Important characteristics of modern sales professionals

The modern world has been highly dependent on innovations, and these innovations have brought a lot of crucial changes to the sales domain.

In the last few decades, customers have learned how to access a pool of information and rarely depend on the salesperson.

Old sales strategies have become obsolete, and thus consumers don’t see salespeople as a critical factor in their decision-making process.

In this modern scenario, businesses and sales professionals need to apply modern sales methods.

They must synchronize their sales activities with the modern business environment.

We are laying down some of the critical characteristics a modern sales professional must possess to excel in this advanced scenario.

There is no doubt in the fact that selling products or services is the sole mission of your business.

But to make you brand recognizable, you need more than the tight sales skills or sales people!

You need a mixture of sales expert who has the right years of experience in growing and maintaining professional relationships with customers.

1. Good at Social Selling

For businesses, their modern sales teams should have sales professionals that have good social selling skills.

• A vast majority of buyers use social media platforms for learning about businesses before making their buying decisions.
• If your modern sales professionals are good at social selling, they will be able to understand how consumers behave on these platforms.
• This way your sales team can reach a better number of consumers.

2. Good Emotional Intelligence

• This is the “social age,” and it has created a sort of role-reversal in this new age.
• The sales professional might have been more of a talker who used to charm the customers using his verbal skill set.
• The modern sales professional has developed his skills and now focuses more on understanding customers’ needs and preferences.
• Perfect modern sales professionals today spend a great deal of their time researching prospects on social networks.
• They learn about the customers’ professional responsibilities and the issues that come with their job.

Trusting their sales intelligence instinct, they also dig deeper into their interests.

This background work is carried out based on their social activity done with numerous online brands.

Be it LinkedIn or Twitter.

If your sales professionals can understand their prospects as individuals, establishing a more personal connection becomes easier.

3. Good at Analyzing Data

• Modern world runs on the way your big data analytical system churns the numbers and provide forecast reports.
• Modern sales professionals must understand the basic functioning of the data analysis.
• This will help them sort existing website and customer data for identifying various patterns.
• They also use this particular skill set for measuring the success of various other campaigns.

Being able to mine and decipher data helps modern sales professional foster new strategies.

4. Higher Sense of Adaptability

Adaptability has played a crucial role in the survival of many races and the same stands true for the survival of sales professionals.

• With the evolution of technology, they must evolve themselves to understand their customer and adapt to the strategies that are developed by your competitions.
• Associating with the leaders in their field helps them grow and understand the industry trends.
• Doing so allows the sales professionals to stay focused and keep an eye out for better opportunities.

5. A Relationship Builder

Members of your modern Sales team must be dedicated to helping their clients and developing a long-term relationship with them.

• Modern sales professionals must be able to build a certain degree of trust with your customer base
• It makes sure that these customers will provide you with long-term business in the future.
• Modern sales professionals will need to realize the ins and outs of the industry.
• This will help them access valuable information related to consumer behavior.
• Your sales professionals must know how and when to ask the right questions
• In order to understand what your customers really want.
• This in-turn lets them decipher what solution must be offered to them.

6. Can Process Development

The sales professionals in this modern era must have a standard process outlining the approach, to be taken for successfully closing a deal.

• Creating such a clear outline allows these sales professionals to automate diverse characteristics directly strengthening your sales team.
• When sales professionals start tracking their own performances they develop a sense of urgency.
• And it is not just towards closing a deal, but also about the various strategies they have been using to get the work done.
• Due to such a process, sales professionals adjust their approach and improve their efforts.

7. They must be Great Listeners

• Modern salespersons are well aware of the fact that the buyers are in complete control in today’s market.
• Modern customers have the necessary information at their disposal.
• They look for the most adaptable and easy to use solution that fulfills their needs.
• Modern sales managers must possess the skill of listening to their customers and not impose their own thoughts on them.
• They should be able to derive the customers need from the conversation that they have.

Conclusion

Some fun fact related to sales!

According to a research presented by Introhive, around 66% of sales professionals feel that the buying process is changing quickly.

If 64% of B2B sales professionals are to be believed, cold calling hasn’t improved in the last three years.

It is estimated that cold calling is 60% more expensive than generating inbound leads.

93% of buyers refer to and research the internet before starting their buying process.

Conversations with leads through digital channels drive most of the sales in this modern era; nearly 20%.

We hope that the article was able to dig deeper into the characteristics of the modern sales professional.

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Salesmate CRM has evolved with the market and have learned the power of technological innovations.

We understand the fact that modern sales representatives need to stay in touch with their customers and prospects on the go.

Salesmate offers a lot of features that appeal to the same needs and make your sales process really smooth and seamless.

If you need to get more insight into the positive effect this intuitive sales CRM can have on your business, then do get in touch with us.