There are many qualities that make a great salesperson. But what exactly makes someone good at selling? Is it charisma, persistence, drive, or something else entirely? In this blog post, we’ll look at 10 of the most important attributes that make for a successful salesperson.
Three Takeaways
- Great salespeople combine traits and skills. These qualities include innate traits (drive, passion, confidence, positive attitude) and learnable behaviors (persistence, listening, empathy, problem-solving, industry knowledge)—meaning success in sales isn’t a “born with it” thing.
- Listening and empathy matter as much as talking. Two of the 10 qualities are about understanding the customer rather than persuading them. Sales is less about pitching and more about diagnosing needs and solving for them.
- These qualities can be deliberately developed. Weaknesses in any of these 10 areas can be “coached up” rather than treated as fixed personality traits.
Top Characteristics of a Great Salesperson
Sales success doesn’t depend on whether you’re born with certain characteristics. While some qualities are innate, many are learnable behaviors that can be strengthened with sales training.
1. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EI) in sales is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions while also recognizing and influencing the emotions of others. In a role built on trust, communication, and relationship building, EI isn’t “nice to have,” it’s critical.
2. Persistence
Most successful salespeople know how to take rejection and keep going. They understand that not every prospect is going to say yes, but they don’t let that stop them from trying. If you want to be successful in sales, you need to be persistent.
3. Drive
The best salespeople have a strong drive to succeed—always looking for ways to improve their skills and close more deals. But if you’re not naturally driven, that’s okay. You can still be successful by setting goals and working hard to achieve them. Assessing an individual’s personal motivators will help a sales manager determine if a candidate has the drive to be successful.
4. Passion
Great salespeople are passionate about what they sell. They believe their product or service offers genuine value to their customers. Enthusiasm is one of the things that sets successful salespeople apart.
5. Good Listening Skills
Most people agree that being a good listener is important in all aspects of life, but it’s especially important for sellers. A good salesperson knows how to listen actively to prospects and ask open-ended questions to discover their needs.
6. Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to sense, feel, and step into another person’s emotional experience. It’s a quality that is essential for a sales professional as it allows them to put themselves in their customer’s shoes and understand their concerns and challenges.
7. Problem-Solving
A good salesperson is also a great problem-solver. They know how to meet buyers’ needs by finding creative solutions to their challenges. This skill is essential in sales, as it allows you to close more deals and build long-term relationships with your customers.
8. Confidence
Confidence is key in sales. The top salespeople believe in their product or service and don’t hesitate to sell it. They are also confident in their ability to close deals, which gives them the edge they need to succeed. Learning how to feel and convey confidence also helps during presentations and negotiations.
9. Curiosity
A good salesperson is always learning. They keep up with industry news and trends, and they always look for ways to improve their customer service skills. This knowledge helps them better understand their buyers and find solutions that meet their needs.
10. Positive Attitude
Last, but not least, a successful salesperson has a positive attitude. They see every customer as an opportunity, and they approach each interaction with enthusiasm. This positive outlook is contagious, and it’s one of the things that sets successful salespeople apart.
How to Develop These Qualities
If you or your sales team aren’t naturally endowed with these traits, you can develop them. Here are a few suggestions.
Build Communication Skills
If you want to build long-term customer relationships, start by working on your communication skills. This means learning how to really listen to people and understanding their needs. It also means staying positive and being clear and concise when you speak.
Be Persistent
If you’re not naturally persistent, make a conscious effort to keep going even when you feel like giving up. Remember that every prospect is a potential opportunity. Following a consistent sales process gives you a structure to progress each deal in a logical manner and helps keep you on track.
Be Prepared
A successful salesperson always prepares for every customer conversation. They know their product inside and out, and they are ready to answer any questions prospects may have. They also know how to handle objections and are prepared with rebuttals that will help them close the deal.
Set Goals
Great salespeople set and attain goals. Breaking large initiatives or complex deals into sub-goals can help you manage multiple things at once and keep you accountable.
Find a Mentor
A mentor can help you develop these qualities and more. Find an experienced seller and ask to shadow them and share advice. They can help you learn from their mistakes and become the best salesperson you can be.
Take Risks
If you’re not naturally confident, start taking some small risks. This means putting yourself out there, even if you’re scared of rejection. Remember, the only way to succeed is to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Turning Traits Into Team Performance
Reading a list of 10 qualities is easy. Training your team is the harder, more valuable work—and it’s where sales leaders can make an impact.
The first step is recognizing that not every quality on this list requires the same approach. Some, like empathy and confidence, respond well to sales coaching and repeated practice: putting sellers in front of real conversations, giving them feedback, and creating a culture where taking risks isn’t punished.
Others, like drive and persistence, are more closely tied to an individual’s underlying motivation. That’s why relying on gut instinct alone during hiring is risky. A validated sales assessment can tell you whether a candidate has the natural drive to push through rejection, long before you’ve invested months in training them.
For traits your sellers already have, the fastest lever is regular training reinforcement. A single training session on active listening or objection handling won’t stick without follow-through. Pair it with coaching conversations, role-play scenarios, and real-time feedback during live deals.
Partnering newer sellers with a strong mentor also compounds this. Qualities like empathy and problem-solving are often absorbed faster by watching a skilled colleague navigate a tough customer conversation than by any workshop.
Finally, don’t overlook attitude and knowledge as ongoing maintenance items, not one-time fixes. A seller’s product knowledge needs refreshing as your offering evolves, and a positive attitude needs protecting through good management practices—clear goals, recognition, and support during losing streaks—not just individual willpower.
The leaders who see the biggest gains treat this list not as a hiring checklist, but as a sales coaching framework. Diagnose where each salesperson is strong or weak, then build a development plan that closes the gap systematically rather than hoping talent alone carries the team.
Help your team develop the qualities and skills of great salespeople with IMPACT Selling® from The Brooks Group.
FAQs About How to Be a Great Salesperson
Q: Can someone become a good salesperson if they’re not naturally charismatic or confident?
A: Yes! You don’t need to be a “natural born salesperson.” You can work on communication and selling skills and taking small risks to build confidence over time.
Q: Which of the 10 qualities matters most?
A: We haven’t ranked them in this article, but we open with emotional intelligence as “the most obvious quality,” then we close with positive attitude as a capstone trait that’s “contagious.” These traits are complementary rather than hierarchical.
Q: How can a sales leader use this list when hiring?
A: Using an assessment such as The Brooks Group’s own Brooks Talent Index® can help sales leaders gauge whether a candidate has natural drive and motivation, rather than relying purely on interview impressions.
