a salesperson
• Skills and tools needed to be a successful salesperson
• Sales techniques
• How to become a salesperson

What is a salesperson?

A salesperson is someone whose job is to sell products to customers. They are problem solvers. They start by understanding their potential customer’s problems and then bring solutions to the table that make a difference. After building a relationship with the customer, the salesperson can use their influence, which was earned through developing trust, to suggest solutions that can help the customer overcome challenges. Salespeople who attempt to sell products or services that someone doesn’t need will likely only have short-term success.

The importance of salespeople in business

Sales representatives sell products and bring in revenue, but companies that use sales representatives for only this purpose significantly miss out on additional benefits. Companies move forward when they find new opportunities for customers, sales channels, and products.

With their market intelligence, salespeople are perfectly positioned to lead the charge of opening new doors. In addition to driving revenue, sales representatives can improve the company’s overall success by making a good first impression and acting as the customer’s voice, especially since they are typically the customer’s first interaction with the company.

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What makes a good salesperson

Sales success is more than skills and techniques. Personality traits and mindset play a huge role. Often, you can spot a great salesperson in your everyday life because they bring the following characteristics into every interaction they have.

Grit

You will hear “no” often in sales. Many people find those situations frustrating and demotivating. Successful salespeople have the determination (as well as a bit of stubbornness) to keep going. Sales representatives need to be able to keep moving forward to find new leads and build their pipeline. This is a core trait of a successful sales representative.

Views their role as a trusted advisor

The Salesforce State of Sales report found that 87% of business buyers expect their salesperson to function as a trusted advisor, not just as a sales representative. As you build the relationship, you focus on learning the customer’s problems and then providing solutions. Sometimes, the solution may be one of your company’s products and services. Other times, it may not be. When the right solution to the problem is one that your company can provide, then it’s a no-brainer for the customer to purchase it from you because they believe you have their best interest at heart.

Believes in their product

It’s difficult to be truly successful selling a product you don’t believe in. Closing a deal requires transferring enthusiasm to the potential customer. Failing to believe in a product diminishes the ability to deliver a level of excitement and passion needed to get a customer to feel the same way.  It’s still true to this day that people buy on emotion and back it up with facts.  As a sales rep, you need to believe in your solution and transfer that emotion.

Adaptability

Change is a constant in the business world. What worked last year, or even last month, may not work today. The Salesforce State of Sales report found that 69% of salespeople report that their job is harder than in the past. Because of these new challenges (such as supply chain issues, inflation, shifting regulations, and political instability), 82% of representatives reported that they have had to adapt quickly to new ways of selling. The best sales representatives constantly adapt — and adapt quickly. You must go with the ebb and flow of the client’s needs and preferences. By looking for new ways to accomplish their goals, sales representatives can create the best outcomes for their clients.

Curiosity

Sales requires a learning mindset. A successful salesperson has an eye on new trends, new technology, and new markets in pursuit of creative solutions for potential customers. Most importantly, you need to be curious about your potential customers. Instead of waiting for their company to offer training, successful sales representatives take learning into their own hands by reading articles, watching informative videos, and talking to experts.

Sets appropriate expectations

It’s tempting to tell a potential customer what they want to hear. However, over-promising and under-delivering can do more harm than good to your company — and your career. By setting appropriate expectations, you build stronger relationships and increase your customers’ trust in you and your organization. For example, you should share the positives and downsides of your product during meetings instead of only sharing the benefits. Additionally, you should make sure not to over-promise on benefits or results, which erodes trust for future collaborations.

Deadline-driven

Missing deadlines is one of the quickest ways to damage the trust your clients and internal stakeholders have in you. When you deliver on time — or even better, ahead of time — your customers know they can count on your word. And if something is slipping, communicate it as early as possible to let everyone know what is happening and when to expect the project.

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8 responsibilities of a salesperson

While individual companies and their processes are unique, all sales representatives have the following responsibilities:

1. Prospecting and finding opportunities

While the core of the job is building relationships, sales representatives must be able to find leads through prospecting techniques. The company will provide some leads through typical channels, but the best sales representatives make their own opportunities. You must also be able to determine which leads are not likely to convert and disqualify them before investing significant time better spent elsewhere. By asking the right questions, you can find out where to spend your time to best help the most customers.

2. Creating and delivering accurate sales documents

You’ll need to create various sales documents — sales orders, invoices, and purchase orders, to name a few. These documents need to be accurate, created in a timely manner, and signed by all stakeholders. Automated processes and templates help reduce manual errors and make sure everyone involved has everything they need to move forward.

3. Collaborating with other departments

Sales don’t happen in a vacuum. The sales team must work closely with many other departments, such as product, marketing, finance, and legal. Since the sales department is closest to the customers, you have knowledge of what is critical to the company’s success. Sales representatives can even help spot new opportunities and work with product teams on new features based on what customers constantly request.

4. Developing relationships with customers

Without a doubt, relationship development is a sales representative’s greatest responsibility. Your relationships are the key to your success and the company’s future. By taking the time to become a trusted advisor, you develop customer relationships that turn into sales and revenue for many years down the line.

5. Understanding the company’s products and services

You can’t help solve your customers’ problems with your company’s solutions if you don’t fully understand the products. Salespeople must stay up to date on all new products, as well as changes to the company’s existing products. Other than deep-dive technical questions, sales representatives should be able to answer almost any question a customer asks about the products. Every time you have to stop a conversation and ask someone else, your customer loses a little bit of their trust in your expertise.

