Some people say salesmen are born salesmen while others believe that training can help in making good salesmen.
Irrespective of these opinions, good salesman has certain qualities and abilities as a result he is able to perform better than others.
Philip Kolter has identified two basic qualities of good sales person namely, empathy and persuasion. But other have listed more. Some of the qualities of good sales persons are as follows:
- Ability to estimate customer’s needs and desires: He is alert and quickly determines what the customer wants and the best way to sell.
- Ambition : He likes to do a good job and is interested in getting ahead with your company.
- Appearance: Appearance means a lot today and successful salesman is neat and organised. He presents himself well in person. Also he keeps his desk, books and manuals neat and ready for use.
- Business Sense: He understands that you are in business to make a profit and quickly learns the ins-and out of your organisation.
- Courtesy : He reveals a sincere desire to help customers and treats them as guests even when he visits their places of business.
- Creativeness : Imagination vision and ability to create ideas make your man dynamic.
- Curiosity: He wants to learn all he can about his job, his products and his customers.
- Enthusiasm: There is nothing that can drain away a prospect’s buying interest more than a half-dead salesman. Dullness should be left at home. A salesmen must be radiate enthusiasm during and after the sales call.
- Figure Sense: He should have the mathematically ability to figure and fill up order from correctly and to make the necessary reports.
- Flexibility: A good salesman is able to adapt himself to a variety of customers. Each contact may require adapting the sales talk, speech habits and even appearance.
- Friendliness: A salesman should be able to make people like him and must like to meet people.
- Handwriting: He must write legibly so that his paper work can readily be understood by his office people and his customers.
- Health: Good health generates energy and energy is needed to sell. Poor health prevents many salesmen from fulfilling their potentials.
- Integrity: A salesman must be trusted to do his job well. He cannot help but be successful when his customers trust him.
- Interest in his job: He likes selling and working for your company.
- Knowledge: In some business, an applicant must also have thorough knowledge of the highly specialized products or services his employer offers. In some cases , this knowledge can be gained only by years of experience.
- Loyalty: He must be able to impress upon his customers the idea that his company is the best in the business.
- Mental ability: He has the intelligence to understand your products and those of your companies. He must know how to use word, to understand and direct people and to remember names and faces. He should also be able to understand prospective customers and know how to act under varying condition.
- Motivation: He must have more than just an interest is selling. Psychologists have found certain predominant patterns in men who have become really successfully sales men. They live in the present and not in future. They do not power over others and prefer not to work under close supervision.
- Originality: He is constantly searching  for new ideas to be used in selling your products and will suggest better ways of doing things.
- Persuasiveness: Very few products of any type actually sell themselves. They must be sold. Your man must have the ability to get people to agree. There are situations when persuasiveness may vary keeping in view the consumer’s response.
- Poise: His maturity is reflected in his behaviour. He should be positive and confident, energetic and businesslike. He should be able to demonstrate to your customers that he knows what he is can emphasize sales points with sincerity and friendliness.
Source : Tips for selling Life Insurance, Published by Sashi Publications. For buy this book please visite our site: www.sashipublications.com
