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Think of a recent sales call where you just presented your solution to a buyer. Assuming you have done an effective job of identifying the buyer’s needs and connected your solution to those needs, this buyer should say “yes”. Right?  Well not so fast.  

Most sales teams I work with have a common prospecting challenge: the sales people dread prospecting, but their sales managers want them to do more prospecting. Of course the root cause of this problem is salespeople’s aversion to cold calling. As much as we like to think that prospecting has changed as a result of social media, the reality is that phone-based prospecting is still the primary method of prospecting for many sales teams.  

Whenever we start a sales training project, our client inevitably asks, ”How many sales reps should we have in each class?” This is a straightforward question that is unfortunately difficult to answer. The reason is that optimal classroom size for a sales training program depends on numerous factors, so our answer is generally, “It depends.” 

Whether you’re a sales manager looking to hire a great salesperson or a good salesperson looking to get better, recognizing the traits top salespeople have in common will help you get better results. In general, traits are attributes that you have, or that you have a predisposition for. However, most of these traits can be cultivated or improved upon. I’ve found five consistent characteristics of successful salespeople. Let’s look at each one of these essential traits in more detail.

While many sellers avoid the activity of prospecting like the plague, prospecting is the lifeblood of generating new business. It is an essential activity for successful salespeople. Prospecting can be challenging. There are problems finding and getting through to the prospect. It takes a significant amount of time and effort to be effective, generate a list, and manage the numerous touches necessary to be a successful prospector.

We all know it is important to consistently follow a sales process. In fact, according to CSO Insights sales organizations where sales reps consistently followed a sales process dramatically outperformed sales organizations lack a standard process (71.8% of reps achieving quota vs. 59.9% of reps achieving quota). While the sales process is important, there is another process taking place during a sales conversation that is often overlooked by salespeople: the buyer’s purchase process.