Sales Skills Every BDR Should Master

Are salespeople made or born?

Sales teams have debated this age-old issue for many years. The highest performers are on one extreme of the spectrum and claim to have been born to sell. On the other hand, the hesitant salespeople claim, "I just don't have the personality for this."

It's both, to put it simply.

Undoubtedly, some people have innate personality traits that may increase their chances of success in a sales position. However, others have received in-depth training in sales best practices and are outfitted with suitable tools to have an equal chance of succeeding as quota-crushers.

There is a lot of ground to be found here in common. The most effective salespeople are constantly working to improve their abilities. You must be well-rounded to pursue a career in company development.

Regardless of whatever end of the spectrum you fall, you should constantly be looking for opportunities to learn new things, develop new talents, and get better. 

This article talks about eight important sales techniques that every sales or business development representative should master. 

Crucial sales techniques for BDRs

As a business development representative, you may not be closing deals just yet, but now is the ideal moment to acquire the abilities you'll need to be successful in the future. Let's get going.

Persistence

It's no secret that dealing with rejection is one of the most challenging aspects of selling. Prospects frequently hang up on you, ignore your communications, or take any other action to avoid being marketed. You must persistently break through the clutter and connect with the appropriate people.

To be clear, persistence does not include pestering prospects mercilessly with calls or emails. It will take several tries to reach individuals, but each contact should benefit the person receiving it. Additionally, being respectful and persistent go hand in hand. When someone says "no," use your best judgment to decide when to move on.

The skill of convincing

Prospects will have several objections because they don't typically trust salespeople. As anticipated, it will take some convincing to persuade them to like you.

Your approach should be consultative and focus on providing customers with a fix for their issues. It's not about convincing someone to purchase a product they don't need or want. Instead, it would help if you used persuasion to bargain with prospects and give them something of value. It's a brilliant idea to work with your team and take note of the various persuasive styles each sales team uses, with real-life sales conversation examples.

Time Management

Having the freedom to organize your schedule however you choose is one of the advantages of a career in sales. The drawback is that you must be responsible for time management and checking things off your list.

When you consider having to divide your time between various prospects, especially when it's challenging to determine which ones are most likely to buy, things become more challenging. Because of this, sales representatives must have excellent time management abilities to determine which tasks would produce the best outcomes.

Product Expertise

Building trust is the foundation of sales, and customers want assurance that the sales representative they speak with is knowledgeable in the subject matter. Although it may seem obvious, you must be familiar with the products you sell. Nothing will make you look less credible in front of a prospect than being unable to respond to a query about your product or giving them incorrect information.

Knowledge truly is power. To keep representatives up to date on all the facts you need to know, most organizations provide in-depth product training. In light of this, you should constantly endeavor to increase your knowledge and use your coworkers as a resource if you have any questions or are interested in finding out more.

Active Listener

A competent salesperson and a great salesperson can be distinguished by active listening. It's not a pleasant experience for the person on the other end of the line if all you're doing throughout a call with a potential customer is planning your next move. It's critical to pay attention to what they have to say and base the rest of the conversation on that.

Confidence

It's just as essential how you say something as what you're saying. It's crucial to feel confident in your presentation and convey that confidence in how you talk and carry yourself since an excellent delivery may make or break a sales conversation.

Honesty

The days of dishonest salespeople who would do anything to close a deal are long gone. Even if you are sure of what you are selling, you should still be open and honest about any potential downsides. You must be simple to be at the top of your sales game.

Storytelling

Stories are valuable. They genuinely do, though. Utilize your brand to create a narrative that emotionally engages potential customers and helps them recall why they should choose you over your rivals. 

But, there is a proper time and location for this. Use your best judgment to determine whether it's suitable to share an anecdote, and make sure that the connection to the point you're trying to make is obvious. If the potential customer doesn't perceive the relationship, it can sound entirely out of line.

Resiliency

It's not easy to be a salesperson. Numerous times you will be told "no," but you shouldn't let it bother you because it's just a part of the work. For this reason, having the ability to bounce back from setbacks is crucial if you want to succeed. Rejection cannot slow you down. The best course of action is to pick yourself up and keep going.

Getting better through practice

Being an incredibly successful salesperson takes time. Through consistent efforts to improve daily in small ways and by studying effective sales positioning examples, skills need time to develop. Whether destined to work in sales or not, whether you handle responsibilities between a sales associate vs sales representative, you'll discover that anything is attainable with hard work and dedication.