Skills and traits are the lifeblood of sellers. Heck…they’re the lifeblood of every business person, but because selling is so complex and nuanced, the seller’s toolkit must be a bit more robust than the average working stiff. (No offense meant for hard-working non-sellers everywhere.)

What separates all sellers is a combination of skills and determination. There’s no way to calculate a formula for which skill is most important, but here are a few top skills sellers need to focus on:

1. Objection handling. A seller who can’t work through obstacles and objections is not really a seller. OH is the defining skill that separates sellers from every other profession because it marries urgency and healthy confrontation, which illicit action!

2. Communications. If your ears are closed, or you have no ability to listen effectively, you’re doomed. If you can’t present ideas crisply and enthusiastically, you’re doomed. If you can’t engage with humans and make them feel important and heard….yup, you guessed it, you’re doomed.

3. Value. If you have no idea how to talk value with a customer and translate your product’s features into benefits, your phone won’t ring. Owning one’s value proposition means you can – with dexterity – continually frame your conversations in such a way that makes the buyer salivate for your offering.

4. Probing/Qualifying. Pushing to find more and the truth are skills that are learned and activated by a big dose of confidence and preparation. Buyers don’t intentionally withhold info but won’t share unless you know how to unlock the insights you need to provide sellable solutions.

Those four core skills are just the tip of the iceberg. Sure, storytelling, negotiating, "preparation," and others are key to success for sellers. While many skills are learned by doing, individuals seeking instruction and high-level mastery separate themselves from the competition.

Just so you are aware, those folks are called the TOP 10%.