That’s a great question- I agree with your answer and thoughts on it. A big part of selling any item is the feel and confidence that you get when purchasing it but also the factual performance of the product or service itself. Were you provided with enough information to determine that the product in question will make your life easier or is it necessary in some way? Will it fulfill a need or issue that needs to be addressed? If the salesperson cannot answer these questions from a technical standpoint, the purpose of purchasing would not be clear to them and the sale would be lost. On the interpersonal skill side, if someone tries to sell you something and they do not believe in the product or service themselves, it would most likely be reflected in their body language and enthusiasm. If they do no have confidence in the product, it is hard to push that confidence onto someone else. I would say that both are essential parts, as well as several other skills such as emotional intelligence and professionalism. It can be hard for a salesperson to accept “no” for an answer and walk away on a professional note in the case that the buyer in question changes their mind or would like a different product of yours later. It is for this reason that emotional intelligence and professionalism are essential in sales as well.

Completely agree it is a combination of both. While your business training is needed so you know to keep the company first it is all communication/interpersonal skills. That is why they don't just send anyone to make deals but usually people who are charismatic. Business knowledge or just knowledge of the product in general helps during the negotiation phase and any technical questions that may arise but it is not always this way. I have had some companies come and demo products in groups of two, where one tried to sell the product and the other handled all technical questions and also did the demo. I guess it varies?

I do agree that both of the interpersonal skill and business knowledge are important during negotiation. However, interpersonal skill should definitely weight more since that is the drive that provides the trust to the customer of the product you are selling. Also, providing the technical details is important but with the mix of the interpersonal helps to better communicate about the product. For instance, if you have someone that knows all about the product but doesn’t have the ability to connect to the customer, it is hard to sell the product as an item that customer would benefit.

I agree with the comments above where a successful team leader should have good interpersonal skills. It is essential for the leader to additionally have knowledge of the market place, costs of competitors and understand the customer you are trying to sell to. Along with this I believe emotional intelligence is another added skill that is needed. Emotional intelligence is the capability of individuals who recognize their own, and other people's emotions, to discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and to manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt environments or achieve one's goal. This aspect is quite beneficial in negotiating because having this understanding creates a better relationship between the leader and customer.

Coleman, Andrew (2008). A Dictionary of Psychology (3 ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199534067.

Thank you everyone for sharing your response. Glad to hear everyone agrees with my original post. Adding to that, I will definitely agree with jnm22 that both are essential and that interpersonal skills do tend to weigh more regardless of your technical knowledge of the product. Because many people like Bill Gates are the most successful people in the world and their educational background is only high school. Yes he dropped from harvard and getting into harvard isn't easy. But I truly believe he became the most successful in his field because of his interpersonal skills. People listen to him and respect him regardless of his educational background. While some people are very smart but fail to succeed because they are not able to connect with the people around them or in a another field.

Hi All,

Thank you for the question as well as the comments so far. I believe that, as stated above, both interpersonal skills and business skills are needed to close a deal. To give an example, I currently have a colleague who had never worked in pharmaceuticals, but was a sales person within other companies. Working within our company he is one of the best sales person as he has great interpersonal skills. While there was a time for him to learn more about the business, but his interpersonal skills really assisted in allowing him to become a person able to make many deals within these companies.

-Andrew Nashed

I completely agree, to be in business you have to have an the knowledge of industry and most importantly the ability to speak and negotiate with potential buyers. I know I personally deal with a particular vendor and he goes to great lengths to show us that he sells the best products, it goes to the point where he would give us a piece of equipment for a 2 week trial to try to pitch the equipment to us.

Chris

I agree with both interpersonal skills and business skills because this will help to either fix or make a good deal with someone you are dealing. So yes you kind need both of this skills at the same level, they should weight the same.

Interpersonal skills and business skills vary from one company to another specially in medical device fields where it's not so easy to do everything yourself with all the ISO & FDA regulations. I've seen and heard about companies that take care of the sales portion for many medical devices. Those guys have the engineering background as well as business oriented for the technical specs.

