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Top Tech Sellers Share These 10 Traits
Published 12 days ago • 2 min read
10 Traits of Top Tech Sellers
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About a week ago, I was scrolling on Reddit and came across a post on r/techsales by u/salesguy0321 titled: What makes a great AE at Upper Mid-Market/Enterprise Level?
The post went on to ask the question: What separates a good AE from a great one?
By default, I'm a lurker on Reddit and don't typically take time to comment, but when I saw this post, I just had to share my two cents.
After all, with 10 years working alongside some of the best sellers in the industry and then spending the last 5 years interviewing top performers on the Podcast, I felt pretty qualified to comment.
Me (left) and my good friend and sales mentor of many years, Dustin Brown (right). Dustin is a top 1% tech seller and a fantastic example of someone who practices these 10 traits.
So I responded with 10 traits that I've observed in top-performing strategic sellers that separate the good from the great. Here's what I said:
The top tech sellers are:
Operators - They develop and implement standard operating procedures to stay consistent and measure results and outcomes.
Authentic - People buy from people they like and trust. Authenticity breeds trust and likeability, which results in greater success.
Project Managers - They treat deals like projects to manage and not sales to be closed.
Experts - In their product, internal and external processes, and industry knowledge.
Urgent - They don’t wait until tomorrow to send that email or make that call. They do it NOW. They know time kills deals.
Insanely Curious - Why change? Why now? What happens if my buyer does nothing? What’s in it for my Champion or Executive Sponsor? Who owns X function or Y budget?
Creatives & Storytellers - They develop a compelling narrative and point of view around the business impact of their solution that will resonate with all stakeholders.
They Are Stoics - They can mentally detach from the outcome.
Coachable - They seek out feedback from leaders, peers, mentors, and even buyers themselves. They implement constructive feedback as needed to improve their performance.
Determined - They are always looking for a way forward and know that success is never linear. You will lose a deal 2 or 3 times before you win.
These traits may come naturally to some more than others; however, I believe that everything I've listed above can be learned and developed over time and with practice and intention.
Now I want to hear from you. What would you add to the list? Here's to a great week ahead! -Jesse
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Sales Players is on a mission to reach 1,000 reps, founders, and operators in tech with FREE weekly content that explores the mindset, skills, trends, and tools used by the industry's top players to win at the game of tech sales.
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