What makes a good sales rep?

[J Arnold]

Other than making loads of money for their company!

What would expect to be the minimum a rep should do per day?

 

[HarveyIT]

Sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, and erm...... oh yes, get on his/her bike and sell!

On a more serious note, not be pushy, c*cky or rude?!

 

[Jacksonln]

Not starting a cold call with 'how are you today' is a good start. Afraid it is my pet hate and just makes me want to hang up the phone.

 

[HarveyIT]

Not starting a cold call with 'how are you today' is a good start. Afraid it is my pet hate and just makes me want to hang up the phone.

Years and years ago, I used to reply with "fine thanks".
Now I would respond with something like "what are you trying to sell me?". That usually cuts to the chase!

 

[Karllacey]

Ensuring your sales guy not only sells for your product, pulls the customer close to them to explore other opportunities and maintaining the integrity of customer brand.

Also underpinned by following through with their service - a lying sales guy only affects the short-long term brand of the company.

Having an approachable, friendly sales guy underpinned with the bulldog mentality (which he or she does not necessarily show) is core.

 

[Abed]

Communication with potential customers on a daily basis
finding new selling platforms
Contacting old customers to check their satisfaction with the sold products !

 

[lloydsolutions]

What makes a good sales rep? .... Motivation, manners and determination. As to what they should do in a day .... whatever it takes to get the sales they want.

 

[WhizzPeople]

To be able to close the sales with customer satisfaction makes a good sales rep.

 

[garyk]

Not starting a cold call with 'how are you today' is a good start. Afraid it is my pet hate and just makes me want to hang up the phone.

Me too! I think you don't even know me so why ask and do you really care? Err no.

 

[The Byre]

What makes a good sales rep?

The ability to really listen to the customers. Not just hear what they say, but really listen and understand their needs and act on those needs by helping the customer.

Every really great salesman I have ever encountered, kept his or her beak shut and paid full and undivided attention to what the customer had to tell them.

Then and ONLY then, did they suggest ways for the customer to fulfil their needs.

 

[webgeek]

Sales rep minimums? You'll likely have a sales process with certain pre-sale activities that form the pipeline. These would include calls, meetings, emails, demos, etc, etc. Surely you're measuring your successful sales reps and using their performance numbers as benchmarks for the new salesperson... The benchmarks vary widely depending on the length of the sales cycle, whether the salesperson is in a role of hunter or gatherer, and so on. On doesn't fit all.

 

[PeterJohn]

Hi..i am a new user here. I think you should ensure that your sales guy not only sells for your product, pulls the customer close to them to explore other opportunities and maintaining the integrity of customer brand.Also underpinned by following through with their service - a lying sales guy only affects the short-long term brand of the company.

 

[Samaksh]

If you're learning to sell, it is always advisable to start from the end and work backward. Knowing your goals and measuring your performance is the most important place to start. Multiplying your customer goal by the average sale price of your company's product will give you the amount of revenue you will be aiming for.

 

[columbo]

This might sound like a cliché but from my experience good sales reps love talking to people.
They love talking to people even when they know there is no benefit to be had. Good sales reps make sales calls seem like a friendly call or visit with the actual sale made as if it's an after-thought. The idea sales person should be a like a friendly Labrador. But behind all of this, he needs a steely determination and a competitive streak.

I think an ideal salesperson would be someone like Chris Tarrant (relaxed and charming but behind it all highly focussed on the job)

What would expect to be the minimum a rep should do per day?

Continually nurturing high-value prospects that make a good fit for your products or services.

I'm sure a sales rep could be very "busy" chasing after clients that are an easy sale or clients which simply don't make a good fit for your business.

Measure your sales rep's productivity on potential sales value and not volume of customers.

 

[MBE1]

Knowing what you want from the worker is key, a sales rep is a company representative, liasing between the clients and the company, a salesman is there to get orders, two different roles often confused by an employer.

Since the OP's focus was money making, I assume you mean a salesman. What would I expect? Results, how they get them is not so important as long as nothing illegal etc takes place.

Lost count how many times I secured large orders in the evening or on a golf course in the daytime, or saved accounts by helping a client with cash flow problems. End of the day depending on your product or service, you will either want someone building relationships that last, or order chasers.

You might think a rep calling hundreds of clients a week is good from your perspective, but a single good call can make more money than hundreds of useless ones. How do you measure your current people?

 

[sirearl]

Contradiction in terms.

 

[MasterCloser]

You may be ok in a 9-5 sales job where the deal size is a a few hundred. If you want to make real money you need 10-12 hour days, you need to be in a major city ie London, you need to be around the best and most importantly train 4 hours a days with about 5 years experience in closing business ATLEAST. If you can't commit 100% and be ruthless in your approach there is no point.

 

[J Arnold]

You may be ok in a 9-5 sales job where the deal size is a a few hundred. If you want to make real money you need 10-12 hour days, you need to be in a major city ie London, you need to be around the best and most importantly train 4 hours a days with about 5 years experience in closing business ATLEAST. If you can't commit 100% and be ruthless in your approach there is no point.

5 years of closing experience?