First of all, any team leader's responsibilities are to manage his/her team to make sure all the tasks are performed on time. Coming from a big company where I see billions of dollars are being spent on goods and then regained in sales, I believe the best situation is to split the roles of interpersonal skills and the business skills but have both knowledge and background of both.

Smaller companies maybe with one or two products but with huge companies, it would take years for any team leader to manage the functionality of the product and manage the sales as well. That is why there is always many teams; product development, research & development, production, process engineering, manufacturing, quality, procurement, & Marketing. Each team takes a role to fulfill the business need. But with small companies that just produce one or two products, it can be done if it's with multiple vendors.

Interpersonal skills and business skills both are important to make a good deal.Interpersonal skills are the way to how someone relate and communicate with other.Without interpersonal skill everyday business would be very difficult .For various reasons interpersonal skills are crucial .However knowledge of business principles is also essential .Making a deal requires a great business knowledge and experience .Business deals requires negotiation.Strong skills in negotiation can help to get better deal.It is also important to be able to promote products or services effectively .

When deciding to sign a contract with a customer you need both interpersonal skills and business knowledge. From experience working with suppliers, you need to be knowledgeable of the product, risks, financial obligations required in persuading your team and vendor to commit to a contract. In addition, you need interpersonal skills especially as the leader/spokesperson of the company. In order to create compromise contract which is favorable for you and your customer you need to persuade the customer using your interpersonal skills. Some leaders do not have interpersonal skills which can result in a fall out with a customer because, even though you have the business knowledge, if the customer is not able to communicate with you with confidence then they will hesitate to sign any deals.

A person business and technical acumen are very important in term of relation to deals. Each party is taking a risk for each other to work together, and the knowledge provides confidence that the deal will be executed effectively. The interpersonal add the quality factor into a deal. For example, when interviewing for a job the interviewer also access your thought process and your ability to communicate with others, this is to see if the person would actually work with the person. This goes for this example as well, the supplier or any other entity working with the company wants to know if their deal will be executed in a proper manner. The combination of the two initiated a lasting partnership that shared both confidence and quality in the implementation of terms. Another important aspect is that the two properties provide a safety net for the other, for example, if for some reason there is a technical issue, the excellent interpersonal skill of an engineer can help deal with the issue. On the other hand, if for a small reason the communication was negatively affected; a history of good technical efficacy can help maintain that relationship. This is seen where I worked, small mistakes happen and having a good history with another person/entity can help keep those business relationships.

When a company makes a deal with the customer, it is very important that the person making the deal has both interpersonal skills and business knowledge. Business knowledge is a key factor in making a business deal. If the team leader does not have full understanding on their product then the customer will not be as interested. In addition, if the customer does not receive all the information on the product, they will still have doubts and will very likely not sign off on the product. Interpersonal skills are another characteristic that the team leader should consist of, as well. When the team leader has this type of skill set, the customer will feel more comfortable with the deal and be able to relate more. If the team leader just basically says this is my product and that’s it, the customer will not feel as welcomed to the idea. Both these traits play a big role in successfully making deal with customers.

It is essential to have both accurate business knowledge as well as good interpersonal skills. This comes from any point of sales in any aspect, everything from clothing retail to medical device sales. In order to first develop a bond with the customer, the interpersonal skills must be present. A sales rep cannot be awkward and standoffish when attempting to make a sale. These interpersonal skills make the customer more comfortable and feel a sense of familiarity when talking to the sales rep. It fosters a relationship that can enhance their decision to seal the deal. However, it takes more than raw charisma to win over most knowledgeable customers. It is essential to understand the technical aspects of the device or sale being made. An inquisitive customer is likely to ask many questions so a sales rep should be well versed in the logistics of what they are selling. Additionally, a customer will be more confident in their decision if you are confident in what you are selling.