Every time I speak to an audience of sales people, as part of my preparation, I ask management to rate their sales force on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest. I’m usually surprised by their honesty.
The vast majority is rated about seven or higher, with only about 20 percent rated at the top level. In other words, there’s a lot of room for improvement. Companies might give their sales people a year or so to show their stuff, but if they don’t produce above the seven level, they usually are shown the door.
Another question I ask in my speech preparation is about the skills people are looking for in hiring a sales rep, account executive, associate, consultant or whatever name companies are giving to their sales people these days.
The answers are numerous. One person told me he looks for three things: 1) Passion, 2) Passion and 3) Passion. He believes he can train someone on everything else.
Another person also looks for three things: 1) Prospect, 2) Prospect and 3) Prospect.
Still another individual said if you have the three Ds—drive, determination and desire—you will be successful in any endeavor you want. You can’t train the three Ds.
Some skills are no-brainers, like integrity, work ethic, and trust, which I consider the five most important letters in business today.
I hear a number of the same skills mentioned over and over—accessibility, a self-starter, commitment to excellence, creativity (think outside the box), think quickly, confidence, excitement, energy, focus, vision, likeability, persuasive, persistence, professionalism, resilience, resourceful, willingness to learn and to do whatever it takes, belief in your product, loving what you do and delivering more than you promise.
A number of people have listed the following skill sets: communication, including listening, being a voracious reader and a good writer and speaker; organizational skills; and negotiation skills.
Some of the cruicial skills that I don’t hear mentioned as often include:
Ask for the order. Not enough sales reps ask the most important question. You also must ask for referrals.
Be an advisor and resource. My take on this is to help others all the time. You want your customers to succeed. It’s like being a consultant or your customer’s employee, but being paid by someone else.
Consistency. Have a process in place, and keep executing your plan…like painting by the numbers.
Entrepreneurship. Even though you might be working for a company, it helps to have an entrepreneurial spirit. Take responsibility for yourself. Invest back in your business to help you improve.
Fanatical attention to detail. I have another way of saying this: The sale begins when the customer says yes. Making the first sale is easy. Getting the reorder is tougher, so you have to always be on your toes servicing all accounts. Things will occasionally go wrong, so you also must be willing to fix the problem immediately.
Knowledge. Not only of your product, company and industry, but also of your competitors.
Phone skills. You must be good on the telephone or you are missing the single best, most cost-effective means for improving your results.
Rejection. You must be able to handle rejection and not take it personally. It’s essential to have high self-esteem.
Relationship builder. You have to like people and be able to build a rapport with them. After all, you are in the business of attracting people.
Right mind-set. You must be prepared to get out of the comfort zone.
Simplicity. Don’t overcomplicate things. My first job was selling men’s apparel. I was taught to only put three ties on the counter. Make the decision as simple as possible.
Sincerity. Have a vested interest in your clients.
Team player. You can’t do it all by yourself. You have to develop a team.
Time management. Be well organized and able to prioritize what needs to get done. Do your detail work outside of regular working hours. You also must be willing to outwork everyone.
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Mackay’s Moral: There is no short cut to hiring the right sales rep, but there is a fast lane.
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Harvey Mackay is president of Mackay Envelope Corp. and a nationally syndicated columnist.
