subject: Guidelines For Sales Supervisors On The Way To Differentiate Between The Hawks And The Crows In Sale [print this page] When recruiting for new salespeopleto join their selling team the Sales Supervisor wants to make sure that the people they recruit either have the potential, with correct sales training, to turn out to be top sales men or they already are top sales people. Professor D. Newton from the Darden School of Business and Management in the University of Virginia describes such sales people hawks. Unfortunately, a lot of sales people usually are not hawks but crows - average salespeople who've no ambition or particular ability.
Newton advises against recruiting crows just to prevent your sales team lying fallow or incomplete. It is really easy to see why. First of all, supplying the level of sales training necessary to raise the game of crows takes up time and resources that might be better invested in hawks. Secondly, the region still lies fallow throughout this training time period and will quite possibly be snatched up by a hawk from one of your main competitors.
Hawks possess the following common features:
1. They constantly obtain above average sales results.
2. They act in a professional manner at all times - even throughout the interview.
3. They make high ethical and moral demands of themselves and the work.
4. It's fun working with them.
How can the sales supervisor recognise the hawk? You'll find hawks all over the place - but they generally come on their own, not as part of a team. You could possibly have a number of hawks as part of your sales team already. The qualities they display in their daily work include:
1. They've a high degree of self-motivation,
2. They are on the look-out for challenges,
3. They harmonise their very own personal development and advancement targets with business targets.
You can particularly detect the first 2 characteristics during the first interview.
Managers really should take care since not each and every hawk is suitable! Not every top sales person will develop their whole potential with your organization. Just before you recruit a top candidate, ask the subsequent questions:
What understanding does your company have of your customers and of sales in general? What selling style has your business adopted? Do such characteristics match the candidates view of sales?
What specific selling abilities and talents are demanded in the market place in which you operate?
What style of behaviour and habits does your company prefer in its sales men (as an illustration: an unspoken dress code)?
How does the candidate match this picture? Do they already hold the requisite specific skills and abilities for the current market where you work?
Now let us have a look at the management of Hawks.
Even top salespeople have to be managed. In principle, it can be easier to manage top sales men than what Newton calls the crows.
Hawks need a concept, route as well as a task to do. They are in a position to fly on their very own. Crows always have to be shocked into action and held in the air.
Friction can occur when you've got several hawks on your sales team. If this occurs, make sure that there is a thoroughly clear separation of jobs and a transparent compensation scheme.
In conclusion, a great number of sales managers make the mistake of looking to recruit top generalists. A generalist, whose breadth of skills and practical experience is not fully exploited will feel underused and will soon abandon your organization. A specialist with the potential to broaden their skills with appropriate sales training is of much more use than a top generalist.
