7个软技能，每个销售人员都需要取得成功

是什么将优秀的销售人员与伟大的销售人员区分开来？真实地说，这可能不是他们对CRM的掌握，也不是他们每天发送的勘探电子邮件数量。这些技能和任务很重要，但并没有达成协议。

Sales reps who hit their team’ssales goals季度之后有一些共同点 - 软技能。这些是销售人员必须建立关系，鼓励富有成效的对话并提供卓越的客户体验的能力。

The great thing is, there are no hard-and-fast rules for how soft skills should be developed, and many times, they aren’t taught in a formal training session. So, how do you learn soft skills? Through exposure and practice.

In this article, you’ll develop an understanding of the seven soft skills successful salespeople use and how to acquire them to boost your sales performance.

让我们看一下每个代表都需要取得成功的七个软技能 - 更重要的是，如何发展它们。

1. Growth Mindset

Let’s say that you’re fantastic at building rapport. Do you believe rapport-building is one of your innate skills — or do you believe you developed it through hard work, practice, and external feedback?

If you choose the second answer, you possess a growth mindset. People withgrowth mindsets believethey can strengthen their natural talents and develop new abilities over time. People with fixed mindsets, on the other hand, view their skills as fixed. They have the hand that they’ve been dealt, and that’s that.

How to Develop a Growth Mindset

要将固定的心态变成成长心态，请改变您感知失败的方式。不要认为失败是令人尴尬或可耻的 - 将其视为一种学习经历。当您不怕搞砸时，您将有带宽反弹的带宽，然后重试。更好的是，您将从应对的每项挑战中获得新的东西。（当然，这并不意味着您应该对失败感到自满。如果您犯同样的错误三次以上，请冷淡，努力地看一下为什么不改善的原因。）

考虑使用“尚未”描述您尚未掌握的技能。心理学家Carol Dweck-发明了growth-minded concept- 说这个词有能力显着增强信心。

例如，您没有想到“我一个月内还没有达到我的120％的配额，”您会想，“我一个月尚未达到我的120％的配额……”

(WatchDweck’s entire talkfor more confidence-boosting tips.)

2. Adaptability

When a salesperson is good at listening to and implementing feedback, their name typically skyrockets to the top of the leaderboard and stays there. After all, they’re combining the strengths of a great rep with the insights, wisdom, and experience of their manager. That’s a winning combo.

另外，销售代表的期望不断发展。买家比以前要复杂得多 - 2001年有效的东西在2021年肯定不会飞行。为了使流程和策略保持最新状态，伟大的销售人员需要能够适应和教练。

如何发展适应性

Step one is simple: Take five minutes every day to reflect on what went well and where you could improve.

According to Mark Roberge, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School,高度可以教练的代表are always analyzing their performance and looking for weak areas.

当然，适应性的最重要因素是您如何回应经理，培训师或导师的反馈。请记住，即使您不喜欢他们，也要保持胸怀开放，并遵循他们的评论和建议。如果他们的建议有效，那么您的状态比以前更好。如果没有，您可以停止使用它。无论哪种方式，这都是一个很好的结果。

最后，与您的经理进行沟通。如果他们始终处于循环状态，则他们更容易评估您的进度并为您提供有价值的信息。

3. Empathy

The ability to imagine themselves in their prospect’s situation can turn an average sales rep into a star performer. When you’ve got a good idea of what your prospect is thinking and feeling, you can target your messaging to their specific pain points and motivations. You’ll also know exactly when to push and when to hold back.

Plus, showing the buyer you’re on their side helps you overcome the stereotype of the aggressive rep who’s only interested in their quota.

How to Develop Empathy

Bizarrely, justimagining yourself in someone’s shoescan make you more empathetic. So next time you start working with a prospect, take two seconds to mentally put on their footwear.

Otherscientifically-backed waysto boost your empathy include talking to new people, meditating, and active listening.

And to make it clear to prospects you’ve got their back, use phrases like: “I hear you” and “That sounds really challenging.”

4. Communication

Between talking on the phone, sending emails, giving demos, and speaking in meetings, most sales reps spend at least 90% of their day communicating. Having solid communication skills is essential. You must be able to clearly and persuasively get your ideas across — without going off on tangents or using buzzwords and meaningless phrases.

You should also keep your audience in mind at all times. If you speak the same way to your sales manager as to your prospects, something’s wrong: After all, they have vastly different goals, desires, and background information.

