The #1 Personality Trait of Rockstar Sales Reps in 2016 [Research]

Sarah had been pursuing the client for over a year. A Fortune 500 company, they would be her biggest deal ever – if she could get them to sign. But the sales cycle was dragging on with no end in sight. The decision-maker went silent for weeks at a time. Competitors swooped in with lowball offers. New stakeholders entered the picture, forcing Sarah to start from square one.

Her manager told her to cut bait and focus elsewhere, but Sarah couldn‘t bring herself to give up. She believed in her solution and knew the client needed it. So she kept at it, week after grueling week, until finally, miraculously, the client said yes. The deal closed and Sarah crushed her quota for the quarter. Her secret weapon? Resilience.

According to research from InsideSales.com, resilience was the #1 personality trait sales leaders attributed to their top-performing reps in 2016. In a survey of over 1,000 companies, 42% of sales leaders named resilience as the most important characteristic for success, beating out empathy (30%), ambition (27%), and other traits.

So what exactly is resilience, and why does it matter so much in sales? Simply put, resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficulties and thrive in the face of challenges. It‘s what allows reps to stay motivated, optimistic and productive despite the inevitable rejections, objections and obstacles they face on a daily basis.

Consider that according a study by Scripted, the average prospecting email has a response rate of just 1%. That means reps face rejection in a whopping 99% of their outreach attempts. A rep who makes 50 cold calls per day will hear ‘no‘ or nothing at all up to 49 times in a single afternoon. Over the course of a month, that‘s nearly 1,000 rejections.

Faced with that much negativity, it‘s no wonder that 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up attempt. But top reps, like Sarah, find a way to persevere. They view rejection as a temporary setback rather than a personal failure. They get energized by challenges and believe that effort and persistence will eventually pay off.

According to Harvard Business Review, this type of resilience depends on three key abilities:

1. The capacity to accept reality and face facts
2. The ability to find meaning in hardship and see obstacles as opportunities
3. The ingenuity to improvise and adapt to changing circumstances

Resilient reps rely on these strengths to power them through the ups and downs of the sales process. When a seemingly warm lead turns cold, they accept it and move on to the next one. When a client raises yet another objection, they view it as a chance to learn and sharpen their pitch. When a deal they‘ve worked on for months falls through, they find a lesson in the loss and resolve to do better next time.

Cultivating resilience requires deliberate practice and patience, but it‘s a skill any rep can develop. Here are some proven strategies:

Reframe rejection as redirection

Don‘t take rejection personally or let it erode your sense of self-worth. Instead, view it as valuable feedback you can use to improve. Focus on the process, not the outcome. Celebrate the effort behind every no because it gets you closer to a yes.

Develop a growth mindset

Researchers have found that people with a growth mindset – who believe abilities can be developed through hard work – are more resilient than those with a fixed mindset. Embrace challenges, learn from criticism, and find inspiration in others‘ success.

Find meaning in adversity

During difficult times, resilient people ask themselves, "What can I learn from this? How can I grow as a result of this struggle?" They find a higher purpose that allows them to endure setbacks and stay committed to their goals. For reps, that purpose is often tied to a desire to help clients succeed.

Lean on your support system

Build a network of people who believe in you and want to see you succeed. This can include mentors, managers, coworkers, friends and family. Don‘t hesitate to ask for their advice and perspective when you‘re feeling stuck or discouraged. Sometimes simply talking through a challenge out loud yields new solutions.

Practice positive self-talk

Pay attention to your inner dialogue and avoid negative, self-defeating statements. Instead, talk to yourself like you would a good friend – with compassion, encouragement and a focus on strengths. Use empowering affirmations like "I can handle this" or "I‘ll figure this out" to build confidence.

Prioritize self-care

You can‘t pour from an empty cup. Resilience requires physical and mental stamina, so make time for activities that recharge you. Exercise regularly, eat well, get enough sleep, and practice stress-relief techniques like deep breathing or meditation. Taking care of yourself will give you the energy and clarity to bounce back from setbacks.

In addition to resilience, the InsideSales study identified empathy and ambition as the other top traits sales leaders value. Empathy allows reps to put themselves in the customer‘s shoes, build trust, and act as a true partner rather than just a vendor. Ambitious reps set stretch goals, push themselves to constantly improve, and inspire their teams with their drive.

Interestingly, the study also found that sales leaders plan to hire more women and minorities in 2016 to diversify their teams. Research has repeatedly shown that diversity drives better business results, and progressive sales orgs recognize they need a variety of backgrounds and perspectives to succeed in an increasingly diverse marketplace.

Ultimately, the difference between good reps and great ones often comes down to intangible traits like resilience. Rockstar reps don‘t just consistently hit quota – they build lasting relationships and inspire customer loyalty. They‘re able to do this because they weather the constant storms of objections, rejections and obstacles without getting knocked off course.

Resilient reps take a long-term view and a customer-centric approach. They understand that sales success is a marathon, not a sprint. While others throw in the towel after a few setbacks, resilient reps gut it out and eventually cross the finish line – closing bigger deals, earning more referrals, and accelerating the growth of their organizations.

As Einstein once said, "It‘s not that I‘m so smart, it‘s just that I stay with problems longer." The same could be said of rockstar sales reps. They don‘t have some innate selling gift; they just keep showing up, day after difficult day. And that resilience makes all the difference.