Anyone can be great at sales, and anyone can be awful at it, too. Great selling involves a lot of different moving parts, personality traits, and characteristics that all work together to build meaningful and fulfilling relationships with clients. Great sales people rely on these relationships to make their money and close their sales.

And even though men and women are equal, some women tend to have the intrinsic qualities that make for top talent in the business. Although not a hard rule, women often have the personality traits that make them natural winners when it comes to selling. Here are five reasons why women are great sales people.

They Are Empathetic

Empathy is key to successful selling. Great sales people truly feel and understand their clients’ needs and concerns. An empathetic sales rep will first see the client as a person rather than a customer. And isn’t that how everyone wants to feel in this world? Women-and especially middle aged women-tend to outperform men when it comes to this quality. This leads to higher sales percentages and stronger relationships. What’s more, empathy builds credibility and loyalty, which are vital for a company’s future growth-and great sales people know this.

They Can Keep a Conversation Going

No one is interested in buying from an awkward sales person who allows lulls in conversations and makes a meeting painful, slow, and uncomfortable. Women are typically better conversationalists than men, and thus, can keep a conversation going regardless of the situation, the topic, or the person they are speaking with. Great sales people can not only converse with just about anyone, about just about anything, but they make the conversation valuable, which is far more important than just blabbering on in order to keep the awkward silences away.

They Listen

Selling isn’t really about selling, it’s about listening. Instead of just pitching a sales presentation and hoping to close a deal, great sales people spend time really listening to their clients’ concerns, doubts, and needs. A good listener will make a client feel nurtured, which is exactly what is needed in order to close a sale.

They Can Effortlessly Build Trust

Trust is vital to any business based on sales. If sales people seem malicious, suspicious, pushy, or dishonest, red flags will go off in a client’s head telling them to run-and run far away! They will not trust the sales reps and they will not trust the company they represent.

Great sales people who have integrity, passion, intimacy, and competency can build the ever important trust that is needed to close a sale. Clients will see these characteristics shine through the sales person’s voice, her actions, and her words. Once trust is established, a client will likely be with the company for the long haul. Trust is also just as important when it comes to attracting new business with clients who have never heard of your company or have doubt when it comes to entering into business with you.

They Are Intuitive

A lot what goes into selling is intuitive, that is, understanding clients’ body movements and unconscious behaviours. A great sales person has the intuition to gain knowledge without inference. Women are adept at picking up on subtle clues that show when a client is hesitant and when he is ready to close. Without identifying and using these “ready to buy” clues, even the best sales people can miss their opportunity to close the sale or know when to back off and try again later.

To Sum Up

In short, women are often naturally great sales people because they nurture relationships. After all, sales is all about people and relationships, so it makes sense that great sales people excel at these social interactions. And in a pre-dominantly male-driven world, it’s important to realize that women have what it takes to be great sales people, too.