How to Spot Great Sales People | Checklist

How to spot great sales people is a challenge for all organisations and has been a challenge of mine for a very long time.

So long ago that, whilst it might not have been pre-2000’s when organisations let go of droves of mediocre sales reps and replaced them with 24/7 sales reps – namely websites, then it was most definitely pre-AI.

It’s been my soap box and challenge in equal measure for so long for no other reason that if sales people expect a prospect to buy from them then that sales rep should  bring some huge and tangible value to the sales conversation. the relationship, the exchange.

That’s a must!

That value must be something other than the transactional exchange.

It’s probably best being contrasted with the ‘hit and run’ sales exchange…perfunctory, asks and answers questions, doesn’t expand, dig, scope out the problem so as to deliver more comprehensive options / solutions…

In a nut shell, is on auto-pilot where every exchange is 80% identical to every other conversation.

Cut and paste selling!

Buyers don’t need to talk to sales reps who are just order takers!

Your order taker sales reps have been replaced by :

• The ‘Buy Now’ Button on your webiste
• And a chat bot maybe…
• And good sign posting towards the FAQ section on a website….

Living breathing order takes?

• Very expensive?
• A sign of a bygone age?
• A cost line on the salary bill that most/almost all firms have got rid of?

How about you?

Still have a few?

Sales Today is Not Selling

But then it never has been really.

Your buyers want to talk to experts in their:

• Field
• Industry
• Sector
• PROBLEMS.

See, your buyers want to short circuit the trip to the GP, and the referral letter to the specialist…they want the direct dial in to someone who is 10 chapters ahead of where they are…

A fast track to someone who is fluent, articulate, knowledgeable and seasoned.

The escalator to get into a room with someone who has made/seen all the mistakes and can guide the buyer away from them, and move into everlasting glory and success.

So you can see why order takers will actually repel serious buyers.

This is not complicated.

Buyers are not complicated.

But if you have ‘order-taker’ type sales people on your front line then you are in trouble!

Sales prevention…right there on your front line!

Who knew?

You’re buyers knew.

And that’s costing you!

Is Selling Your Super Power?

I think it WAS, and it still is to a degree….

BUT If you want to have real clout in the sales conversation then being able to sell is just not enough on it’s own.

Buyers want more!

Is ‘Helping’ the New Selling?

Maybe…

If selling is the price you pay to get a seat at the table, then being able to be of help to your buyer is what keeps you there long after the other providers have been shown the door!

Sure, the most helpful sales rep might have a better address book than the hit and run order taker…

But helping alone won’t shift the needle and it certainly won’t get the e-signature in a box with any consistency.

And here’s why…

Just like:

• Your ‘buy now’ button has replaced the sales order taker,
• Your chat bot has replaced your help desk
• And FAQ page has replaced your reception and half your sales team

.…then Google has the potential to replace your remaining ‘helpful’ sales rep…

All the info, none of the waffle, and all at 3 am in the morning if you want.

Helpful is not even on the list when it comes to ‘reasons to buy…or not’ for you typical buyers.

Who Is In Your Sales Team?

Ok, so…while you’re reading this, start thinking about your sales team, your sales reps, one by one, how they sell, how they get their results…and see if order-takers are stealing vgood business from right under your nose.

And, when you’ve done that…maybe drawn up a list, a few columns, then ask yourself

How much longer will you let ‘order -taking’ habits prevail in your sales team?

How long will you have order taking sales reps manning your sales front line now you know that Customers, Buyer, Prospects and Procurement teams have no use for that sort of sales person any more?

Because

Here’s What’s Happening in Sales Today

Sales and the art of selling is changing….just like everything else.

New theories and sales practices.

Some reworked ideas will always come around again and again.

Some of them stick, some of them fade.

Many work, some don’t.

One thing that’s been around for ages, but always there in the background, as something that great business development professionals have know at their core and live every day is that…

Sales Is Not About Selling…And It Never Has Been

Read that again, because even more true today than it’s ever been.

