Recruiting The Right Sales People
For many sales organisations the main problem is a high staff turnover rate: indications show up to 30% are a frequent sight
. The results are well known: elevated personnel costs are frequently incurred due to the constant need to provide sales training to all new staff members and high turnover shortfalls are a result of neglected sales areas.
The key to lowering your staff turnover rate is early success!
Most salespeople give in their notice because they have not had the success they had hoped to achieve, because they have not attained their financial goals and because they sometimes do not feel suited to a sales career.
How can you help your new salespeople achieve these important early successes?
Federal Express has incorporated early success into its basic training programme for new salespeople. During the training period introduce the new sales people to the customers and let them have the opportunity of working with real clients in their area. Appointments are made over the telephone during training sessions and even telesales with the future clients is an integral part of one of the training units. There should already be a handful of appointments lined up so the sales person can begin working once they are released into their sales area.
Sales is a particular career: in practically no other profession are mistakes or lack of aptitude punished so mercilessly as in sales. A deal is either concluded or not - there is no such thing as partial success.
You therefore need to be extremely careful when selecting new salespeople. Watch out for the four most necessary basic skills, which all successful sales people must possess:
Willingness to be of service: nowadays most products are interchangeable and it is very rare for a company not to have any competitors. People who are successful in sales are those ones who will put in the effort to offer that extra little bit for the same product offered by their competitor.
Empathy: an empathetic salesperson understands what the client really wants, even if the client has not expressed their wishes very clearly. This salesperson is on the same wave length as the client and can uncover needs which the client themselves were perhaps not yet aware of.
Drive and motivation: just like a successful race-horse, a successful salesperson has to possess drive and motivation: they must enjoy tackling new clients, approaching them and convincing them of the merits of their offer. They must have the will to reach the finishing line in front of their competitors. Whilst sales training can help with drive and motivation, this is one quality that really comes from within the person.
Hardiness: it is impossible to avoid failure in sales. Clients say "no" because they cannot afford the order, they prefer to buy from one of your competitors, they simply do not like the product, they happen to be in a bad mood or simply because of the day of the week.
All successful sales people must be able to accept no and not act as if this is a major problem! They should never take a no as a personal defeat, but accept it as a natural occurrence in sales with which they know how to deal.
Various different personalities are needed for different branches and products!
Sales jobs vary and different characteristics are sometimes more important than others depending on the branch and product:
The quick conclusion of business
A typical area where salespeople need to be able to conclude business quickly is car sales. The right type of sales person makes a lot of spontaneous customer visits, as well as having a great deal of drive and enthusiasm and good powers of persuasion. They are absolutely immune to failure. It would be a mistake to recruit highly sensitive salespeople.
Long-term success
Relevant branches include office equipment and furniture, pharmaceutical products, computer software, advertising and industrial property. The right salesperson for this job has a high degree of willingness to provide a service, loves long-term business relations and wants to build up a friendly relationship with clients. Their strengths do not lie so much in client acquisition, they do not possess a huge amount of drive and motivation and are not necessarily as immune to failure as others.
Problem solving
You might find this formulation in high tech and telephone sales, as well as medical supplies. A successful salesperson in these fields does not only understand about selling in general, but knows everything there is to know about selling their particular product. They also understand their clients, listen to them and recognise their needs. Top salespeople are absolute experts in their field and are accepted by their clients as competent advisers.
If you try and push a new salesperson into a position which does not suit their personality or temperament, you will fail: both early success, which is so crucial for motivation and long-term success will fail to materialise and the salesperson will turn their back on their company. Another excellent way to avoid failures in the early stages is to provide good sales training.
by: Richard Stone
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