Qualities and credibility of a good salesperson

Qualities and credibility of good salesperson depend on him. 

Striving for excellence is a sign of quality. Good professionals set high standards for themselves. They raise the bar for themselves to attain new heights. They break their own records continuously.

Your ability to grow and prosper in a competitive world is going to be determined by how you get repeat business and how you bring new business through the door. The salesperson on the front line is the person that interfaces with the customer and as the ambassador of the company, he is the one who will play the biggest part in how you are perceived by the outside world. The key aspects of building credibility are addressed below:

KNOWLEDGE Qualities and credibility of a good salesperson

The Salesperson should have an excellent knowledge of the product, the company and of how to execute a sale professionally. As you walk into a prospect's office, you should know:

1. What are the three major strengths of the company and the product range in absolute terms as well as in comparison to the competition?
2. How does the product work? What does it do?
3. Company's business history and philosophy you should know?
4. Your company's policies regarding the following :

• Guarantees and warranties
• Pricing, including negotiation
• Minimum quality standards
• Delivery and turn-around time
• Reliability and servicing

There is a blog on The Impulse Factors.

ATTITUDE TOWARDS COMMITMENT for Qualities and credibility of a good salesperson

Before you make a set of commitment to a buyer, evaluate whether these are realistic and can be met with a high degree of surety. It is unethical to promise something just to secure a sale without even knowing if it is possible. Have you added a small safety-margin in case of possible delay? What would happen to your credibility and to that of the company's when your commitments you do not keep?

My family recently purchased some lights for a shop near us. With a straight face, the seller promised that the lights would arrive ahead of the holiday weekend. We were reassured that regardless of the busy season, the merchandise would be delivered in a timely manner. Based on that we paid a deposit. The weekend came and went.

The next weekend came and went and so did the one after. The lights were eventually delivered a month later and in the wrong colour! It took another three weeks to get the rights delivered.

Where is the credibility of the seller?

He not only failed to honour his commitments but was also unprofessional in not caring whether he was delivering the right product or not. I will never buy from this person again and if asked by others, I will warn them of the potential problems.

I contrast this experience with one where I brought a new shower stall.

A family member recommended the vendor. He showed up and gave me a presentation and a quote, which was more expensive than another offer that I had, but I liked the way he presented to me the product options and I went ahead.

 Something gave me a good feeling. Every single promise he made was kept and the product was delivered before the due date. I was also very pleased with the stall when it was fixed. I recommended him to other people within the following week, as it was a pleasure to work with him.

ATTITUDE TOWARDS CUSTOMER SERVICE for a salesperson

In order to create a level of comfort in clients, it is important to focus on the level of service provided. It is important to evaluate if you have established your benchmarks and quality standards. Every little thing matters. If it matters, is it really little? What a philosophy to live by!

EVALUATE:

1. How quickly do you answer the phone? Is it a pleasant experience for the caller, getting through to the right people?
2. How quickly do you return phone calls?
3. What is your response time for service and maintenance?
4. What is your response time in case of a breakdown?
5. How often do you seek customer feedback to assess satisfaction?

Conclusion:

Most customers, even if they had a problem with you or your products/company, would stay with you, provided they feel that you have a caring attitude and that you made an effort to resolve their problems. However, good sales professionals are proactive and prevent problems from arising. They constantly evaluate their relationship with the customer, checking the following indicators of dissatisfaction:

• Indifferent attitude - Customer is cold.
• The customer keeps appreciating your competitors.
• Increased number of complaints.
• Purchase volumes going down.

A customer wants to feel that he took the right decision by giving you his business.

Q.Who defines quality?
A.Always the Buyers.

Q. How do you build credibility?
A. Only commit what you can deliver.

Excellence and quality are the results of continuous training and testing. It's an on-going process. Good organizations need to train their staff on quality standards.

I also have a blog on Prospecting.

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