I've worked in companies driven by mega deals, and I've also worked in businesses driven by steady small to mid-size accounts. One thing I know for certain – no matter the size of the business or structure of the deal– it takes the right salesperson to turn an opportunity into a sale.

Blogger Tim Denning has spent the years analyzing salespeople. He's identified 10 key characteristics that separate the good salespeople – the ones who close the deals – from the bad. We're sharing Denning's top 10 in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

1. They're humble. Effective salespeople don't try to tear everyone else down. They don't think they're the best. They want to train the junior salespeople and they aspire to being leaders. Humble salespeople do all of these things because they know that if they didn't have access to those same tools, they'd never be where they are. Bragging will eventually reflect in sales performance. They know that no salesperson is ever going to be on top of the leaderboard forever.

2. They get that relationships are everything. If someone doesn't like you, they probably aren't buying from you. A relationship with a client is built with respect, vulnerability and rapport. If you nail those three, then you'll have a genuine relationship with the client. A relationship is another word for trust. Once you're trusted, you'll get the business.

3. They understand the power of referrals. For salespeople who know their craft there's one word: referrals. Referrals come from doing a good job and delivering on what you say you will. That quality is rare, and that's why many salespeople don't get referrals. If you want to compound your results, you must do your best to out deliver. This doesn't mean underselling so that you can deliver what the client actually paid for; out delivering is delivering more value than should normally be expected from the same product or service in the marketplace.

4. They have gone all in on social media. Everyone Googles everyone nowadays. When someone looks you up, they should see a professional social media profile like LinkedIn, some content from you about your industry, and reviews or references from people you've previously sold to. A strong social media presence allows brilliant salespeople to have warm prospects approach them rather than having to go looking for them.

5. They take the complex and make it simple. That's why we fell in love with Apple. They took hundreds of menus and turned them into a few beautiful app icons. Life is complex enough, and a brilliant salesperson can help us take a load off by giving advice to us in easy-to-understand language. This method of communication requires the "less is more" approach—no acronyms, no industry jargon and a step-by-step process that can easily be followed.

They use discipline to their advantage. To be good at sales, you need to be disciplined. You can't help everyone. You only have so much time to prospect. You have to make the calls, respond to emails and see clients to make target.

If you don't do the basics, you won't be successful. Phone calls, emails and prospecting meetings are the exercises used in the sales world. The more you practice the exercises and stick to the plan, the more you will improve.

Ready for more traits of a successful sales people? Read PCT again tomorrow.

Source: Tim Denning is a viral blogger with a focus on inspiring the world through personal development and entrepreneurship.