I’ve been hiring, leading, and coaching salespeople for 17+ years. At this point, I’ve probably spent more time with reps than with my family and friends.
And when you’re around that many salespeople for so long, you start to notice patterns. You start to see the difference between someone who’s going to crush quota and someone who’s just clocking in.
So I put together a list of the traits I’ve seen over and over again in top performers. If you’re hiring, training, or just trying to level up your team, these are the qualities to keep an eye out for:
1. Emotional Intelligence
If I could only teach one skill to every rep, it would be emotional intelligence. Because sales is human.
When I see a rep struggling with multithreading, missing the mark on discovery, or failing to build urgency, it’s often not a sales technique problem. It’s an EQ gap.
They’re not reading the room. They’re not recognizing when a stakeholder’s checked out, when a customer’s confused, or when someone’s not telling the whole story.
2. Active Listening
The one who talks the most in a call isn’t in control of the conversation. The best reps I’ve ever worked with talk less, listen more. They know that the real breakthroughs happen between the lines.
When reps get active listening right, it’s like flipping on a light switch. Suddenly, their discovery calls go deeper. Their questions become sharper. Prospects start opening up.
And here’s the real kicker: deals start moving faster. Because when a buyer feels truly heard, trust builds. And trust is the magic in sales.
3. Curiosity
One of the biggest mistakes reps make is assuming they have all the answers.
The best salespeople don’t show up with answers. They show up with questions. They don’t rush through discovery; they dig. They don’t just try to qualify a lead; they try to understand a business.
If reps are just going through the motions and are too comfortable in the shallows, they miss everything that lies beneath the surface: the deeper insights, the hidden needs, and the real opportunities that lead to bigger wins.
4. Resilience
Reps hear “no” more than they hear “yes.”
As a leader, you’ll notice if your reps don’t have resilience when they take a rejection too personally, stop making calls after a tough week, or their motivation fades after hitting a dry spell. They might start doubting their abilities, and that’s when you’ll see their performance slip.
But the best salespeople find a way to keep going no matter what. Because resilience is the skill that allows them to maintain that mental toughness, to find motivation even when it seems like everything is working against them.
5. Coachability
Coachable salespeople are willing to learn, open to feedback, eager to grow, and hungry for improvement. They make a conscious effort to listen to feedback, reflect on their performance, and apply new strategies.
They don’t just hear what their manager says, they internalize it. They ask questions, absorb insights, and apply them immediately. They see learning as an ongoing process, not a one-time event.
This mindset is what sets them apart.
Final Thoughts
You might not like what I have to say here, but if you want your reps to develop these skills, you’ve got to live them yourself.
You can’t expect your team to be curious if you’re not asking questions. You can’t expect them to be coachable if you shut down feedback. You can’t demand resilience if you crack every time a deal slips.
Your reps are watching. Always. And what you model, they mirror. That’s why real leadership starts with you.
You’ve got to model the behavior every day, even when it’s hard, even when you’re tired, even when no one’s watching.
Explore Further: Recommended Resources
If you’re serious about building a team with these traits, I highly recommend listening to my conversation with Jessica Klek. She breaks it down simply: talent, training, and incentives.
She shares how she looks for the traits you can’t teach, how she develops the ones you can, and how she builds a system that rewards the behavior that drives performance.
Give it a listen here:
