Behavioural skills play an important role in the sales negotiation process. Your ability to communicate and listen, as well as problem solve and work with a team will directly impact the impression you make on leads, and prospects. Where you find yourself in a position of negotiation, your behavioural skills become apparent and may help or hinder the outcome of your efforts. In this article we delve into the behavioural skills required to negotiate a sale and work within an established sales team.
What Are Behavioural Skills?
You may have heard of behavioural skills referred to as ‘soft skills’. They are the type of skills we possess which impact our ability to interact with people, form relationships, deal with situations and more.
While they are not skills you will typically take at school or learn via a webinar or seminar, they are skills that are developed overtime and can be transferable throughout your life across a wide range of roles. You can, however, put in the work to learn how to develop these skills. Many sales teams will undergo sales training and behavioural skills programs to enhance these skills.
Examples of ‘Soft Skills’:
- Communication
- Conflict resolution skills
- Team work
- Problem solving
- Adaptability
- Confidence building
- Organisational skills
Many of these will be important throughout the sales process and most importantly, when negotiating deals. They help to build relationships with customers and clients, building a rapport and creating an effective sales negotiation process.
Communication
Communication is one of the most important skills in the sales industry. Required to build relationships, work within teams and negotiate effectively. Having good communication skills, as well as the self-confidence to communicate with anyone, makes for a good sales representative. Whether you run your own business or work as part of a team, building and developing your communication skills and learning how to communicate with different types of people is incredibly important at various stages of your career.
Problem solving
Throughout the sales process there will be many different problems that arise. From mis-communication issues to problems with clients having different needs or ideas on pricing, problem-solving skills are key to reaching resolutions and closing deals. Most sales negotiations are not plain sailing, so knowing how to handle difficult situations, take control and solve the problem will ensure the relationship with your client does not break down as a result of one issue.
Team work
Despite some sales representatives working alone, teamwork skills are still imperative to the sales process. Working collaboratively with other team members, such as the marketing department or customer service representatives, can greatly improve overall sales performance.
Teamwork in sales involves effective communication and coordination between team members to achieve a common goal.
Adaptability
Being able to adapt to different situations and environments will greatly benefit the sales team. Each client, prospect, lead, stakeholder is different and will have different needs and wants. Being able to adapt to these and their ways of communication will make sales teams stand out. This is what separates good from great.
Empathy and listening skills
As well as being able to lead conversations, and have great communication, sales reps also need to learn the importance of listening. Those who can build a rapport with their customers and grow relationships to form a close connection with a buyer or client will have the ability to listen and understand others’ needs.
By undergoing training programs teams or individuals who may be struggling with one or more of their behavioural skills will learn techniques and practices to enhance their approach and improve their sales processes.
