It is more difficult than ever to hire salespeople in our business. There are so many external factors affecting your ability to hire what is already complicated becomes more complicated.
First and foremost, do not try to hire in your own image. It is not possible. What makes you, your spouse or your partner successful is a unique blend of capabilities. I’ll try to define some of the attributes to look for in good intangible salespeople. Even though we are in the “stuff” business, more and more as commodity companies take away sales from us with TV and internet advertising, it is the agency business that will be left.
When hiring a sales associate, you are a human algorithm. If they have this, then do they have that?
Here are important attributes of a great salesperson:
- Strong Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills are essential for effective salespeople. Writing is more important than ever.
- Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: A great “consultant” understands the emotions and needs of their customers. He or she can empathize with their concerns, build rapport, and establish a genuine connection that leads to trust and long-term relationships.
- Persuasive and Influential: Salespeople need to be and have the ability to influence customers by presenting features, advantages, and benefits of their product or service and addressing any objections or concerns.
- Product Knowledge: A good salesperson understands and accumulates deep product knowledge and application case histories. A constant learner who requires innate intelligence.
- Resilience and Perseverance: Salespeople frequently face rejection or setbacks. A great salesperson possesses resilience, maintains a positive attitude, and persists.
- Problem-Solving Skills: Successful salespeople are adept at identifying and solving customer problems. They listen actively, think critically, and offer creative solutions.
- Adaptability: They can adapt to changing circumstances. They are open to new ideas, embrace technology, and adjust their strategies to meet the demands of different industries, markets, and customers.
- Confidence and Self-Motivation: Confidence is crucial in sales. Great salespeople believe in themselves, their product or service, and their ability to meet customer needs. They are self-motivated, take the initiative, and consistently work towards achieving their sales targets. They have a big ego.
- Time Management and Organization: They must be skilled at managing their time to maximize selling time by prioritizing activities, and staying organized.
- Integrity and Ethics: Trust is the foundation of successful sales relationships. Great salespeople prioritize integrity and ethical conduct in their interactions. Integrity & Ethics ward off trouble that can move beyond the salesperson.
Face to face meetings are getting scarcer, internet communication and selling is growing at full speed. To be an excellent telesales/marketer, the three keys are:
- Persuasive Communication Skills.
- Resilience and Persistence.
- Strong Product Knowledge.
As for you, the interviewer, begin by writing your open-ended questions that will get you into the soul of the candidate you interview. Unlike many job hires, sales needs a face to face interview, it is not about resumes only.
Joel D. Schaffer, MAS is CEO and Founder of Soundline, LLC, the pioneering supplier to the promotional products industry of audio products. Joel has 48 years of promotional product industry experience and proudly heralds “I was a distributor.” He has been on the advisory panel of the business and marketing department of St. John’s University in New York and is a frequent speaker at Rutgers Graduate School of Business. He is an industry Advocate and has appeared before the American Bankers Association, American Marketing Association, National Premium Sales Executives, American Booksellers Association and several other major groups. He has been a management consultant to organizations such as The College Board and helped many suppliers enter this industry. He is a frequent contributor to PPB and Counselor magazines. He has facilitated over 200 classes sharing his industry knowledge nationwide. He is known for his cutting humor and enthusiasm in presenting provocative and motivating programs. He is the only person to have received both the Marvin Spike Industry Lifetime Achievement Award (2002) and PPAI’s Distinguished Service Award (2011). He is a past director of PPAI and has chaired several PPAI committees and task forces. He is a past Chair of the SAAGNY Foundation, Past President of SAAGNY and a SAAGNY Hall of Fame member. He was cited by ASI as one of the 50 most influential people in the industry.