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What Skills are Needed for Sales Jobs?

Sheri Cyprus
Sheri Cyprus

The ability to be persuasive is an essential skill for all sales jobs. If you can't convince people they need to purchase your product or service, you really don't belong in sales. Of course, this doesn't mean you have to persuade every potential customer to buy -- that is impossible. But, you do have to make enough potential customers become buyers to meet a sales quota or projected number of sales to make a company profit. In communicating how the product or service you're selling will meet the buyer's needs and desires, product knowledge plus an ability to relate to people is crucial.

When you think about it, proving yourself in a sales job begins with the interview. Something many employment seekers fail to realize is that they must sell themselves to the interviewer in terms of their ability to do the job. This is even more relevant in sales jobs because the main skill you're selling is your ability to sell. You are your own product and you must have a belief in yourself and an ability to sell your own benefits before you can successfully sell other products or services. Just as a salesperson must convince buyers of why their product or service is a better fit than competitor's offerings, job seekers for sales jobs must be able to show that they're the best fit for the company.

Sales personnel must have a positive attitude and enthusiasm for their products.
Sales personnel must have a positive attitude and enthusiasm for their products.

Communication skills are crucial for the sales job applicant because it's not just about education or experience, but how the candidate presents that information to the interviewer. Successful candidates for sales jobs have more than good written and verbal communication skills – they must be able to hold eye contact in a comfortable manner and know when to listen and when to speak.

Many salespeople have a quota they must try to meet.
Many salespeople have a quota they must try to meet.

Sales skills aren't just about a hard sell, or selling the product or service aggressively. The attitude of the salesperson must be likable and confident. The more likable and reasonable people in sales jobs are, the more successful they tend to be. This attitude coupled with a solid understanding of the product or service being sold can increase sales for a company. Salespeople must also be able to handle rejection well since, no matter how successful they are at sales, there will always be people that don't wish to buy the product or service they're selling.

Discussion Comments

suntan12

Comfyshoes- I had never looked at it that way. But, the sales person must also demonstrate confidence and establish credibility with his or her customer.

This starts with his or her image. Often a new real estate agent may opt to drive an expensive car or wear expensive clothes to give an illusion of success.

The customer will view the agent more favorable and assume that the agent must be successful even though the agent may be new and inexperienced.

comfyshoes

Understanding rejection and how it relates to sales makes a significant impact on how a sales person performs his or her job.

The book, “Sales Power” by Jose Silva demonstrates relaxation techniques that allow a sales person the ability to focus on his or her customer.

Silva forecasts the average rejection rate and tells his readers to view rejections as a step toward gaining acceptance.

For example, he writes that a typical telemarketer will see nine rejections before seeing an acceptance.

By changing the sales person’s perspective to anticipate potential rejection and see it as a means to making a sale, the sales person actually relaxes and is able to focus more on the customer’s needs and thus sell more.

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    • Sales personnel must have a positive attitude and enthusiasm for their products.
      By: mangostock
      Sales personnel must have a positive attitude and enthusiasm for their products.
    • Many salespeople have a quota they must try to meet.
      By: Kzenon
      Many salespeople have a quota they must try to meet.
    • Communication skills are crucial for holding a sales position.
      By: Odua Images
      Communication skills are crucial for holding a sales position.
    • Particularly in a job that entails sales, a candidate must "sell" her own skill set to the employer.
      By: taka
      Particularly in a job that entails sales, a candidate must "sell" her own skill set to the employer.
    • The ability of a person to sell themselves in a job interview may be a good indication of how they'll handle a job in sales.
      By: Rido
      The ability of a person to sell themselves in a job interview may be a good indication of how they'll handle a job in sales.