The “Big Five” personality dimensions are neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, and extraversion. The three most important traits for a sales representative are extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness. Extraversion is a critical aspect of sales because being able to initiate conversations and communicate with customers. It is important to note that extroverts are more likely to find satisfaction in interacting with people, which will be a major contributing factor to ensuring that such an individual is experiencing job satisfaction.
It is highly challenging to conduct effective sales without one’s ability to communicate with other people unless sales are primarily conducted through technology, in which case, a sales representative’s role is limited. Openness is another important trait for a sales representative since such a person needs to be open to new ideas and concepts because achieving a successful deal is more likely when the sides are willing to compromise.
In addition, a sales process is filled with novel experiences because clients can come from a diverse range of backgrounds and with a variety of needs. Therefore, the given specialty requires one to be capable of embracing new ideas and experiences, which will ensure that clients are well-understood. Conscientiousness is also relevant because it refers to an individual’s eagerness to be goal-oriented, hard-working, organized, and responsible. These qualities are of paramount importance for a sales representative since sales-related objectives need to be achieved, and customers are more willing to cooperate with people who are responsible. Neuroticism is an undesirable trait for a sales representative since it implies that one will be prone to experience sadness, irritability, anxiety, and mood swings. These qualities will be detrimental in a sales process because clients can be a source of irritation and stress, and thus, a sales representative needs to be able to cope with such challenges of pressure by remaining calm, rational, objective, and optimistic.
Agreeableness is also an undesirable trait because it means that a person needs to be willing to comply with the demands of the other party. Although such a trait might be useful in some fields and occupations, sales involve negotiations, where one’s profitability is dependent on his or her ability to protect the interests. Being cooperative and compromising does not necessarily mean being agreeable since it is critical to convince customers to purchase a product or service at a set price and under set conditions.