Broker Check

Successful Sales People

1. Empathy

What to look for in good performers:

  • Ability to identify and react accurately to the behaviour and emotions of customers
  • Identify other people’s feelings/frustrations objectively without necessarily agreeing with them
  • Ability to establish rapport easily and put people “at ease” in their presence
  • Good listening skills
  • Curiosity—the candidate asks questions that require more than a yes or no answer

Poor performers:

  • Experience difficulty in establishing rapport with a wide variety of people
  • Experience difficulty in adapting their personality style to others with different or non-complimentary styles
  • Have difficulty recognizing and responding to subtle verbal, non-verbal and behavioural cues

2. Focus

What to look for in good performers:

  • Are goal-orientated and have the ability to articulate their goals clearly and assign timelines
  • Do not depend upon the sales manager for direction or guidance
  • Possess the self-discipline and conscientiousness to service customers and develop the business from that customer on successive sales calls
  • Clear, direct answers to interview questions

Poor performers:

  • Need to have performance objectives/standards defined for them and need occasional reminders of what those objectives are
  • Need structure and external assistance from a manager to keep them from being distracted and "on track” with their objectives
  • Are anxious about things being performed according to the rules or established procedures
  • Tend to get distracted  and involved in behaviours and relationships that do little towards meeting long-term objectives

3. Responsibility

What to look for in good performers:

  • Possess an appropriate sense of urgency, as exemplified in the need to see the sale progress and to bring situations to a resolution
  • Anticipate consequences and evaluate alternatives before acting
  • Tend to not have excuses for a situation and take action when situations require action
  • Maintain a positive outlook towards situations and people—tends to admire, and not to criticize a lot
  • Can accept valid criticisms and suggestions for performance improvement

Poor performers:

  • Tend to blame people, circumstances and other external factors for why something did not succeed or why something was not completed
  • Are comfortable with the status quo and perform only what is required of them
  • Fail to go above and beyond what is required to meet customer expectations

4. Optimism

What to look for in good performers:

  • Initiative and the ability to focus on opportunities and solutions
  • Focus on what can be done as opposed to what cannot be accomplished
  • Refusal to allow rejection on one sales call to affect their ability to perform on the next
  • Persistence in forcing an important issue even in the face of possible rejection

Poor performers:

  • Experience “paralysis” when faced with setbacks, problems or obstacles
  • May suffer from inconsistent performance, or have a sales track record filled with peaks and valleys

5. Ego-drive

What to look for in good performers:

  • Enjoy competitiveness and constantly look for ways to measure themselves against their peers
  • Possess leadership qualities and is not afraid to exert pressure to influence others
  • Enjoy sales as a profession for it provides personal gratification and ego enhancement
  • Determined to win and willing to take risks

Poor performers:

  • Rely on manipulation instead of trust and rapport for results
  • Possess  a “win-at-all costs” attitude often at other people’s expense
  • Find minimal personal gratification in making a sale