What does a good technical salesperson look like?

Business developers come in every size, shape, and type. Of course, you know the BD person who can memorize every name in the room, or the one who can squeeze information out of any recalcitrant contracting agent. Those are obvious. But for every glad-hander, we know dozens of sales geniuses who defy typecasting. Some are modest, quiet, hardly say anything at the office, but they always return from business trips with million dollar contracts. What qualities do they all share? In fact, they share many of the same attributes.

•  Empathetic— great business developers care about the challenges people face and they have a desire to help. They show a natural curiosity, because it leads them to ask questions and learn. Learning about another person’s goals and problems leads to creating a trusting partnership centered on common interests.
• Competitive— successful business developers enjoy winning work, no doubt. But they show their greatest passion when they lose. Great BD people hate to lose. Their disgust in seeing the competition selected is so crushing that they push themselves relentlessly to avoid defeat. They are the people who make one extra phone call, write one more draft of the proposal, prepare one extra hour for an interview. That’s what sets them apart from others.
• Strategic— most great business developers think strategically about pursuing new work. Like great chess players, they strategize several moves ahead of their current position. It provides them with constant momentum. They know the steps that will lead to successful selection and they know how to sidestep the competition’s efforts. They may work harder than anyone, but they set themselves apart by working smarter than everyone.
• Optimistically Opportunistic— Great business developers envision opportunities where mere mortals only see the immediate project in front of them. Their sense of timing is acute, acting speedily to position their firm for the best possible outcome.
• Perseverant— these people never give up. They overcome long odds by continually finding new ways to win. Their stamina gives them an advantage, enabling them to outlast the competition. Some have been known to pursue a sale for ten years or more.
• Street-smart— we were tempted to say that great business developers have a lot of common sense. This is certainly true, but it understates their business prowess. Great business developers can cut through the fog of technical details and politics and see through complex issues with clarity. There is no substitute for hard-won experience coupled with savvy.
• Urgent— most importantly, the characteristic of a great business developer that sets them apart is their overriding sense of URGENCY. They’re not impatient, they’re certainly not desperate, but they approach work every day with a sense of urgency. That part of their personality makes them move constantly toward closing the deal, moving every conversation toward an inevitable contract.

 In our experience, these are the traits that successful business developers share. Of course, you often have to share the room with other aspects of their personalities, including oversized egos and embarrassing selfishness. But no one’s perfect. And a salesperson with a well-fed ego often has justification. They win work, a lot of it, and they want you to know it. We can live with that.