7 traits of salespeople who succeed in B2B sales

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A post from the POLISH YELLOW PAGES® blog (formerly DATABOT.PL), originally published on 11.03.2023. Some information (tools, prices, regulations) may have changed since then.

The 7 key traits of successful salespeople who crush every target and quota

In 1963 Joseph Samuel Girard began a sales streak that lasted until 1978. Considered the greatest salesman of all time, Joe sold 13,001 cars in those 15 years. But how?

You may not manage – or may not even want – to sell 13,000 units of your product, but the basic principles of success are the same. A huge challenge is that there are many negative preconceptions that prospects hold about salespeople in general.

So whether you are a B2B sales rep who wants to uncover the secrets of selling to boost your results, or a sales manager looking for new talent for your team who will be able to top every ranking, below we are going to reveal the secret ingredients that make a great salesperson.

Breaking salespeople stereotypes

Like the rest of us, every salesperson has a job to do, and frankly it is not an easy one. Not only do they have to sell you a product or service, they also have to work out how to overcome any stereotypes or preconceptions you already have about them.

One of the most common stereotypes is “the salesman”. They are wildly competitive and definitely not team players – most often they are seen as loud, pushy and greedy.

Another stereotype is that great salespeople are born, not made. Of course, some have the right personality predisposition to go into sales, but that will not help them succeed in the long run.

But how can salespeople get their prospects to look past all this, build trust and win the deal? Let’s take a look:

The 7 most important traits of great salespeople

Successful salespeople are not born, they are made. So what exactly should you aim for? There is plenty of data on the subject, so we interviewed sales leaders at Polish Yellow Pages ® [Mariusz Galikowski, Rajmund Tochwin] and Echobot ltd PLC London [Alexa Aleksandra Dobrzyń] to ask them what they think are the most important traits that make a salesperson great. Do you think you can guess what number one is before you reach the end of the list?

1. Be authentic

People love to be wowed both by a great pitch and by a product or service that will be the solution they need. But sometimes neither the pitch, nor the person, nor the offer is what it claims to be. Aleksandra Dobrzyń, Senior Account Executive at Polish Yellow Pages, knows a thing or two about bringing your authentic self to every conversation.

Aleksandra is active in another business and on LinkedIn, hosts several podcasts Girl in Sales and is a brand ambassador in the YMG group of Poland. She says all these things, although not directly related to the DataBot™ brand, make up who she is. It is 100% her brand. When people interact with her outside the context of her job, they get the same person she brings to a cold call.

Authenticity goes hand in hand with credibility. Be who you say you are and do what you say you will do. That encourages authenticity on your prospect’s side too!

2. Be persistent but patient

90% of salespeople give up after four sales calls, which is incredibly fast considering that the average sales cycle for a B2B company is around 102 days! A great salesperson must be persistent in the long game.

Being persistent is the other side of the “pushy” coin, and great salespeople know how to make it work in their favour. They do their research so they can personalise outreach for each prospect. You are selling a product, yes, but you are also selling an experiencethe prospect will never forget. You are trying to build trust during the first stages of the sales cycle, not make a sale.

A sales rep must learn something new about the prospect’s needs at every touchpoint and use that knowledgeto build a bridge to the eventual sale.

3. Be ethical

Remember the section on stereotypes? Another negative stereotype people have about salespeople is that they are unethical. Aleksandra Dobrzyń, Manager at Leadfeeder said one of the best ways to build trust is to be open about situationsin which your product is not the solution the prospect needs.

“When you’re sitting on a discovery call with a prospect and they describe their pain points to you, you have to be ready to say ‘Hey, I’m glad you took the time to talk to me about your needs, but I don’t think we’re the solution for you’”.

Aleksandra’s colleague Marek Sikorski, Success Team at DataBot, agreed and added “Don’t sell for the sake of selling. You have to be customer-centric, and that means recognising that you may not be the right fit to help them. Anything else is simply unethical”.

Aleksandra continued “Just because you or your product aren’t the solution they need right now doesn’t mean you never will be. Making sure you leave them feeling they can trust you is worth so much… Then, when they need your product or service, they will remember that you were the one who gave them honest advice.”

4. Be self-motivated

The pressure of targets and closing deals can be counterproductive, when it comes to motivation. Successful salespeople know that external factors are not what pushes you forward – it is your inner fire that drives you towards success.

Of course, some teams compete among themselves, but if being better than a colleague is what motivates you, you won’t achieve lasting success over your whole career. Instead, let your motivation drive you to become a better version of yourself. That leads us directly to the next trait:

3. Be curious and eager to learn

Self-motivation goes hand in hand with curiosity and a willingness to learn. When you are driven to keep improving yourself, you can never be content to rest on your laurels. There is always something new to learn, so you have to be eagerto learn it.

