Steps to Identifying Great Sales People

Benchmarking

The first step to identifying great sales people is resisting the urge to benchmark that top sales position within your own company or your industry. Benchmarking is the attempt to recreate your prototypical top sales producer. Your top sales person or that of your competitor may not be all that great. Sure, they may have longevity, respect in the industry and be an outstanding account manager with wonderful relationships, but it this the type of sales person who is really going to help you grow your business?

When considering your top sales people, you'll want to know if they have been relying on their existing business, or are they consistently seeking out new sales opportunities. Junior sales people prospect for new business and sales consistently because they must. However, at the point which they become comfortable in income and status within the organization, consistent sales prospecting tends to cease entirely. When this happens, your company has a perennial mediocre sales performer who hits the streets every now and then when he or she sees loss of income looming. For this reason, they'll bring in a new client or two each year to keep the boat floating, but will take you along for the roller-coaster ride.

So what's the answer? Could it lie in measuring the traits your sales people and sales candidates possess? Is there a list of identifiable strengths present in top performers? How about common hidden weaknesses which, when present in force, can undermine the most talented of sales people? What of actual selling skills? Skills possessed are the all-important "experience" needed.

Now, what if you were able to accurately calculate the growth potential of an individual sales person -- before you hire them?

Imagine an 80% success rate in hiring sales people! Also consider if strengths, weaknesses and skills are identified within your current team, you will finally begin to understand why some do, some don't some will and some won't. You will also be able to eliminate treating the symptoms of poor sales and low margins and get to work on the real problems existing in your team.

- Dave Mantel