The world of sales is full of myths. One of the most persistent is that good salespeople are “nice talkers,” people with lots of talk, a big smile, and a schedule full of networking jokes.
In reality, true sales masters have a series of traits that, paradoxically, are not immediately obvious.
Sometimes, these super-salespeople do not even talk much. However, what they do do is act with the precision of a neurosurgeon and the intuition of an undercover detective.
What are some of the lesser-known characteristics of successful salespeople?
While they may not be obvious, they are not clichés either. Nevertheless, once understood, they can become real secret weapons for any ambitious salesperson.
1. They have a trained ear for meta-messages
In neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), there is a lot of talk about meta-programs. The unconscious mental filters through which we process reality.
Top salespeople not only know how to listen, but they also pick out the customer’s thought patterns from the conversation.
I hear whether the interlocutor is motivated by avoidance or achievement, whether he is detail- or big-picture-oriented, whether he needs external validation or is driven by his own beliefs.
They do not ask: “What problem do you have?” but “How do you know there is a problem?”. And they are already preparing to calibrate their speech according to the client’s decision-making model.
Some call this magic. We know that it is just special, meta-magical attention.
2. They don’t try to sell, but they sell anyway
A counterintuitive trait of good salespeople is that they do not seem to want to sell. Paradoxically, precisely because they do not cling, they attract. They don’t pressure. They don’t rush.
You don’t feel the need to hide your wallet under the table when they talk to you.
These people are not selling products. They are selling clarity, certainty, and meaning. If it seems to you that we have entered spiritual territory, you are right.
The truth is that, deep down, we buy mostly for how the product makes us feel, not for what it does.
3. Silence is their secret weapon
Do you know that awkward moment when a customer is silent?
The average salesperson fills them with words. The successful salesperson… is silent too. He even does it with an almost malicious smile.
These professionals know that in silence the decision is settled. That the pause creates space for processing. That silence can be a test. Whoever manages it, leads the conversation.
In NLP, this is called calibrating to the internal rhythm of the interlocutor, a kind of silent but strategic dance.
4. They have an internal ego radar
No, not their own. Customer’s ego. Effective salespeople know when to give subtle praise, when to ask for the customer’s opinion as if they were talking to a Nobel laureate in procurement. They understand that a customer who feels smart and appreciated is an open customer.
They apply, often unconsciously, a simple NLP rule: “The person with the highest perceived status has the lowest perceived risk”.
If the salesperson makes the customer feel “the smartest in the room,” paradoxically, the customer will perceive the salesperson as a trustworthy person.
5. They choose their words consciously
“Try our product” versus “Discover how it can work for you.”
“The price is…” versus “The investment is…”
“We hope you will choose…” versus “When you decide to move forward…”
Good salespeople do not talk randomly. They know that language creates reality and shapes it through active verbs, sensory words, and positive assumptions.
In NLP, this is called the language of influence, and it is the difference between saying “are you looking?” and “what caught your eye?”
It’s not manipulation, it’s psychological subtlety. Or, if you prefer, rhetoric in 3D.
6. They control their state, no matter the situation
A poor salesperson reacts to the customer’s emotions. A good salesperson influences the customer’s emotions, but to do that, they must first control their own state. In NLP, internal state determines the quality of behavior.
The best ones anchor their resource states, such as calm, enthusiasm, curiosity. Then, they access them on command. They do not go into a meeting “to see what happens.” They go in mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared.
Find them in the corners of the building before the meeting by whispering “yes!” and giving ”hi fives”.
They are not crazy. They are professionals.
7. They understand that success lies in building relationships
The last characteristic is also the most important. Really good salespeople do not aim to close the sale. They aim to open a long-term relationship.
They have a "win-win" mindset and do not make contracts where the value is not clear to both parties.
They invest in trust, communication, and responsibility. They call their customers even after 6 months "just to check how it is going". When a customer becomes a salesperson’s fan, the sales process becomes a simple formality.
In conclusion
Successful salespeople are not actors reciting scripts. They are conversationalists, masters of applied psychology, and, sometimes, therapists disguised as sales professionals.
They have tact, discipline, intuition and a healthy dose of cynical humor about all things KPIs, CRMs and “warm lead tracking”.
In an increasingly noisy world, they win through subtlety. In an increasingly competitive market, they stand out through authenticity.
Most importantly, in an unstable economic landscape, they endure because they know this truth: selling begins with understanding and ends with trust. The rest is storytelling, NLP and, of course… follow-up.
#valoria #sales #skills #secrets #characteristics #discipline #clarity #results
About Valoria
Valoria is a consulting, training, and executive coaching company. Through our services, we help entrepreneurs to grow their business and make success concrete and predictable. Companies turn to us for marketing, human resources and sales consulting. We often respond to requests for training or coaching of management teams. Competence, trust, innovation and passion are the values we uphold in everything we do. We build long-term partnerships and collaborations, because we offer guaranteed results and the best quality, at the right price. Find out more at: www.valoria.ro.
