CHARACTERISTICS/QUALITIES OF A GOOD SALESMAN

TORAN LAL VERMA

A salesperson should have following qualities

A. PHYSICAL QUALITIES:

  1. Sound Health: Just like a normal human being, a salesperson must also be of sound health. A salesperson would be mentally and physically fit only if he has a good health. For a sound health, a salesperson must eat well, sleep well and exercise regularly.
  2. Good Appearance: Good Appearance always attracts people. A salesperson must not be too fat or thin. He must carry his body well.
  3. Cheerful Disposition: A scholar has rightly said that smile is like plague. If the salesperson is cheerful and happy he can make his customer cheerful and happy, which directly helps to have a good conversation and chances of sales increases.
  4. Agile: A good salesperson should always be agile. A lazy and boredom salesman can never attract customers.
  5. Postures: the gestures and postures of a salesman are also crucial in influencing customers. Unnecessary hand-eye movements, shoulder movements etc. creates wrong impression in the mind of prospective buyers.
  6. Cleanliness: No person likes to sit around and listen to a dirty fellow. A good salesman must have a good hair style, must be well shaved, must have clear nails etc.
  7. Clothing: A well-dressed salesman often attracts customers very easily. He should wear a formal suit with tie. Dressing sense of a salesperson often increases his confidence and likability by the customers.

B. SPEAKING QUALITIES

  1. Clear Pronunciation:  A salesperson should have clear pronunciation. Otherwise, prospects may misinterpret things. A person without good pronunciation can never become a good salesman.
  2. Proper Vocabulary: while giving presentations, proper choice of word is very important. A salesman must have a good vocabulary to create a lasting impression with words. A salesman must use those words which are easy to understand and easy to pronounce. Technical jargons must be avoided.
  3. Effective delivery: many times, ‘how we speak’ is more important than ‘what we speak’. if the delivery style is not good, a salesperson may not be able to persuade the customer with good pronunciation and vocabulary.

C. MENTAL QUALITIES:

  1. Resourcefulness: A resourceful person is one, who understands and behaves according to the changing circumstances. A good salesperson changes his behaviour according to different customers and situations.
  2. Intelligence: A salesperson must be intelligent. A good salesperson could handle objections carefully and easily with his intelligence.
  3. Sharp Memory: To be successful, a salesperson must have a sharp memory. He must be able to remember previous meetings with customers, likes and dislikes of the customers along with various offers being provided by the company.
  4. Maturity: A salesperson must be mature enough to understand his duties and obligations. He must have a sense of what he is talking about and how it will affect the sales of the company.
  5. Self-confidence: Self-confidence is a thing which could help a person to tackle any kind of situation. A good salesman should confident be confident in his presentations skills and objection handling techniques.
  6. Ability to Observe and Judge: The success of a salesperson depends highly on his ability to observe the conditions around him and his ability to take prompt decisions.

D. SOCIAL QUALITIES:

  1. Sociable:  a good salesperson must be sociable. He must treat everyone equally and meet with them frequently. He must have contacts with everyone whether rich, poor, middle-class people etc.
  2. Courtesy: it is said that courtesy has no cost but has high impact. The salesperson must deal with everyone with courtesy.
  3. Co-operative: A salesman himself needs cooperation from various people. So, he must be cooperative with other members of the salesforce, sales managers, customers etc.
  4.  Convincing Conversationalist: salesman must be a good conversationalist. He must have the ability to speak complicated things in a clear and concise manner. He must be able to influence others with his communication skills.
  5. Patience: A salesman has to meet with various kinds of people. some people deliberately try to annoy the salesperson. Many times sales presentations do not result in effective sales. In such a situation a salesman must remain patient and do not lose his calm.

D. MORAL OR ETHICAL QUALITIES

  1. Honesty: it is said that “honesty is the best policy”. A salesperson should not lie to his customers and deliver according to his promises. A dishonest salesperson can never become successful in the long run.
  2. Loyalty: To be successful, a salesperson must be loyal towards his company, sales manager, fellow salespersons and customers.

E. PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES:

  1. Educated and trained: well-educated and trained salesman could increase sales turnover of the company by his ability to engage with customers. Training helps a salesman to tackle different situations with proper care.
  2. Knowledge about the institution: A salesman must know each and every minute details about the company for which he is working. Past and present performances, types of product being offered, the credit policies of the companyEtc. must be known to the salesperson.
  3. Knowledge of product: Ernest and Da Vall has rightly said that ‘nothing is important to the salesman than knowing his product’ salesman must know all the features and ingredients of the product he is offering. He must also know about the different varieties of the same products.
  4. Communication Skills: it is said that personal selling involves a two-way communication between salesman and customer. It is the communication skill of salesman which helps in persuading the customer to buy the product. Good communication skill enables a salesperson to communicate well with seniors, peers and customers.
  5. Knowledge of Customers: A good salesman must have information’s about demographics, buying motives, likes and dislikes etc. of the customers.
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