Salespeople are knowledge brokers. They take what they know about the customer's needs, process that information with what they know about their product and company and come up with a solution that brings value to their customers and their companies.

Knowledge tops the list of desirable salesperson attributes. Customers want to deal with knowledgeable salespeople. Sir Francis Bacon's famous quote, “Knowledge is power,” is especially true for salespeople.

Knowledge plays a major role in professional competence for salespeople. In sales, knowledge is more than a “features and benefits” understanding of one's product. Knowledge means understanding the down-line value of your solution. You must be able to explain how your product works, its immediate benefit to the customer and translate those benefits into long-term value for your customer's business.

Years ago I met a salesman in the heavy trucking industry with a 50-year history in his territory. He was so good at what he did, and so knowledgeable about the industry, that he got the first call on any truck sold within 200 miles of his territory. He earned the respect of all buyers in his part of Florida, even those who bought competitive brands. They knew Lester was the expert and always sought his input. Years in the business helped him. What also helped was decades of professional study.

Listening to customers and understanding their needs. Studying your solution with an outcome-based mentality—what are the long-range outcomes of customers implementing our solution? Attending as many factory schools as possible. Studying your literature. Picking the brains of your technicians. Scouring industry trade journals. Attending evening classes to complement your education. All of these are strategies you can use to build your knowledge base.

To succeed in sales, you must be a serious student of our profession. Learning how to plan sales calls, ask questions and present compelling arguments are part of building your knowledge base. Knowing enough about your solution, the buyer's needs and the process of dealing with objections is paramount to your successfully responding to price objections.

In my last survey on reading habits, I found that only 7 percent of salespeople could name the last book on selling they'd read. That's a disturbing number. Imagine if your doctor couldn't tell you the name of the last medical journal he or she read.

Professionals know their stuff. Lester knew his stuff and that's why buyers sought him out. If you're looking for a benchmark on how much you should know, try this: Become so knowledgeable about your solution that the buyer can't afford not to do business with you.