Knowing how to communicate well is a minimum requirement in sales. If you can't talk with people and get them to open up and share information with you, you're going to struggle to sell anything. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we'll help you assess your sales communication skills with these key questions from Wendy Connick, contributor to TheBalance.com.

Can you give a prepared speech? Delivering a pre-written presentation effectively is a necessary part of the sales process. Can you give a prepared presentation without sounding unnatural or boring? Can you handle questions without losing the flow? Can you incorporate factors that are important to a specific prospect?

Can you improvise a presentation? In most situations, you'll have a sales presentation ready to go, but what if you meet a prospect unexpectedly and he wants to talk now? Can you give a coherent version of your pitch without your prepared materials? At networking or industry events, can you talk about what you do in compelling way?

Can you speak effectively to strangers? When you're cold calling, you have to build an instant connection between yourself and the stranger on the other end of the phone. Can you interest someone within a few seconds and make them ask for more? Can you start building rapport immediately so the prospect will trust you enough to make an appointment? Can you smoothly qualify a prospect over the phone? Can you close on getting an appointment?

Can you make small talk? Most sales presentations and practically all trade shows and events involve a certain amount of small talk before you get down to the real action. Can you chat comfortably with near strangers? Can you make yourself likeable? Can you use casual conversation to start qualifying and building rapport with prospects?

Can you handle unhappy customers? In an ideal world, unhappy customers would always call up customer service or tech support to get their problems solved. But in this world, many customers prefer to call up their salesperson. Can you defuse an angry customer? Can you explain a tricky problem without upsetting the customer further?

Can you draw people out? Collecting information is a crucial part of both qualifying a prospect and discovering the benefits that will make their eyes light up. Can you encourage people to talk? Can you ask questions without seeming like an interrogator? Can you make people comfortable sharing personal information with you?

Can you lead a meeting? If you're making a complex sale with multiple decision makers, you'll probably end up speaking to all of them at once. B2B sales often have groups involved in the buying process, even when there's only one chief decision maker. Can you speak effectively to a group? Can you keep the meeting on track without offending anyone? Can you make your audience feel like you're paying attention to each of them?

Can you negotiate? Negotiation is a big part of sales. Every prospect wants the best possible deal, and you need to find a way to come to an agreement that leaves everyone happy. Can you come up with a good compromise? Can you tell when to stand firm and when to give in? Can you walk away from a negotiation when a prospect is being unreasonable?

Use these key questions to assess your strengths and weaknesses, so that you can focus time and resources to improve and grow your sales effectiveness.

Source: Wendy Connick is a contributor to TheBalance.com. With almost 15 years of sales and customer service experience, she focuses on selling for her own company, Tailored Content, a website content provider. She also has a blog, Sales That Works, about finding and adopting the selling style that works best for each individual salesperson.