6. Being knowledgeable about the industry and market

You can only solve your customers’ problems if you have a full understanding of their day-to-day business. Salespeople who learn about their industry have a significant advantage in being able to speak the same language. By staying on top of current industry trends and challenges, you can ask your leads the right questions to discover their specific challenges.

7. Using technology to increase effectiveness and productivity

Salespeople must use technology to make their efforts more effective and accurate. Customer relationship management (CRM) software and its integrated tools, such as sales analytics software and invoicing tools, can improve your productivity and accuracy. Other common technologies that help salespeople include video conferencing, calendars, and mobile CRMs. For example, Sales Cloud makes it easy to use your mobile device while also organizing other technologies. Sales representatives should embrace the tools used by their company, as well as look for opportunities to add automation into their processes.

8. Delivering revenue

Salespeople must close sales to bring in revenue. In fact, the other seven responsibilities I’ve talked about actually lead to making sales. In terms of career path and staying employed, salespeople are evaluated on meeting their quotas.

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Skills and tools needed to be a successful salesperson

In addition to certain personality traits and soft skills, sales representatives also need to bring specific skills to the table. Here are five skills needed for most sales positions:

1. Business acumen

Sales representatives need to understand how the business world works and how decisions get made. They need to know which decision-makers to approach for specific situations in their own company and in others. Additionally, they need to know how budgets work and how business goals are developed and met. By taking business courses or earning a business degree, sales representatives can gain the foundational knowledge needed to work successfully within organizations as well as sell to organizations.

2. Knowledge of AI

As technology becomes even more ingrained in the sales process, representatives need to be knowledgeable and comfortable with using the technology. Salespeople who embrace artificial intelligence (AI) technology have a significant advantage in understanding sales analytics and insights that help make the right decisions. High-performing sales teams are 1.9 times more likely to use artificial intelligence than underperforming teams, according to the Salesforce Trends in Sales Ops report.

3. Effective communication skills

Sales representatives must be able to clearly communicate their message to potential customers. Sometimes, that’s over email; other times, it’s in person. Without exceptional written and verbal communication, a sales representative will struggle to build the trusted advisor relationship.

4. Knowing the right questions to ask

To understand a potential client’s challenges, you need to ask the right questions. It’s almost always more complex than asking what keeps them up at night. Salespeople need to pick up on cues and then ask questions that reveal the information they need to offer appropriate solutions. This happens by asking contextual questions based on what you know about their industry.

5. Active listening skills

People often think selling is simply talking to customers and trying to convince them to buy something. But smart salespeople spend more time listening to their potential customers and learning more about them. Only through active listening can you build trust and gain the information you need to offer the right solution.

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Sales techniques

One of the biggest questions sales representatives have is how to consistently exceed their targets and close lots of deals. However, there is no perfect template. The answer is to use different techniques based on the context and situation.

Here are four common techniques that can help you improve your success as a salesperson:

1. Use an assumptive close

When you get to the point in the trusted advisor role when you’ve offered a solution, move forward as if the client wants to purchase the product. This technique involves walking the line between assertive and aggressive by asking how many the customer wants to buy or when they want to implement the solution.

2. Try the split A/B test

Because every market and product is different, you often need to see which techniques work best for your specific areas. Start by finding one part of the sales process where you are struggling, such as objection handling, and then brainstorm different techniques that you’ve used and pick the two with the highest success rates.

3. Wrap it up with a summary close

One common technique when offering solutions is summarizing how the product features help solve the customer’s problems. The customer can then really connect the dots in how the solution overcomes their challenges. This technique often involves a presentation or a chart personalized to the customer’s specific needs (instead of using generic information).

4. Focus on objection handling

Once you’ve made suggestions for solutions, the customer often comes back with objections. This is a key moment in the sales journey. Prepare for potential objections and know how you will answer them before the moment arises. When a potential client shares an objection, thank them for sharing, offer empathy, and then ask open-ended questions.

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How to become a salesperson

Sales representatives enter the profession through many different paths. Some earn a business degree. Others begin working in an industry and move into sales. Whatever the route, here are some ways to get the experience and knowledge you need to land your first sales job.

Identify a product or company you want to represent

Start with your core values and then look at companies that align with those values. For example, if you were the guru for a certain software in a previous job, then consider working in that field. Or if you love a certain type of phone and spend your free time staying up to date on it, look for opportunities at that company. Some additional things to do include:

• Interview sales representatives in that industry or company.
• Ask about what their typical day looks like and more about the type of sales they do, such as cold calling or managing channels.
• Segue into questions about the best way to land a job like theirs.
• Learn about any certifications or training the company requires.

Decide what type of sales best fits your strengths and personality

Are you fabulous at cold calling? Do you like longer sales cycles? Do you excel at finding leads online? Think about where you will do your best work. Then look for opportunities that highlight those skills.

Take sales training

Look for sales training that matches the type of sales you are looking to go into. If formal training isn’t available (or not possible for you to attend in person), consider online courses. Earn any certifications needed for your target companies as well.

Look for an internship or entry-level job

Start approaching companies to look for ways to get your foot in the door. When interviewing, ask questions about advancement and career paths within the organization. Make sure the job offers the opportunities you want to move up.

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Building relationships one customer at a time

A successful salesperson doesn’t start their day with the goal of selling. They seek to build relationships. By taking the time to gain the trust of a prospect, a salesperson can become their trusted advisor. Achieving this means that you no longer have to sell but propose solutions. This represents a mindset shift. However, an advisor-based approach can help a salesperson grow their career and their company’s revenue.