Soft Skills For Sales Should Be Part of Every Employee Development Plan

Why Soft Skills for Sales

Employee development plans help build strong sales teams, and that means business growth. 

We all want our sales teams to be operating at full potential. The sales game has changed, however. Salespeople are excelling with the use of soft skills and beating those quotas. It seems like those two ideas don’t jive, but…we all want to be around people we feel “get us.” People do business with people they like. 

It makes sense, if you think about it. We’re more open with people who are likely to listen to us. We will talk about our needs and what we want from a product or service. Customer openness will give a salesperson an edge and a chance to solve those problems and fulfill those needs. 

What Soft Skills Matter in Modern Sales

• Resilience 

Your sales team members may need to take a lot of no’s before they get to the yes. Rejection can be cumulative. Keep your team on track by building their resilience.

• Curiosity 

The world is changing fast. Curiosity inspires your team to jump in and learn about new product features or new services. And when the playing field changes, your team needs to learn about their new target customers’ needs. Curiosity is key.

• Communication

Your sales team needs to deliver the right message that’s on-brand. They also need to communicate client needs and wants back to their organization. Help the flow of information with communication training.

• Active Listening 

Active listening can help your team avoid disastrous misunderstandings.

• Empathy

Feeling what another person is feeling helps your sales team identify with their customers. The customer will sense this and respond positively.

• Decisiveness

Decisiveness allows the salesperson to move forward confidently when they understand the customer’s needs. A salesperson’s certainty with a solution is attractive and soothing to the customer.

• Emotional Intelligence

This soft skill helps the salesperson understand their client’s state of mind and act accordingly.

• Time Management

Better managed time means more time in front of the customer.

• Adaptability

The world is changing rapidly. Learning to be adaptable helps our sales team respond quickly and positively to new markets and products.

• Persuasion

This skill helps the salesperson encourage the client to choose the best option for them without resorting to hard-sell tactics.

Build An Employee Development Plan for Sales Training That Includes Soft Skills

The first question on your mind must be how do we teach someone to be more empathetic? Or persuasive? Or adaptable? We tend to see these skills as inherent—something you’re either born with or not. 

Well, we know sales training is successful. It has been shown to increase sales and overall customer engagement. And the good news? Soft skills can be boosted via training. Even soft skills like creativity can be taught. 

But few companies offer soft skills training. So, sales training that includes soft skills will not only mean more sales, it will give your company a competitive edge.

1Huddle Is The Best Sales Training App for Soft Skills

1Huddle is your best sales training app for teaching soft skills. 

1Huddle sales training app runs on cell phones, making it a convenient tool. 1Huddle will take content that may be foreign (or even uncomfortable) for your sales team and allow them to learn privately and at their own pace. 

The 1Huddle game leaderboard will be fun for your team, ensuring they participate. 1Huddle is also designed to re-enforce these new materials by encouraging review, which means these new skills are retained and implemented on a day-to-day basis.

The kicker? 1Huddle has full management features. The sales training app allows your management to track training progress and offer extra help where needed.

Boost your sales team’s performance. Get an edge on your competition. Grow sales and build your business. Get a 1Huddle demo today!