Curious why a prospect did or didn’t choose you? Ask! Don’t assume. Join a sales community on LinkedIn to share best practices you can put into action on your very next call.

Get book recommendations, listen to podcasts or check out YouTube channels with engaging content and sales tips.

There is a treasure trove of information available 24/7 – you just have to go out and use it.

2. Be resilient and have grit

Quite often people use resilience and grit interchangeably, but they are not the same. You can have one without the other, but effective sales reps have both! You often face resistance and rejection. Being resilient and bouncing back from negative experiences so you can move on to the next goal is also part of being persistent.

Grit is perseverance in pursuing something by putting in the work over a long period. So your prospect said they can’t talk to you today? Don’t feel downcast and don’t suggest a time – let the customer leadby proposing a new date and time. You put the next step in their hands, taking away the pressure to agree to your timeline.

1. Be a good listener

Are you surprised by the number one choice among the sales professionals we surveyed? We’re not! Every one of them chose this trait as the “must have” among all the traits. And for a very good reason.

If you think back to the stereotypes, many people believe successful salespeople have to be good talkers.

Well, yes and no.

Throughout this piece we have talked about building stronger relationships with prospects and honing strong communication skills as essential. Communication is a two-way street, and making a prospect feel heard has nothing to do with sales quotas.

Being a good listener is often linked to having empathy, which is part of the soft skills package that can take you from being a good salesperson to being a great one. Putting the customer at the centre of your sales strategy is something every B2B salesperson should strive for. If you’re listening, you’re learning.

How to train for success KZ MANAGER B2B B2C 

If salespeople are made, not born, what kind of training should be carried out to make sure a sales rep has all the tools to close a deal? Forbes reports that 55% of salespeople lack basic sales skills at the start of their sales careers. That means you need a training plan to take people to the next level.

According to the RAIN Group, onboarding a top employee takes 15 months on average! It is extremely important, however, that ongoing training also takes place. Another study shows that 84% of sales training is forgotten within the first three months. So create a dynamic training system to keep the quality of your sales team at a consistently, high level.

Agree on best practices, product and service knowledge and goals to make sure every sales rep has an equal chance in a conversation. The conclusion is that companies that invest in training are 57% more effective than their competitors!

What does the ideal sales rep look like in a trainer’s eyes?

We asked Rajmund Tochwin, Senior Sales Enablement Manager and sales trainer at Echobot ltd., what the top 3 salespeople in the team have in common:

1. They focus on why they do what they are trying to achieve. Not just as individuals but as a team. Why are they in sales? If it’s for the commission, it’s for the wrong reason. Ultimately what you are trying to do is help people find solutions to their problems.

2. They are hard-working. They are willing to go the extra mile for their customers and themselves. When others have long given up, they keep trying to go for the prize. They are not trying to be better than others; they are trying to be better than they were yesterday.

3. They ask questions! No matter how much experience or success a sales rep may have, they should stay curious and keep learning. If they are new to sales, they should sit in on calls as often as possible. Salespeople should always ask prospects questions. It is never as simple as them just knowing they need a service or solution. Why do they need it? How will they benefit from it? What results can they expect?

“Getting people to focus on why they are there, showing them how to work hard at their craft and reminding themthat they should always ask questions are simple concepts that can be passed on and trained. But our top three reps also have presence and a strong sense of self-worth. That is not something you can train; it comes from doing the actual work once they have mastered the three things I mentioned.”

Conclusions: listen, learn and be memorable

Being a salesperson who helps break the “pushy, greedy, loud” stereotype takes time, effort and a good ear. Of course people want to find the thing that will help solve their pain point, but how they get there is just as important. The customer is always on a journey with you, and whether that journey is comfortable is entirely up to you!

Be a sales professional, not a salesman!

Being a salesperson who helps break the “pushy, greedy, loud” stereotype takes time, effort and a good ear. Of course people want to find the thing that will help solve their problem, but how they get there is just as important. The customer is always on a journey with you, and whether that journey is comfortable is entirely up to you!

Be a professional in sales, not a salesman!

DEAR salespeople – so how did Joseph Samuel Girard sustain his success over such a long period? He sent holiday cards to every customer, every year. This seemingly simple gesture ensured that at the end of the year Girard would be associated with good feelings, making him memorable to his customers. Leave your prospects feeling that you care about what matters to them, and in no time you will go from good to great.

Tags: B2B sales, Sales B2B, B2B B2C marketing databases, B2B growth, B2B data, Data Hub PL, Heatly Alex

Mariusz Biniak – creator of the POLISH YELLOW PAGES® brand (formerly DATABOT.PL) and author of a blog on B2B sales. Disclosure: the author is connected with the publisher of THE BUSINESS TIME.

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