ELAvate note: This is a blog from sales guru Nick Kane and we have edited it for clarity. B2B salespeople present a lot – to end users, buying committees, and at solution seminars. Today with so much uncertainty, tight budgets, diverse decision-makers, and stiff competition, salespeople must be confident and consultative in their presentations.

Which came first, the salesperson or the egg? This is the enigma (or should I say the eneggma) of the evolution of the right salesperson. The mystery of finding, interviewing, hiring, growing, and retaining great sales people is critical to your success. Where do they come from?

I have coached and managed salespeople for over 30 years across a variety of cultures and countries. This experience has taught me what Zig Ziglar has said for years, “ Your attitude determines your altitude” and I will add especially in sales! I have learned to hire salespeople more for attitude and potential, and when hired, train them in skill and process

Using “Anchors,” when negotiating, refers to the psychological bias of how negotiators rely heavily on the first piece of information presented to them (the anchor) when making decisions or judgments. This first anchor in any negotiation has a powerful influence on subsequent negotiation discussions and can significantly impact the final deal.

75% of Buyers Surveyed Prefer a Rep Free Experience. This is the fundamental challenge facing all sellers in every industry. Buyers want to scratch their own itch. Digital access to information creates a false sense of confidence in a self-service sales process. However, a rep-free experience also creates the highest purchase regret. (Gartner and Janek) This research confirms what Korn Ferry has learned: B2B buyers are acting more and more like B2C customers and do not want to interact with salespeople unless necessary.

I dedicate this sales blog to my ex-wife Joyce Leong, a super saleswoman all her life, whether she was in B2B, B2C or charity sales. She always exceeded her target because of her attitude to achieve win-win decisions and her excellent EQ that gave her the ability to persuade and influence her customers to buy. She has terminal brain cancer and is now in hospice care.

When a salesperson adapts their communication style to the customer, they are better able to understand the customer's needs and preferences and can tailor their approach accordingly. For example, some customers may prefer a more direct and assertive communication style, while others may prefer a more collaborative and consultative approach.

Experimenting with ChatGPT has led me to compile what are the skills, attitudes, and traits of successful salespeople. Here are the 4 world-class leaders in sales productivity that I respect and have learned from during my global career as a global salesperson: Zig Ziglar, Jeffrey Gitomer, AchieveGlobal, and Harvard Business Review. Each sales expert lists out 5-6 key attributes that lead to sales success.

Some sales and service research are timeless. Other research is new and we must take heed to change. For example, communicating well to build customer trust that leads to healthy relationships is always a winner in sales. We see in 2023 that AI, technology and now ChatGPT are new areas we need to explore to gauge how we employ them to drive sales productivity.

What makes a salesperson a good listener? First, he/she suspends his own assumptions in order to give the customer’s ideas priority. When he/she asks questions, it is to build trust and rapport with the customer. Open questions work best like "Tell me more about that." Second, the good listener suspends judgment and debate. As Stephen Covey said, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Give the customer the benefit of the doubt.

If I could jettison all my responsibilities and just “sell” I would be very happy as I enjoy being a salesperson and have no reservations as being labeled as one! In my decades in Asia, I have found the word “salesperson, salesman, saleswoman” can carry a low image. Some companies are even calling salespeople as “marketing executives” or other fancy misnomers to make up for this perceived low-image job.

Up Your Service guru, Ron Kaufman has created “The 12 Building Blocks of Service Culture” that shape the environment, experience, and enthusiasm of a world-class service team. Service and sales teams are linked and have many synergies in common to inspire customer loyalty and increase sales revenue.

As a B2B salesperson, we are faced with two facts in the marketplace: first, skilled & motivated B2B salespeople are worth their weight in gold, and, second, their sales manager can accelerate or stall their sales career success. Is your sales manager a lid lifter or a lid to your sales success?

Jacob Carpenter of the Trust Factor states, “Yet if there’s one defining trust-related stat of 2022, it’s this jaw-dropper from PwC over the summer: 87% of executives think customers highly trust their companies, while only 30% actually do. (The findings were based on a survey of 500 business leaders and 2,500 consumers.)” My question to you as a sales manager or salesperson is – How do you ensure your customers trust you and your product or service?

Wow! It’s December already and time to reflect on 2022 and plan for 2023. We at ELAvate firmly believe not so much in “life balance” but a “wholesome life” that leads to less stress and more success. Begin by reviewing your 2022 by answering and reflecting on these questions.

Mindfulness can be achieved in countless ways, a few of which include meditation and yoga, to name just a couple. While those things are not for everyone, all people can certainly benefit from mindfulness. So if you’re not into yoga or chanting quietly to yourself, how do you achieve mindfulness in our fast-paced, high-stress world? And what is the goal of achieving it? Being mindful can help you achieve more with less.

Michael says “There has been a lot of hype from sales training companies on the “hybrid selling.” Let me make it clear, consultative selling skills is still the rock solid foundation of all B2B selling. In fact, myself and ELAvate have been training global salespeople in consultative selling for well over 30 years!

Even very successful salespeople fail more than they succeed. Not every prospect becomes an appointment, not every customer interaction ends in a successful sale. I learned long ago that “Failing Forward” in daily sales activities is the secret ingredient that lifted me up to future sales success. “Failing Forward” means learning and growing from your sales mistakes, customer rejection, and marketplace changes.

The advent of hybrid selling has led to many blogs and articles on the supposedly new skills of a B2B salesperson in the post Covid marketplace. Let’s review the attitudes or attributes of successful B2B salespeople in this new era.

B2B selling skills really do still make a difference when buttressed by the key attitudes found in this blog. My advice: Hire and promote people for these B2B selling attitudes and train them in B2B selling skills.