Beyond Social Media Segment Transcript
David Erickson: I got some stats here on traits that B2B buyers value in salespeople. This is from LinkedIn, they surveyed 500-plus B2B decision makers who have influence over purchase decisions.
Valued Traits For Salespeople
David Erickson: And the top among the value traits among salespeople was active listening; 42% said that was a that was an important value in a salesperson; problem solving, 38%; confidence, 38%–of course you want somebody who’s confident. You don’t want somebody who’s trying to sell you something that’s not confident their own product. Relationship building, 34%; oral communications, 27%; technology proficient, 26%; years of experience, 25%; industry experience, 23; critical thinking, 22; and creativity, 22. So, not very surprising here. But you know, if you’re a salesperson selling B2B: some stuff you want to pay attention to.
BL Ochman: I’m surprised that vocal skills weren’t higher. You would think.
It should not be a surprise that B2B buyers are more likely to trust salespeople who actively listen to them, help solve their problems, and display confidence in their solutions.
The top traits that B2B buyers value in salespeople do not always align with what sales managers look for when hiring, with 42% of buyers valuing active listening but just 26% of sales managers valuing this trait. So finds a recent report from LinkedIn that explores what defines a top-performing sales team.
In the survey of more than 500 buyers and 500 salespeople:
- Active listening was cited as the #1 trait that buyers value in salespeople (42%), then
- Problem-solving (38%),
- Confidence (38%),
- Relationship building (34%), and
- Oral communications (27%).
All these traits make for mutually-valuable calls between buyers and salespeople – a practice common among top B2B salespeople.
However, when comparing the characteristics that sales managers look for in their hires, a gap emerges between the teams that sales managers are building versus the qualities buyers really want.
Granted, many of the top traits listed above were also highly valued by sales managers:
- Problem-solving ranked (34%),
- Relationship building (33%), and
- Confidence (29%).
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