Steps to Identifying Great Sales People

Need for Approval

We all need some sort of approval. In life that can come from home, work or out in the community. In selling, sales people get that approval from their clients and prospects. It comes in the form of validation from the client. If this is true, how then can a "Need for Approval" actually be the second strongest weakness a salesperson can have?

Seica Systems has determined that the "Need for Approval" in sales people comes in various forms. While most successful selling philosophies tell us a sales person's need to be liked is a strength, we believe strongly that "Need for Approval", or the sales person's need to be liked by their sales prospects, is the second most powerful weakness a sales person can possess.

The "Need for Approval" is present in sales people who's need to be loved by their sales prospects is greater than their need to close business for your company. They can't handle rejection in sales or in life and, therefore, will not ask the tough business questions for fear the sales prospect will get angry. This will result in a sales pipeline which is clogged with outstanding and unsigned sales proposals which have little on no chance of closing. Look for sales people who submit the "rolling forecast" each month and you will likely find someone with a strong "Need for Approval" on your sales team.

With existing clients, you will find sales people with a high "Need for Approval" to be those who are consistently treated unfairly by their clients and prospects. In a business where change orders or up-charges are commonplace, this sales person will have a very low capture rate for fees over and above what an original proposal indicated, even though they understand additional fees are justified and fairly issued by your company.

It's also quite interesting that the lower a sales person's "Need for Approval", the more they tend to be liked by others.

Though you have people on your sales staff with this weakness, the good news is it can be identified through evaluation. "Need for Approval" is very difficult to change, but can be dealt with effectively though consistent reinforcement and coaching. You can also take comfort in knowing you have the ability to eliminate this issue in the hiring process.

If you are dealing with, or would like to avoid "Need for Approval" behavior in the future, we're confident we have the tools here at Seica Systems to help you get started towards hiring a healthy sales force that will bring your company selling success.