If you ask Denise about her passion, she will likely answer, “I love sales!” In working with business owners and upper-level management, she provides solutions to help organizations develop effective sales and management leaders, pursue new marketing opportunities, and grow revenue. Her recent engagements have included private executive, management and sales coaching and training; strategic business development planning; and comprehensive sales and marketing upgrades.
We asked her: “What qualities are needed to be successful in today’s workplace?” Here’s what she told us.
I’ve worked with companies of all sizes, across multiple industries, to develop and build effective sales professionals and teams, and I’ve found there are common qualities represented in top performers. The trick is knowing whether your team possesses them, and if not, whether they can learn and apply those characteristics (they can!).
It’s helpful to start by taking a step back and asking this question: “What do prospects want from sales professionals?” In nearly every case, they want to know how a product or service will solve a problem and/or help their business; they want to be listened to, educated, and shown value; and they want to be led to a win-win outcome.
Knowing that, we can then identify the characteristics of top sales performers: they show interest in others; listen; ask questions; build solid relationships; and use creativity to make the deal happen.
Which brings me to the questions asked by many of my clients as they seek to create winning sales teams: “How can I select a great salesperson? And what should I look for when interviewing?” These are the qualities that make elite sales professionals stand out:
- They engage with you immediately
- They ask many questions
- They are prepared and show interest
- They are often a “personal brand”
- They invest in self-development
- They have strong networks
- They are resilient even under difficult economic conditions
- They seek opportunities or make their own
Interested in learning more? Visit my website at www.denisehoran.com or check out my new book:
About Denise
Denise Horan, the founder and principal of Integrated Management & Sales Consulting, provides solutions to help organizations grow revenues, find new marketing opportunities and develop effective sales and management leaders. Recent engagements include: private sales coaching, strategic business development plans, executive coaching, comprehensive sales and marketing upgrades, and sales and management training and coaching.
Prior to establishing Integrated Management & Sales Consulting, Ms. Horan was Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Eastern Connection, a regional parcel express service, where she led a 28-member team across 13 states. Under her leadership, Eastern Connection generated record sales growth while reducing sales costs to produce unprecedented earnings.
In addition to having articles published in Office World News, Parcel Shipping and Distribution, Women@Work, and the Albany Business Review, Ms. Horan has been quoted in various news publications and trade journals. Most recently, she published her first book, Stories From The Sales Field, a collection of 60+ interviews from great sales performers. The book is available at www.denisehoran.com and on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Chapters Indigo.
Recent seminars include: Marketing Yourself; Successful Sales Strategies; Marketing and Ethics for the Legal Industry; Leading and Managing for Success; Remote Selling; and The Power of Body Language.
Ms. Horan earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Syracuse University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University at Albany. She has served as an adjunct professor at The Sage Colleges, and trained entrepreneurs for the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program at The Capital Region Chamber, and the Smart-Up Program at The Rensselaer Development Center of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce. In addition, she taught “Marketing & Ethics” for the Albany County Bar Association and “Marketing Your Practice” for the New York State Bar Association.
Ms. Horan is a member of The Consulting Alliance and The Circle Leadership Group, founder of The Sales Performers Club Capital Region NY, and a board member of the Women’s Employment & Resource Center. She is also a member of the Executive Women’s Golf Association/LPGA Amateurs.
Ms. Horan has been recognized by the YWCA for advancing the empowerment of women; by The Stakeholders as Volunteer of the Year; by the Women’s Employment & Resource Center as a pearl of wisdom and empowerment; and by the Capital Region Chamber as a Woman of Excellence.
Denise F. Horan
Founder and Principal