What personal characteristics do you need for working in a commercial role?
First, you need to be honest, have integrity and be communicative. People say, ‘If you are a good salesperson, you can sell anything’. Is that true? Well, we believe you need to have a genuine interest in what you are selling, as well as knowledge of the market and sector in which you operate.
To be successful in sales, the requirement is a combination of personal and professional skills. Here we have gathered some personal requirements that you should look for when hiring candidates for sales roles:
Communication skills
You often see that ‘Excellent communication skills’ is required. A sales professional must be able to communicate effectively with people, clients, prospects and as well as internal colleagues. As well as verbal and written communication is important, and not to forget, active listening skills.
Language skills
Most sales are being done in a local language. For example, Swedish in Sweden, and Norwegian in Norway. But for international sales, usually, fluency in English is a must.
We say it is important that a salesperson is able to ‘speak the language of the customer’. This does not always relate to the ‘native language’ as such, but the ability to adapt to the way someone is speaking, understanding its culture and the way a language is being used.
Interpersonal skills
Sales professionals are people with a ‘must have’ of strong interpersonal skills, in order to build relationships with clients and internal colleagues. This is important in order to be able to empathize with clients, handle objections effectively and basically interact well with people.
Negotiation skills
To be a good negotiator, one needs persuasion and negotiation skills. Professionals within sales must be able to persuade and negotiate well with people in order to close deals. One needs to identify and address the needs of clients, present good solutions and lead the negotiation of terms that meet the needs of both parties.
Self-motivation
In order always to move forward, people working in sales need to possess a high level of self-motivation and a drive to succeed. Many sales jobs have the set up that you are ‘alone on the road’, then you will need to be able to motivate yourself to keep going. Successful sales professionals can set goals, work independently and stay focused on achieving set objectives.
Adaptability & flexibility
A sales-minded person needs to be adaptable and flexible, especially when circumstances are changing. They need to adjust their approach based on the needs of the clients (that can change) and not to forget; the market conditions.
Resilience
As market conditions can change, as well as the requirements of the client, the salesperson needs to be able to handle rejection and setbacks. This requires a strong sense of resilience and the ability to tackle disappointments.
Product knowledge
Very important – however, this can always be taught. They need to have a strong understanding of the products or services they are selling. They will need to be willing to continuous learning and always stay up-to-date with industry trends and product and market developments.
And they say ‘smile when you dial’ and a positive attitude is always good!
Do you want to know more about various roles within the sales field? Here you can read more.
