6 Qualities Of The Modern Day Sales Professional

You probably know already that I often speak and write about the evolution of the modern-day buyer.

However, simply adapting to some new and advanced techniques is not enough.

Today’s sales professional has to evolve along with the modern-day buyer in every aspect.

And this is something we stress time and time again in our Sales Training.

So, let’s take a moment and identify some of the qualities needed for today’s modern-day sales professional.

 Today’s Sales Professional Is A True Believer

You have to believe wholeheartedly in what you do and sell.

However today, that requirement is more important than ever before.

Today’s consumer is so up to date on your industry and is willing to play you off with the competition, that you need an unwavering conviction in your product, service and company more so now than at any time in the past.

Today’s buyer will test you, like never before.

Current clients threaten to leave; prospects demand more for less, and the economy bites at your profits.

If you do not know in your heart that your product, service and pricing is the best value and benefit for the customer, you have a problem.

Today’s Sales Professional Is An Expert

Today’s modern consumer is educated and has access to more information about you and what you sell, than ever before in history.

It’s not uncommon for the prospect to know as much or even more than the sales person about their product or service.

Having rudimentary information, experience and skill about what you do is no longer acceptable.

Today you must be a bona-fide expert in your field, which requires hundreds, perhaps thousands of hours of study and due diligence.

Today’s Sales Professional Is Technologically Advanced

If you are not yet making the most use of current technology you are a dinosaur awaiting extinction.

Things like CRM maximisation, sales process management, time management, multi-media, e-marketing, e-prospecting, and social networking avenues and techniques are no longer a luxury—they are the foundation of your business.

If you are still using sticky-notes to follow up on prospects, a hand-written time and appointment scheduling system and you have no idea of how to integrate your message into sites like LinkedIn; then you are operating in the past.

Today’s Sales Professional Has A Plan

Nothing that you do today as a modern-day sales person should be by sheer fluke.

Everything you do should be part of a sophisticated and well thought out plan, from your daily work schedule, to your sales interaction to your answers to sales objections.

Today’s professional has all of these things planned out in advance and is never caught by surprise.

If you do not already know exactly what objections you will get, precisely how many telephone calls you need to make next week; how many emails you need to send out or how many proposals you must write to reach your goals, then you have not arrived.

Today’s Sales Professional Is A Performance Analyst

In addition to knowing how to gather all of your sales performance data via sophisticated CRM software, you must know what to do with the information.

While today’s modern sales professionals works hard; they work smart.

When sales are off, it is not always the result of not closing enough sales.

In fact, slow sales may not have anything to do with your closing average.

You must know how to analyse your performance to know exactly where you need to make changes or improvements.

Perhaps the problem is the length of response time to web inquirers, or maybe it is that you are having a problem with gatekeeper screens.

Yet still, maybe your lack of sales is due to prospects that stagnate in the sales process that you never get a chance to close.

Today’s Sales Professional Uses Updated Sales Techniques

It is clear that the sales techniques of the past are not as effective as they once were – take cold calling as an example.

Today’s sales professional has continued to study and learn new modern sales approaches.

Gone are the days of the smile and dial rhetoric, and the old pitch mentality meant to slam the prospect with benefits.

Today’s professional understands how to uncover problems, expose needs and offer solutions.

The modern sales expert is an advisor.

Today’s sales professional has evolved along with the modern-day buyer, make sure you upgrade your game by taking courses such as Telesales Training and generic Sales Training Courses.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training