13 Essential Sales Skills That Will Help You Close More Deals (and How to Develop Them)
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2025 4:38 am
If you want to improve your team's sales skills and performance, you need to develop both individual technical skills (product knowledge and technical competence) and interpersonal skills (empathy, persuasion, and adaptability).
According to our 2020-2021 State of Sales report , salespeople who develop their interpersonal skills are 11 percentage points more likely to always or almost always meet their sales goals than those who don't. The majority of respondents (88%) also noted that they regularly work on their interpersonal skills, which helps them be more successful.
A quick internet search for statistics related to customer satisfaction and conversion rates is enough to understand that improving a person's skills and abilities has tangible benefits that will be reflected in the results.
In this article, we'll cover the most important individual, technical, and interpersonal skills a salesperson should possess, as well as some tips for developing them.
7 interpersonal sales skills that will help you close more deals
Interpersonal skills, also known as soft, common, or core skills, refer to those skills that are relevant to all sales professionals, such as communication and empathy.
While all interpersonal skills are valuable, some are particularly useful for sales representatives looking to meet their goals and generate revenue.
These are the seven interpersonal skills that will help you build strong bc data singapore relationships and close more deals.
1. Empathy
An empathetic sales representative prioritizes the emotions and goals of their leads and prospects before their own.
When you show that you care about your customer's needs , you build trust. This is especially helpful when you consider that 79% of consumers make a purchase decision if a business has demonstrated interest in their needs.
In addition to building trust, empathy helps sales reps delve deeper into their leads' problems, so they can find the root cause and offer the best solution. This, in turn, makes it much easier to offer relevant recommendations, whether for a product or a service, which contributes to a personalized shopping experience and greater customer satisfaction.
According to our 2020-2021 State of Sales report , salespeople who develop their interpersonal skills are 11 percentage points more likely to always or almost always meet their sales goals than those who don't. The majority of respondents (88%) also noted that they regularly work on their interpersonal skills, which helps them be more successful.
A quick internet search for statistics related to customer satisfaction and conversion rates is enough to understand that improving a person's skills and abilities has tangible benefits that will be reflected in the results.
In this article, we'll cover the most important individual, technical, and interpersonal skills a salesperson should possess, as well as some tips for developing them.
7 interpersonal sales skills that will help you close more deals
Interpersonal skills, also known as soft, common, or core skills, refer to those skills that are relevant to all sales professionals, such as communication and empathy.
While all interpersonal skills are valuable, some are particularly useful for sales representatives looking to meet their goals and generate revenue.
These are the seven interpersonal skills that will help you build strong bc data singapore relationships and close more deals.
1. Empathy
An empathetic sales representative prioritizes the emotions and goals of their leads and prospects before their own.
When you show that you care about your customer's needs , you build trust. This is especially helpful when you consider that 79% of consumers make a purchase decision if a business has demonstrated interest in their needs.
In addition to building trust, empathy helps sales reps delve deeper into their leads' problems, so they can find the root cause and offer the best solution. This, in turn, makes it much easier to offer relevant recommendations, whether for a product or a service, which contributes to a personalized shopping experience and greater customer satisfaction.