The sales rep, the sales team, that smash their quota today, that succeed in a noisy competitive space, with discount jockeys buying business in a race to the bottom…

The sales stars that shine bright in that crew, and that succeed today,  that outperform the greater competitors….

Who secure the business…

Who leaves his sales persona at the door…

it’s the sales rep who sets out to understand, educate, discuss, challenge and, in doing so, solve every single problem that the buyer has to a point of agreement and consensus.

Today’s successful sales rep is a problem solving, creative, educator, debater, counsellor and map maker.

Todays’ sales rep gets everyone on the bus and acts as the best tour guide ever…right pace, right stop of points, listens hard, matches the prospect and the buying group step by step…

Sitting inside the buyers head, they introduce the external world to that buyer, mashing together a position of strength for the buyer as those two worlds gel and the buyer sees his pathway from this world to the next….with the sales rep guiding the way, providing the light, informing the journey and challenging the buyers demons…

This is a sales rep that can build relationships, pull in quota, build a strong sales pipeline, and all because that rep is a person of value, integrity and purposeful intent.

For more information we talk about how successful sales reps build value based propositions, minimise risk and handle pricing on our Value, Risk, Price page

The New Sales and Business Development Reality or Not?

Ask yourself this…

How many of your sales teams are hitting their numbers?

If this question has got you shaking your head, fear not, as long as at least 54% are hitting their sales target then you’re outperforming the majority of sales teams in the world today.

That make you feel any better?

Well it shouldn’t…

So back to the question…

How many of your sales teams are hitting their numbers?

Here’s a few supplementary questions to help you…

On a scale of 1 – 10 where 1 is an order taker and 10 is an Outperformer of their sector, expert adviser, industry expert and first class communicator who understands their clients, can distil complex information and translate it into big value solutions for their clients….

Where are each of you sales reps on that ranking of 1-10?

Where is the highest cluster – above 7? Below 6?

Above 7? Great news – you’re on your way, you made the move early!

Below 6? Wow – massive room for improvement, do you realise you could probably get a 30% + uplift on sales with the same headcount if you had the right people in place?

How closely does their ranking correlate to the frequency with which they hit their monthly target?

Hopefully this gives you some insight into the make up of your sales team.

And why…

• Some hit their sales quota and why some don’t.
• Some fail more often than you think they should.

Why Does this Matter?

It matters a lot.

Like when you’re looking for the perfect sales candidate to join your team…how dod you spot great sales people?

Instead of thinking about the

• Value of their address book
• The length of service in your industry,
• The length of their business development career

Instead, maybe there are additional things to think about like:

• How good they are at creative thinking
• How well they do at taking information in
• What sort of problem solving skills they have
• Applying the buyers insights, experience and viewpoint, and
• Respectfully challenging current thinking
• Respectfully countering and presenting compelling arguments.
• Maybe assessing how confident they are in speaking to power
• Influencing
• Persuading
• Using data to back up their educational view points…
• Do they take responsibility for their performance
• Are they happy to be accountable
• Can they see around corners in terms of accurately forecasting
• Do they exercise good judgement
• Can they take feedback and work with it
• Do they understand the bigger picture and how they fit in
• Can they work autonomously
• Are commercially strong
• Can build a deal

These considerations matter a lot when you think about how you’ll manage the sales rep that displays these characters…versus how you will manage the 80% generic order taker

Longer Term Sales Management Impacts

Not being able to spot great sales people, and recruitment one type of person when you expected another will impact on:

• How you support their development.
• What kind of sales manager you’ll need to be
• How they need to feel in order to join your firm and not the competition
• What sort of progression pathway they want
• What kind of relationship and reporting line do they need
• How would they like to be rewarded
• What kind of support do they need to help them thrive

Knowing how to spot great sales people is not just about a tick in the ‘bums on seats’ box, it’s about long term contribution, fit and impact

My Value Added Sales Person Check List

Knowing how to spot great sales people is a skill, but more importantly, it takes time, a firm idea of what you’re looking for and an ability to test out those traits, skills and capabilities BEFORE you exchange contracts.

