Sales Hiring – Do You “Get It”?

Think back to when you first got into sales. Now compare that to when you started achieving a respectable amount of success, the kind you could write home about. See a difference? ... Now that you’re a sales manager or executive in charge of hiring and coaching new sales people, the ability to recognize what makes a great sales talent is CRITICAL to your success.

I’ve seen it all in my 25+ years recruiting in the Technology Sales world, and can tell you that there are certain TRAITS, CHARACTERISTICS and RULES to look for:

TRAITS & CHARACTERISTICS:

Brains - How smart is the candidate? Don’t just focus on their academic credentials, but on their emotional intelligence (EQ) as well. Most salespeople are reasonably good storytellers and it can be difficult to evaluate these traits, so you might consider implementing an actual test into your hiring process.
Drive & Desire - How competitive and self-motivated is this person? Ask candidates about the toughest experience they’ve had to overcome, either personally or professionally. You’ll be fascinated by some of the responses you get…You also want to determine how serious someone is about making money and how hungry that person is for the opportunity. Address the transitions candidates have made in their career and ask why they made them.
Character - Fundamentally, the goal here is to determine whether or not a candidate is a good person, and if they’re someone who will follow through on their commitments. For better or worse, candidates will often reveal things about their character on their own, but it’s still important to dig a little bit deeper during interviews and to conduct thorough reference checks.
Commitment - Do they have the willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve that success? What other parts of their lives do they bring the same level of care and commitment to?

RULES

Do they keep their mouth shut and ears open? - This is crucial in the first few minutes of any interaction. Do they talk about themselves? Do they discuss the products and services? Do they recite a sales pitch?
Do they sell with questions, not answers? - Nobody cares how great you are until they understand how great you think they are. Be fascinated with your prospect; you ask questions (lots of them) with no hidden agenda or ulterior motives.
Do they really get to know their prospects? – Are they curious about the prospect? Do they know to ask about the products and services they're already using? Are they happy? Is what they're using now too expensive, not reliable enough, or too slow? Find out what they really want. Do they have the ability to speak to a prospect like family or friends?
Do they pay close attention to what their prospect isn't saying? - "Is this a good time to talk? If it's not, perhaps we can meet another day." Most salespeople are so concerned with what they're going to say next that they forget there's another human being involved in the conversation.
Do they refrain from delivering a three-hour product seminar? - Do they ramble on and on about things that have no bearing on anything that has been said?
Do they create an action to close? – Once they’ve developed a good relationship with the potential client, do they ask them for their business? Do they hand them the contract to close the deal and discuss the next steps?

There are, of course, many other things you should look for in a top candidate (for instance, whether a sales rep has actually delivered quantitative results in previous jobs). However, if a sales hire possesses these inherent attributes, they’ll often serve as a solid foundation that you — the hiring manager/ sales leader — can build on… And I have a feeling you just might have had a few of these traits "back" in the day!

-Beth