What Does It Take To Be A Top B2B Salesperson in 2024?
Coming up on my 8th year in sales is basically middled aged in sales years. It got me thinking, what does it take to be a top B2B salesperson in 2024?
Competition has never been more fierce, customers have never been more distracted with all the info they need to make a buying decision without ever needing to talk to a salesperson. Because of all this and more, according to Hubspot, the average sales rep turnover rate is 35% which is 3x’s higher than other professions and the average rep tenure is only 18 months.
I’ve interviewed many top sales reps in my career and they all have very different personalities. Some were relaxed, others energetic, some funny, others serious.
If there’s no cookie-cutter top sales personality, than why is it consistently the same reps that are the top performers both in revenue and activity every year?
When I thought about the similarities, I kept going back to the same word – obsessed.
I’ll explain.
While they all had very different personalities, they all had the following 20 things in common:
Hardworking
Always improving
Technically savvy
Up to date on the latest trends
Persistent, relentless
Always available
Never satisfied
Constantly providing value
Effective time management – spend most of their time with clients
Empathetic
Always happy to help
Fiercely competitive
Consistently prospecting
Reliable
Ambitious
Confident
Curious
Detail oriented
Passionate, enthusiastic
Personable, inviting, warm
Customers are their main priority. They want to spend all their time helping customers and finding new customers to help. They are at the center of everything they do. They are knowledgeable, so they can educate customers, stay up to date, so they can keep customers up to date, work hard so they find new customers and keep current customers happy. They are always available and reliable so they can always be there for customers. They hate letting customers down, but are enthusiastic and passionate about finding new ways to help them. As soon as they win one, they want another and when they decide they can help, they won’t stop until they do.
They are laser focused on helping as many customers as they can, in as many ways as they can. This commands most of their thoughts and energy at work. For this reason they are seen as indispensable partners by their customers who remain loyal.
They basically have the “Mamba Mentality”, but rather than their energy being directed at basketball, it’s directed at customers.
In other words, they are obsessed.
The sales professional has evolved dramatically in the last decade with the rise of social media, the internet and remote working. It’s no longer about steak dinners and golf outings. Relationships are still important, but the dynamic has changed. To thrive as a salesperson in 2024, you need to be seen as a strategic advisor to your clients to help guide and consult them while always adding value. To do this, you HAVE to be a domain expert, always remain up to date, and knowledge on anything that could impact their business so you can simplify complex topics.
Salespeople are a key part of their company’s differentiation and their customer’s companies in 2024.
As much as the sales role has evolved in the last 20 years, it seems like AI is about to disrupt it even more in the next 20. However, I am confident that the sales reps that remain obsessed with helping as many customers as they can, will be the ones who adapt and continue to thrive!
In my upcoming book, ‘B2B Sales Playbook: A Proven 10-Step Guide To Closing SaaS Deals’ coming out this Fall, I cover best practices in-depth walking step-by-step how to turn strangers into raving fan customers. We’ll review tried and true actionable tactics you can start using immediately to speed up every stage in the sales cycle including finding new qualified prospects, breaking through the noise to set up meetings, and consistently advancing deals towards the close!
Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, review my Meeting Hack: How to Secure Next Steps in 5 Minutes and join the waitlist for my upcoming book, ‘B2B Sales Playbook: A Proven 10-Step Guide To Closing SaaS Deals’ coming out early Fall!
