The 5 Traits of Great Sales People

As a professional speaker, I get to speak to some great teams, and it’s a real pleasure to present to people that are excited to be at an event or conference and last week was no exception.

I like to take the opportunity to mix and mingle with the attendees over lunch before my session if I can, and as the event was an awards ceremony for the company’s top sales achievers, it was a real opportunity for me to learn from them.

What are the secrets to being a top achiever in the real estate industry, which in anyone’s books, is a tough job to do when the market is buoyant never mind a bit flat?

As I mingled and chatted over lunch, it became apparent.

Take or find action

“It’s no use sitting in the staff room drinking coffee with your colleagues, you need to get out and meet new people all of the time” was one comment. “If you want a coffee, get out and get one, you never know who you might bump into”. I am a huge believer in that.

Wear a smile

I know it was an awards ceremony, but each and every person had a big smile, a smile that was genuine. The power of a smile is tremendous, it does wonders for the soul and is easily passed on. Making other people feel good is a sure fire way to be remembered.

Dress the part

Given the group were the best of the best, they all dressed appropriately; there was no competition for the most expensive flashy “salesy” suit. Dressing “just a little bit better” is all you need to aim for.

Focus on the end point

If your goal is to deliver $250m worth of settled transactions, monitor and plot every single transaction that gets you to that goal. I think it was Tom Peters that said “What gets measured gets done”. I bet each and every one of those top achievers had a totalizer stuck to their wall somewhere that they filled in after each sale.

Create a buzz

Awards aside, from the buzz it was obvious they loved their job. Many had been with the company for more than 10 years, some more than 20, and you don’t usually hang around that long if you’re not happy!

There is no rocket science, it always comes down to the same things: building relationships with others, doing the hard graft, measuring your success and having a little fun while you are doing it. Well-done guys, Cheers!