Sales Personality: 10 Traits to Look Before You Hire

Although AI, machine learning, and automation are revolutionizing the way we sell, the art of sales persists.

This is true even in a remote-first or hybrid work setting where reliance on technology is more than ever.

Our humanity and personality are as essential now as they've ever been in B2B sales, where both buyers and sellers are people.

When hiring new salespeople, focus on personality characteristics rather than job-specific skills. You don't have time to teach classes on how to have a winning sales personality.

A Harvard Business Review article, suggests "hire people for their personality, then train for skill.”

It is more common than you may think for a sales manager to be completely blind to their employees' personality, and it can lead to some serious consequences.

Both skills and character traits are critical in the world of sales. They may appear similar, but they represent two different aspects of a professional person. Writing isn't the only creative talent.

Writing abilities, for example, are a form of talent. Self-motivation is a personality trait in its own right.

People with talents can learn new things and improve their skills; however, personalities cannot be swiftly or easily changed and are difficult to enhance over time.

[toc]

Sales Personality: The Definition

A sales personality is a set of characteristics that are linked to successful selling.

A person with a sales personality typically has all of the skills that lead to better sales performance: inspiring genuine trust, developing strong connections, finding the best possible solutions to problems, following up consistently, showing grace under pressure, and closing higher-value transactions faster.

Here are ten sales personality characteristics to help you soar your sales career's horizons.

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is one of the most important life skills.

Many studies have shown that people who are more conscientious are happier, healthier, and better-off in many aspects of their lives.

Conscientiousness has been praised by renowned author and academic Steve W. Martin as well as billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett for including responsibility, accountability, honesty, and dependability among its several qualities.

People who are conscientious plan ahead and organize things so that they can succeed.

They accept responsibility for their actions and hold themselves accountable for their performance. People who are conscientious are recognized for keeping their end of the bargain.

Team Player

In today's sales environments, it's time for a new type of creature. To succeed in the digital economy, only sociable and flexible merchants can survive.

Today, to finalize a single transaction and succeed as a team, it takes a game plan executed by many actors.

B2B sales professionals that dislike working together and don't have the ability to adapt to new tools, approaches, or tactics will encounter difficulties

Curiosity

A virtue is a quality of being open-minded. Curiosity is a key requirement for learning virtually any sales ability, but to master a skill, a learner must be interested.

A seller with a natural interest in new things is more receptive to new ways of doing things and enjoys learning innovative tools and techniques.

The sales profession is always changing, and most top-tier professionals find excitement in gaining new skills and honing their talents is one of the essential traits for a sales personality.

Drive

It's self-evident that a lack of enthusiasm will have an effect on your performance. If you're not enthusiastic about something, it'll show.

But how can you stay positive in a profession where everyone else is down? You draw inspiration from within, not from external circumstances beyond your control.

Sellers who are self-motivated maintain the energy and competitiveness they need to effectively interact with consumers and exceed their performance standards. Remember, you don't want to be dealing with their sloth on a daily basis.

Even though remote workers have less day-to-day management, truly driven salespeople will not struggle to sustain their motivation in a remote environment.

Grit

Salespeople must be more tenacious in order to succeed in a tough sales environment.

Grit allows a seller to keep pursuing the objective even after many rejections, disappointments, and stumbles.

Sellers with grit have the capacity to recover from setbacks and reschedule their next meeting as if it were their first.

Optimism

It's all about optimism. It's easier to connect with and work with optimistic sellers.

Buyers can sense their good energy and are more inclined to feel favorable toward your product when they have a good opinion of the seller.

They will have established a connection even if no transaction occurs, which is something.

According to a MetLife study, professionals with a positive attitude sold at least 57% better than pessimists.

Passion for Sales

Finally, despite being initially opposed to the profession, the vast majority of professionals who excel in sales fall in love with it over time.

You can't stay in sales for long unless you develop a passion for selling and empathy for customers.

Successful salespeople have something to look forward to at work every day: ambition and enthusiasm.

Goal-Oriented

Not only do successful peddlers have a goal in mind, but they also stay focused on it.

Being goal-oriented implies sellers create and implement efficient strategies to get them closer to their team's overall business goals.

If an account needs the approval of seven decision-makers, for example, goal-oriented sellers will pursue each decision-maker and use the appropriate customized approach to obtain everyone's agreement.

Salespeople that achieve high sales rates love the process of setting objectives and visualizing the fruits of their labor.

Empathy

Today's sellers must go above and beyond sociability in order to achieve excellence.

They should have enough empathy to correctly perceive where people are coming from, which experiences genuinely please them, and which pain spots cause the greatest discomfort.

Because business has shifted toward a buyer-focused focus, sellers must internalize their compassion into a customer-centric perspective.

Sellers with a high degree of empathy are better listeners, negotiators, and closers of deals with customers.

Humility

High-performers tend to be more modest than sales bros in the B2B SaaS business.

Many purchasers want businesspeople that are approachable rather than pushy in today's buyer-centric B2B market. humble sellers are more likely to attribute other people's input and have better rapport-building skills.

In Conclusion

While some qualities may be acquired over time, they are largely inherited and might require more work than it's worth to acquire.

That is why coachable sales reps are the ones you want on your team.

Of course, this also demands a level of humility and ambition as we discussed above. Those who are dedicated to their sales career aren't afraid to get constructive criticism in order to improve.

In this new remote-first (or hybrid) selling scenario, salespeople must rely on CRMs, sales engagement software, and AI more than ever before.

Anyone who refuses to change with the times will be left behind. Tech-savvy sellers will embrace new technologies and use technology to help them work smarter.