Is selling a natural talent?
There’s little doubt that sales skills can be taught and anyone with a degree of application and desire could learn to use those skills well. However, it should also be noted that some people just seem have a natural flair and a gift for the role.
So what does this natural flair and apparent aptitude for the role of a sales person look like?
Once you've perfected the art of conducting interviews all you have to do is spot any potentially natural salespeople among your recruits in the hope of adding them to your sales team. So let’s examine just some of the personal characteristics most commonly associated with salespeople who are regarded as naturally gifted.
The ability to just ask questions and genuinely be able to listen to the answer is invaluable. A real enquiring mind is a real advantage in the commercial world. It helps you to remember what has been said in the conversation ten minutes before and allows you to use this later on displaying the fact that you really did listen.
It helps if you have a real desire to succeed. This displays a real ambition for the company to do well.
If you have ever seen salespeople just sitting around a showroom whilst customers are looking lost and clearly in need of help then a can-do attitude is what is required. Simply doing the job rather than actively avoiding the job is often easier and less effort.
A natural salesperson does not necessarily have to be an extrovert, but a low-level of self-consciousness or shyness can help in sales situations where confidence or assertiveness may elicit respect from the potential customer.
Generally, a natural at selling tends to be someone of a positive disposition by nature. Far better to be greeted by a cheery smile than a look that says ‘I have the weight of the world on my shoulders’.
Equally, at home in a sales team or working solo, the natural salesperson will be happy to take responsibility for meeting targets, solving problems (both their own and those of others), building and maintaining client relationships and self-development.
Maguire training deliver many sales and commercial training course. Here’s a couple to get you started, just click on the link to find out more.
