If you think that sales skills are exclusively the prerequisites of sales people, you could not be more wrong. Why? Because each one of us, whatever field we are working in, is selling something sometime. In order to be successful, you have to sell your ideas and beliefs to all kinds of audiences and convert them totally. That is basically the premise of all possible work fields. Hence, in order to be successful you should have, learn and nurture some basic sales skills. 

1. Passion about what you are doing – people will never be sold on anything until they feel your passion in whatever you are selling. You should fully believe in what you are doing. This attribute always works wonders for passion inspires enthusiasm and trust.  Whether you are asking for a promotion, selling a product, or promoting a service your passion would be the strongest convincing factor. 

2. Confidence and humility – have you ever seen a ‘know-all’ salesperson? Would you like to dialogue with such a person? Of course not – for it is quite irritating to have someone condescending talking to you.  At the same time, you would not entertain someone timid either. You need to strike a balance here where you come across as a confident person, yet humble enough to listen to what the other person says. A confident person inspires trust while humility builds relationships – both invaluable traits in professional associations. 

3. Ability to swim against the current – very often, certain concepts are not immediately accepted and recognized for their intrinsic value. In such cases, you are faced with strong opposition or worse various levels of threat. An excellent sales trait here is the ability to swim against the current sometimes, until you are able to get your point across. You need to be able to believe in yourself when all others around you – and often these are people who matter – say you are wrong. 

4. Perseverance – history is witness that many good ideas failed miserably in the beginning. Perseverance is another golden attribute that changes failure into success. You should develop a ‘never give up’ attitude, which is highly infectious in the long run, and which is bound to build a long list of admirers and followers. 

5. Bonding – inter-personal relationships, networking, team building are all different types of bonding. This is a trait that should be cultivated carefully for bonding is what will promote you when you are at the peak or at the bottom.