At some point, in every professional role — even if you’re not directly in sales — you will have to sell yourself or your company’s ideas to someone else. And that means mastering a number of different sales skills, which may differ depending on the industry and buyers you’re targeting. However, there are some that are valuable in any situation.
For example, a powerful sales skill is empathy – the ability to tune into verbal and non-verbal cues that show how a prospect feels about what you’re saying. This can help you better understand what they really need and how they’ll feel about working with your company in the long run.
Another important sales skill is time management, which refers to the ability to optimize productivity in high-performance and revenue-generating activities (as well as in low- or no-revenue-generating ones). For instance, it’s a good idea for salespeople to be able to identify their most important tasks, set their own priorities, and work within strict timelines so they can stay on track.
Additionally, a key sales skill is the ability to demonstrate value early on in a conversation with a prospect — something that’s particularly important for cold prospects who don’t have a prior relationship with your company. This can be achieved by showing the prospect how your product or service solves a problem that they’re experiencing, as opposed to just describing its features and benefits. Bazaar