So I spent 6 months or so sitting in a room with 3 really good salespeople selling solar power systems to homeowners (anywhere from $20k up). The things I notic

So I spent 6 months or so sitting in a room with 3 really good salespeople selling solar power systems to homeowners (anywhere from $20k up). The things I noticed, listening to their phone patter, etc. - Building trust is the most important thing in getting to a close. The buyer has to feel like you're working for them, and that your knowledge is valuable. In the end they should feel that you've done such a great job helping them figure out all the options and pitfalls, that they're very happy to pay you a commission. - Feeding and monitoring the pipeline and allocating your time matters. You get many people with just casual interest. You have to serve them well, but also not misallocate time, as you have to devote the majority of time to people who are closer to the actual sale. So you have to be able to judge how serious people are. CRMs (i.e. Sales Force) are your best friends. - Despite the last point, sometimes big sales appear out of the blue, from customers you thought you lost, or someone you met at a party, or whatever. Network a lot and never burn your bridges. - "Hard" selling doesn't work. - There's no one "salesman" personality. There's traits you need (especially that you enjoy talking to people), but the 3 guys were all over the map.