How to Develop Communication Skills

观看或收听自己的录音。您将不可避免地注意到口头抽搐或在实际互动过程中完全错过的言论。每次您这样做时，都会快速记录问题，以便将来避免它。

审查对话还可以使您有机会分析潜在客户的反应。例如，也许您目前处理异议的方法似乎有效，但是您意识到在下一个电话中再次出现了相同的反对意见。不幸的是，您认为是一个聪明的对位并没有翻译。一旦找到通信方法中的弱点，就可以进行相应调整。

5. Humility

Finish this sentence: “Bread” is to “butter” as “humility” is to ____.

Okay, “sales” probably wasn’t your first answer. But reps who can identify the right time and place for humility consistently knock their deals out of the park.

When you’re humble enough to reveal a vulnerability or admit you don’t know something, your prospects will immediately trust and respect you more. As a result, they’ll view you as a trusted advisor, or even a partner in their success (this is ideal).

如何发展谦卑

当大多数人意识到自己不知道某事时，他们的直觉就是隐藏他们的无知或改变主题。而不是这样做，而是简单地说：“我不知道。”

Worried the prospect will lose faith in you? Add: “But I’ll find out,” or “I’ll look into that right away.” (And then make sure to follow up.)

Humility also hinges on owning your mistakes. When something goes wrong, don’t use language that shifts the blame to other people or external factors. For instance, rather than saying, “We must’ve gotten our wires crossed,” you’d say, “I forgot to clarify when we’d meet — that’s on me.”

6. Emotional Intelligence

Having high Emotional Intelligence (EQ) makes you a master relationship builder. EQ has five components:

• Emotional awareness:You're well-attuned to your moods and feelings.
• Self-confidence:您是自信的，自信的，但不是傲慢的。
• 自我调节：你能够控制你的反应外部事件。
• Adaptability:You're flexible and can quickly respond to change.
• Influence:You can help others see your point of view and do what you recommend.
• Leadership:You can effectively unify a group of people and set a course.

With high EQ, accomplishing your objectives is far easier — because people naturally want to follow you.

如何发展情商

Building EQ requires you to pay careful attention to your emotions at all times. Ask yourself, "What am I feeling right now? Why do I feel this way? Have I felt this same emotion recently, and was there a similar cause?"

Once you've achieved self-awareness, self-regulation will come organically. You'll be able to modulate your state of mind and responses.

You should also monitor the emotions of those around you. This can be challenging, as most people don't reveal all — or even most — of what they're truly thinking and feeling.

These questions will help:

• "How would I describe this person's mood?"
• “他们的情绪匹配情况吗?”(example, if you just resolved their objection, do they seem relaxed, or are they still tense?)
• "Do their words contradict their apparent mood?" (Maybe they say they're not worried, but they're talking more quickly than usual and tapping their foot.)

This exercise will reveal how you should respond. Does your prospect seem on edge? Ask, "Is something on your mind?" The customer is in a great mood? Request an introduction you need, or if you're in the final stages of the selling process, for their business.

7.弹性

The real test of resilience isn’t how you handle a bad situation, it’s how you move on afterward. Salespeople face the most rejection on a daily basis than most other professionals do. Resilience and tenacity are the soft skills they use to stay the course and achieve their goals in the face of adversity.

弹力doesn’t mean ignoring negative feelings or pretending a difficult sales call never happened. Instead, it’s important toprocess those feelings in a healthy防止倦怠的方式。之后，有弹性的销售代表可以转到下一个电话，并给出100％的潜在客户。

How to Develop Resilience

This one comes with time. The more comfortable you become with rejection, the more opportunities you’ll have to process the feeling and start anew with the next potential customer. Successful salespeople know that their next call could be their next closed-won deal, so give those prospects the opportunity to see you, the company you represent, and the product you sell in the best light possible.

Pairing Soft Skills With Hard Work

职业道德和软技能齐头并进。了解您的产品，行业和销售工具将帮助您满足销售期望。诸如沟通，同理心和韧性之类的软技能可以帮助您始终如一地超越它们。

The soft skills in this article are specific to sales roles, but they’re transferable to most other disciplines. That means if you decide to move into management or even a new department, these sales soft skills will follow you on your journey to career success.

编者注：该帖子最初于2017年12月发表，并已更新以进行全面性。