Ever wonder how those great salespeople outperform everyone else year in and year out? Here’s what gives. If you want to sell more, like those top-performing salespeople – there’s a hack for that!

I get asked from time to time, “What makes a great salesperson?” While I always go to the same list of attributes, the top two are what I call the secret sauce of sales.

I’m in the process of reviewing James Muir’s new book “The Perfect Close”, and I came across this most interesting study. The study involved monkeys, peanuts, and mirror neurons. The applications for the sales community are obvious and powerful.

Ryan Taft believes there is far more to being a great sales professional than simply being able to ask for the sale. Here is his list of the Top 10 Character Traits of Great Salespeople.

Stephen Covey said it well: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to respond.” As sales professionals, we would do well to pay attention to Covey’s cautionary observation. This subtle change could produce major results.

Top sales performers are obsessed with lead conversion. Great salespeople stay focused on moving the right buyers through the process quickly. Amy O’Connor shares some pro tips on how to effectively achieve lead conversion – which leads to becoming a great salesperson!

I love analyzing stuff. Recently, I’ve been fascinated by the findings of psychological studies on the buying process and how the priming effect can have a significant impact on your customers final decision.

As Ryan Taft trains across the country he sees a tendency in sales professionals to solve customers’ problems too fast. You are probably thinking, “Dude…that’s our job.” I know. Technically, solving problems is your job , but what if you’re prematurely trying to solve a problem before you truly understand it? If you do, you’re likely to provide an incorrect solution for your customer.

There are a lot of salespeople out there, and sadly, there are a lot of bad salespeople out there. But what about the great salespeople. Here are nine attributes that I think make a truly great salesperson.

Buyer objections are a challenge. They sometimes make salespeople feel antsy, panicky, defensive or even annoyed. Amy O’Connor explains that when the salesperson experiences any of these negative emotions it often shows up in their nonverbals. Here’s the big problem, buyers pick up on these (sometimes not so subtle) cues.