From an article in our local StarTribune.com (bold mine):
A Carnegie Foundation study once found that only 15 percent of a businessperson’s success could be attributed to job knowledge and technical skills — considered an essential element but overall, a small contribution. A whopping 85 percent could be determined by “attitude” and the “ability to deal with people.”
I grant you that “attitude” is a fat word – I’m not sure exactly how he defines it in this survey. Nonetheless, you get the point when it comes to hiring. I would estimate that 85% of sales hires are based on technical skills as opposed to the ability to deal with people.
Soft skills often get marginalized in sales hiring, but companies do that to their own peril. Successful selling requires “the ability to deal with people.” Not only people, but people who have different motivations, values, perceptions, etc. The strongest salespeople know how to leverage these human aspects when they are using their skills.