than an ‘it’s-all-about-me’ sales person.”

What is the Profile of a Top Salesperson?

If you were to create a profile of a top sales person—that four percent of the sales population that accounts for 94 percent of the sales—you would see five factors converging. “It’s what I refer to as ‘the perfect storm for sales,’” says Asher. This profile can be most comprehensively determined through use of a thorough

The Number-one Skill a Salesperson Needs

Consider these two statistics about business-to-business sales:

* Four percent of the sales people in the U.S. sell 94 percent of the goods and services, according to two meta studies—one by Harvard University and one from the Gallup Organization.
* Eighty percent of business-to-business (B2B) transactions are the result of relationships/consulting type sales, where the buyer has to like, trust, and get along with the seller, according to current surveys done by “Selling Power” and “Sales and Marketing Management” magazines. (Twenty percent are commodity sales where price is the driving factor. Today, in some industries, nearly all sales are commodity-based.) The statistics tell the story: Selling yourself is the most important sale in 80 percent of the B2B sales.

What is the most important skill of a salesperson?

Listening. It seems contradictory. “How I sell myself if I’m listening?” It’s simple.

* Ask questions.
* Listen to the answers.
* Respond with comments that show you listened, and ask more questions.

In the end, there will be opportunities to suggest your solutions. “When a sales person starts out with a presentation, most of us feel like we’re being sold to. Most of the country’s top salespeople recognize the negative psychology of that,” says Asher. Instead of polishing up the perfect presentation, top sales people will ask about the prospect’s issues, problems, pain and requirements. After they’ve unearthed all that, they offer a solution. “Now the psychology is switched around. Once a relationship is established, they act more like a trusted, helping advisor than an ‘it’s-all-about-me’ sales person.”

What is the Profile of a Top Salesperson?

If you were to create a profile of a top sales person—that four percent of the sales population that accounts for 94 percent of the sales—you would see five factors converging. “It’s what I refer to as ‘the perfect storm for sales,’” says Asher. This profile can be most comprehensively determined through use of a thorough o

here the buyer has to like, trust, and get along with the seller, according to current surveys done by “Selling Power” and “Sales and Marketing Management” magazines. (Twenty percent are commodity sales where price is the driving factor. Today, in some industries, nearly all sales are commodity-based.) The statistics tell the story: Selling yourself is the most important sale in 80 percent of the B2B sales.

What is the most important skill of a salesperson?

Listening. It seems contradictory. “How I sell myself if I’m listening?” It’s simple.

* Ask questions.
* Listen to the answers.
* Respond with comments that show you listened, and ask more questions.

In the end, there will be opportunities to suggest your solutions. “When a sales person starts out with a presentation, most of us feel like we’re being sold to. Most of the country’s top salespeople recognize the negative psychology of that,” says Asher. Instead of polishing up the perfect presentation, top sales people will ask about the prospect’s issues, problems, pain and requirements. After they’ve unearthed all that, they offer a solution. “Now the psychology is switched around. Once a relationship is established, they act more like a trusted, helping advisor than an ‘it’s-all-about-me’ sales person.”

What is the Profile of a Top Salesperson?

If you were to create a profile of a top sales person—that four percent of the sales population that accounts for 94 percent of the sales—you would see five factors converging. “It’s what I refer to as ‘the perfect storm for sales,’” says Asher. This profile can be most comprehensively determined through use of a thorough

s the most important skill of a salesperson?

Listening. It seems contradictory. “How I sell myself if I’m listening?” It’s simple.

* Ask questions.
* Listen to the answers.
* Respond with comments that show you listened, and ask more questions.

In the end, there will be opportunities to suggest your solutions. “When a sales person starts out with a presentation, most of us feel like we’re being sold to. Most of the country’s top salespeople recognize the negative psychology of that,” says Asher. Instead of polishing up the perfect presentation, top sales people will ask about the prospect’s issues, problems, pain and requirements. After they’ve unearthed all that, they offer a solution. “Now the psychology is switched around. Once a relationship is established, they act more like a trusted, helping advisor than an ‘it’s-all-about-me’ sales person.”

What is the Profile of a Top Salesperson?

If you were to create a profile of a top sales person—that four percent of the sales population that accounts for 94 percent of the sales—you would see five factors converging. “It’s what I refer to as ‘the perfect storm for sales,’” says Asher. This profile can be most comprehensively determined through use of a thorough

ing sold to. Most of the country’s top salespeople recognize the negative psychology of that,” says Asher. Instead of polishing up the perfect presentation, top sales people will ask about the prospect’s issues, problems, pain and requirements. After they’ve unearthed all that, they offer a solution. “Now the psychology is switched around. Once a relationship is established, they act more like a trusted, helping advisor than an ‘it’s-all-about-me’ sales person.”

What is the Profile of a Top Salesperson?

If you were to create a profile of a top sales person—that four percent of the sales population that accounts for 94 percent of the sales—you would see five factors converging. “It’s what I refer to as ‘the perfect storm for sales,’” says Asher. This profile can be most comprehensively determined through use of a thorough

than an ‘it’s-all-about-me’ sales person.”

What is the Profile of a Top Salesperson?

If you were to create a profile of a top sales person—that four percent of the sales population that accounts for 94 percent of the sales—you would see five factors converging. “It’s what I refer to as ‘the perfect storm for sales,’” says Asher. This profile can be most comprehensively determined through use of a thorough online sales assessment, but can briefly be diagnosed with the following list

The factors are:

1. They are “knowledge giants.” “They know what they’re talking about. They have a perfect understanding of their product or service. They understand their competition and the competitive landscape. They come across to prospects as ‘go to’ people because they really know what they’re talking about, and they can help prospects solve real business problems.”

2. They have an aptitude for sales. It’s in the DNA. “All of us have a natural aptitude for some jobs and won’t do well in others. In Jim Collins’ book, “Good to Great,” one of his bottom lines is to get the right people in the right seat on the bus, in jobs where they have natural talent or aptitude,” says Asher.

3. They have the top 10 skills of the super salespeople, which are generally unknown to the average sales person. “Some of these skills are counterintuitive. They do not come naturally so they must be learned,” Asher explains. For instance, someone with a “driver” personality like Asher’s is not a natural-born listener—yet listening is the number one 1 skill. So it must be learned. Another skill is patience coupled with perseverance. “Most sales people give a lot of prospects a few contacts. Top salespeople pick a few top prospects and give them a lot of contacts. When you get a new B2B prospect, you have to give them on average 12 touches before they will buy,” he says. In Asher’s sales training experience, when you give a person with a natural talent for sales the top 10 skills of the super salespeople, you will usually see an explosive growth in sales by that salesperson.

4.