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The jump from good to great in sales isn't a magic trick. It's about sharpening your skills and embracing fresh trends. Strong salespeople close deals, but exceptional ones cultivate lasting customer relationships that fuel referrals. They consistently exceed quotas, turn rejections into opportunities, and become trusted advisors.
Okay, but what skills you should have to be great in 2024?
There are two main skills categories:
Let’s start with the hard skills.
Every role in a corporation requires job-specific hard skills, often known as technical abilities. To put it another way, each job within an organization will require a unique set of talents.
An accountant, for example, needs to be able to compare bank statements. Thus, an architect or marketer is not required to have that understanding. Similarly, most accountants will not use their skills to prepare corporate presentations.
Depending on the job, you might face a range of roles in sales, including SDR, BDR and others.
The common skills for all of these roles are:
This is basic, we all know that. Right? But we're talking about greatness here.
These hard skills go beyond that to make you extra good:
According to HubSpot's 2023 Sales Trends, 56% of sales leaders believe selling remotely has made selling easier. And video is an important part of that.
Video is used at several stages of the purchasing process. It may be used to connect with new leads, answer their questions, follow up and re-engage with prospects who have gone silent, conduct product demos on a large scale, and make your proposals more compelling.
If you want to be excellent, you should definitely improve your video talents. Improve your speech, tone, and tempo. Determine the ideal length for each sort of video. Experiment with various topics, from product demos to proposal walk-throughs, to determine which is more effective with leads.
AI is on everyone's mind this year, and it will undoubtedly be a topic of conversation in the following years. According to HubSpot's Sales Trend Data, 83% of sales leaders who now use AI for sentiment analysis believe it is successful at detecting a buyer's emotion.
Okay, but Data Analysis? Isn't this only for tech people?
No, not really.
The days of trusting your gut to lead you are long gone. You must use the virtually limitless quantity of information that modern salespeople have about their prospects to choose who to target.
Let’s imagine you analyzed some sales data, and it looks like emailing leads from companies with over 100 employees converts at a 20% higher rate.
The data gives you insights that you should prioritize reaching out to those bigger companies first. That way you can close deals faster by focusing on the leads most likely to convert.
A great sales professional shouldn't rely on guesswork. You should use data and research to understand your customers better.
In short, buyers want info based on research, and salespeople need it to succeed. While a quick internet search can be helpful, the real key is understanding what your customers need.
The key to research is to know how to ask.
You can ask your clients and potential clients directly through surveys and making changes based on their feedback.
There are many tools to help you do surveys, like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms.
Okay, we covered the hard skills, but you need more than that to achieve greatness,
Let's talk about the soft skills.
The sales world has undergone a significant shift. In the past, salespeople could often get by with inauthentic tactics, like pretending to be a big sports fan to mirror a client's interests or relying on generic scripts. However, building trust and rapport with prospects today hinges on one crucial factor: genuineness.
Instead of resorting to fabricated interests, embrace your true self. Be upfront with your client – "While museums aren't necessarily my favorite, I understand your passion for them. I'd be happy to join you on a visit to learn more about what you find fascinating."
This honesty might seem unconventional, but it demonstrates a key strength – your willingness to step outside your comfort zone and expand your horizons. This open-mindedness will likely be well-received by your prospect, even if museums aren't your personal preference. They'll appreciate your genuine effort to connect with them on a deeper level.
Customers want salespeople who listen, not just talk. Although salespeople naturally want to explain their products, focusing on understanding the customer's needs is even more important.
When salespeople don't listen well, they send bad signals.
Customers might feel rushed or unimportant. In contrast, good listening builds trust. Customers feel respected and confident that the salesperson is genuinely trying to help them solve their problems. The result? Less resistance and a higher chance of a successful sale.
In short, to succeed in sales you need to know when to talk and how to actively listen.
Sales success hinges on building genuine connections, not just chasing quotas. While hitting targets is important, some salespeople mistakenly believe every interaction is solely about closing a deal right then. However, effective sales require more than a quick pitch. Buyers prioritize trust and authenticity from salespeople.
Building rapport throughout the sales process is key to earning that trust. Focusing solely on the sale itself often backfires. Instead, ask thoughtful questions and actively listen to the customer's needs.
Open-ended questions are powerful tools for rapport building. Examples include inquiring about their goals, referencing their online activity related to your industry's challenges, or even their experience within the company. By engaging in conversation and understanding their perspective, you build trust and increase your chances of a successful sale.
Don't underestimate the power of discipline in sales, even though it might sound old-fashioned. We often forget its importance because it reminds us of structured environments like school. But the toughest part of improving your sales skills is sticking to disciplined practices at every step.
The rewards of discipline are clear: consistent and better results. For example, simply calling a prospect back at a scheduled time can increase your sales chances significantly. In other words, skipping these small commitments can cost you sales.
So how can you be more disciplined?
The key to discipline? Effective time management.
A study by Business Wire show a shocking lack of time management among salespeople. Only 28% use a systematic approach, and a mere 37% dedicate time to income-generating activities.
Effective time management is crucial for winning deals and nurturing leads. Invest in learning time management techniques and tools to become a successful salesperson.
The jump from good to great in sales isn't about magic tricks. It's about sharpening your hard and soft skills and embracing the latest trends.
Key Skills for Great Salespeople in 2024:
Remember: Great salespeople are trusted advisors who cultivate lasting customer relationships and consistently exceed quotas.
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