Sales professionals need a solid mix of both hard skills and soft skills to do their jobs well. Hard skills, such as understanding how to use your team’s CRM software, can typically be taught and measured. Soft skills, on the other hand, are often fuzzier. These soft skills can separate the good sales reps on your team from the truly great ones.
So, which soft skills are most important now? Aja Frost, HubSpot’s head of content SEO, has outlined seven key soft skills and how to develop them. Keep reading this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, where we share Frost’s thoughts.
A growth mindset. When sales reps have a growth mindset, they believe they can strengthen their talents over time. If they want to develop a skill, they believe they can learn it by putting in the work.
How to develop it: Frost says you can change a fixed mindset into a growth mindset by adjusting how you view failure. If you mess up, consider it a learning experience and move on. The upside is that you will learn something new from every challenge you take on.
Adaptability. This is another key soft skill worth developing because sales is a constantly evolving field. What worked during the height of the pandemic won’t necessarily work well this year or into 2022. Great sales reps are always coachable and willing to adapt, notes Frost.
How to develop it: Spend just five minutes a day thinking about your successes and where you could improve. The idea is to take an honest look at your performance and identify what you could do better.
Empathy. The most successful sales reps know how to relate to their clients. Empathy is a key soft skill to develop because it helps you understand when to push and when to hold back, says Frost.
How to develop it: According to Frost, there are a few scientifically backed ways to increase your empathy, including meditating and active listening. Or, you could simply say, “I hear you” or “That sounds really tough.”
Communication. Sales professionals wouldn’t go far without solid communication skills. The best sales reps know how to keep their audience in mind and avoid using buzzwords and empty phrases, Frost notes.
How to develop it: You can strengthen your communication skills by recording yourself speak to clients. Watch or listen for weak spots, whether they include verbal tics or confusing language.
Humility. This is a crucial soft skill, according to Frost, because sales reps who are humble enough to admit they don’t know something can often earn the immediate respect and trust of their prospects.
How to develop it: Instead of trying to come up with an answer on the fly or change the subject altogether, admit when you don’t know something. Frost recommends simply saying, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you.”
Emotional intelligence. Frost points out that that this soft skill includes five components: emotional awareness, self-confidence, self-regulation, adaptability and leadership.
How to develop it: You can boost your emotional intelligence by always staying mindful of your emotions and cognizant of the emotions of those around you.
Resilience. Over the past 15 months, your entire sales team has been strengthening this soft skill. In the face of adversity, they kept going. Frost adds that resilience is crucial skill for sales reps because sales professionals face more rejection than most other professionals.
How to develop it: This soft skill develops with experience. The more you face rejection, the more opportunities you have to process the emotion and start again with the next prospect.
Sales reps need hard skills and technical knowledge to succeed, but they also need the right blend of soft skills. By working with your sales team to develop skills such as empathy and adaptability, you help set them up for success.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Aja Frost is HubSpot’s head of content SEO.
