Original Source:  TOPO

“The sales profession is undergoing some pretty radical changes. The buyer is in charge, field sales is moving inside, technology is transforming the profession. It’s so bad that some people are predicting that 15M sales jobs will disappear in the coming years. To survive in this environment, salespeople need a new set of  skills. Here at TOPO, identified a core set of 18 sales skills by analyzing these trends and watching what makes some of the world’s best salespeople successful in the new sales environment. The best salespeople:

• Understand what the buyer wants
• Sell in a buyer-responsive manner
• Use psychology to engage the buyer
• Establish trust with the buyer
• Communicate succinctly
• Act on what the customer is saying
• Demonstrate subject matter expertise
• Help (as opposed to close) their prospects
• Tell really compelling stories
• Are great copywriters
• Sell effectively over the phone
• Are socially active with target buyers
• Personalize their interactions
• Use a variety of marketing skills
• Help prospects achieve next steps
• Are more productive because of sales technology
• Tie daily activities to quota achievement
• Manage their pipeline like a portfolio…”

http://blog.topohq.com/sales-skills-18-skills-every-salesperson-master/

Contributors: Open Source
Categories: Industry Articles, SIG U Resource
SRC Type: Talent Management