This is what I need to see, as a minimum, to feel comfortable that I have an evolving sales person in the team:

Spotting High Performance Sales Talent

When I’m looking for great sales people, high performance sales people, I want to assess the follwing:

• Critical thinking skills – their ability to grasp complex situations, issues and constraints and see the Buyer’s issues for what they are and the impact they have on the Buyer
• Naturally curious – genuinely interested in what’s going on, apt to be classified as someone who gets joy from being totally immersed in a subject matter that’s critical to their sector…perhaps someone who is naturally used to asking solid questions and able to organise their thoughts to absorb new information easily and rapidly
• Team building – to build cooperation around creating a suitable solution with the relevant internal and external parties, including client side stake holder groups
• Problem solving capabilities – the ability to see the real problem, test their understanding of that problem and it’s historic impact and future implications as opposed to just seeing the manifestation of that problem
• Rapport building – to gain trust quickly and establish expert status with the Buyer and their influencers
• Listening skills – genuine listening skills, listening to understand and not listening simply to sell, to use a conversation to reflect and advance towards an agreed goal
• Communication skills – how good are they are respectfully pushing boundaries in the Buyer’s thinking? How good are they at being able to coherently present ideas, discuss scenarios whilst having all parties keep an open mind?
• Ability to prioritise – their ability to differentiate between the urgent and important and respond accordingly
• Negotiation skills – their ability to compromise and to broker compromise across different parties, different solutions
• Resilience – in the face of challenges, objections, resistance, nay-sayers and group think
• Creativity – seeing solutions that are not evident to the Buyer. Conveying those solutions with high levels of confidence and credibility
• Belief – do they have it, can they convey and transmit their true belief in their solution
• Commercially smart – knows margin and understand how to structure a deal

These are just a few of the personality traits, skills and attributes you might want to check out not just in your new recruits, but also in your existing sales team.

How To Spot Great Sales People

Business development might have historically been thought of as a trade that people ‘fall into’.

Ask any 5 year old what they want to be when they grow up and I’ll bet few of them say ‘sales person’.

Sales people can be nurtured to be better business development, pipeline building, sales closers, that’s true.

What’s also true is that most great sales people are born with certain innate qualities that make them more likely to succeed.

So, anyone can be a great business developer?

I think so…but, answer these three questions

Who do you want on your team?

What will you hire for?

What innate skill set, person characteristics and traits do you need to see BEFORE you make your investment in your sales reps?

If you’re suffering any sales challenges that you’d like to discuss, book a time to talk, you can contact me on: 0779 002 1885

Recruiting Grade A+ Sales Professionals 

If you’re looking for further support and guidance on how to recruit the best sales talent for your business then let’s have a chat. I specialise in how to spot great sales people, acting as a support function to time stretched sales leaders who need a sounding board, sense check, second opinion or simply another pair of hands

Morton Kyle Sales Training Courses 

If you’ve read the above and are thinking about developing your sales reps to meet the challenges set out by today’s buyers then check out our Sales Improvement Workshop

Summary

How to spot great sales people is such a common conversation in our offices because it’s such an important area and the costs of getting it rong can be huge…

Your sales reps are your front line soldiers, the first point (and often last point) of contact that a prospective buyer has with your business.

When a huge chunk of the research has been done before that first contact has already been made.

When a potentially hefty slice of cash has been spent in getting the sales prospect to that stage.

Then wouldn’t it make sense to ensure your front line order takers aren’t totally killing your chances to convert at the highest possible rate from cold call to order signed?

I think so…

Order taker sales reps shouldn’t exist in a competitive selling space.

At best they burn opportunities.

At worst the kill your brand and make your competitors stronger!

If you want to upgrade your sales rep’s selling skills so they can compete effectively in the new buyer paradigm, or if you want to talk about performance management to coach them through the transition, then let’s chat soon.

Book your call by calling Carol on 0779 002 1885

How to pot great sales people shouldn’t ne a challenge for you once you know what you’re looking for, how to test for critical traits …we’re here for a second opinion, support when you need it