The Lucky 8 Characteristics of Successful B2B Salespeople

By Michael J Griffin

3 minute read

Over the past 30 years I have observed and coached very successful B2B salespeople. Here are my observations on what characteristics, or competence, a world class B2B salesperson has to have to consistently win and exceed sales revenue targets.

Listening Skills. Good salespeople listen more than they talk. Research shows successful salespeople listen 70% of the time and talk 30%. This leads to….

Ask Relevant Questions. Skillful salespeople know how and when to ask good insightful questions using a combination of open and closed questions. They also are good at confirming, checking understanding and impact questions. Thoughtful questions allow them to listen well. Salespeople seek insight from asking what, how and why questions because they have…..

Analytical Ability. Asking questions is based on the salesperson’s superior analytical ability to scope out customer issues, problems, root causes to better craft solutions they customer will buy into. But a salesperson must be……

Empathetic. Successful salespeople are businesspeople that have a heart to care for the customer’s situation and feelings. To adapt from John Maxwell “Sales leaders touch the heart before they ask for the order.” Our research shows salespeople who consistently empathize with their customers can double their chances of closing the sale compared to salespeople who don’t. Empathy is based on…..

Good EQ. Emotional Quotient or “relational intelligence” is a must for salespeople to observe customer communication and attitude so as to discuss customer problems and issues in a way that builds trust and care for the customer during the sales meeting. With this, the salesperson can be…..

Navigator. Successful salespeople come to sales meetings prepared with sales objectives, excellent pre meeting preparation to help navigate the customer “pilot” to a win-win outcome. Their ability to be opportunistic and vision leads to creative new solutions leads to mutually beneficial outcomes for the customer and the salesperson. This ability to navigate is because the salesperson is a…..

Servant Leader. Successful salespeople are secure leaders who are ready to serve their customers to exceed customer expectations. They have the willingness to go the extra mile (or kilometer!) for their customer and their own sales organization. This allows them to…

Fail Forward. Selling in today’s global environment is tough. We all know salespeople fail more than they succeed: not every sales meeting ends in success. World class salespeople are resilient self-starters who “fail forward” with every customer interaction. Why? They learn from their successes as well as their failures to consistently “sharpen their saw” based on every customer interaction. This “fail forward” attitude is also seen by their desire to be coached and receive feedback by their sales manager so as to learn from of others who may be more experienced. They are “teachable.”

Sharpen your saw by practicing these “Lucky 8” and you will increase both sales success and your customer’s loyalty making your sales job more enjoyable!

Michael J Griffin
Founder of ELAvate
Global Sales Coach
Someone Who loves to Sell!