Clarifying What You Want In a Salesperson

Hiring salespeople can be quite a challenge. It’s one of the most daunting responsibilities a sales manager must face. It’s even more difficult when you don’t really know what you’re looking for in a sales candidate. After working with hundreds of sales managers over the years, I’ve found that many of them have rather vague ideas about what they want in a salesperson. They’re not entirely clear on the specific requirements necessary to be successful in a sales role in their organization. Many times this prevents them from hiring the right sales candidate. To fix this problem, you can perform some simple due diligence before you begin the hiring process.

First, you must define what I call the “non-negotiables”. Ask yourself – “What must the sales candidate absolutely posses in terms of education and experience?” Once you list those out, followed it up with, “How important are each of these?” I recommend making a multi-column chart that separates the non-negotiables from the “preferred” or “like to have” items. Once you have those listed, ask yourself and others, what you can modify? For example, if someone possesses four out of five non-negotiables, and has many of the preferred skills, would you still consider this person in the hiring process?

Keep in mind that it’s rare to find “perfect” people. However, we sometimes expect to hire Superman when we’re in the hiring process because we tend to become idealistic when we’re writing down all the things we want. Our “wish list” can get too big for any legitimate sales candidates to fill.

In short, define your sales role as clearly as possible before you begin your search. Write down the criteria so you can get a clearer picture of what you need and want. I’ve listed some thing below to help guide you in this process.

When you develop your list of the non-negotiables (the tangibles), here are a few specific questions. What level of education is acceptable and what is not? Do you want them to have a college degree? If yes, then in what field? How many years of sales experience are required? Does the sales experience need to be in a similar sales role? Do they need specific industry experience? If yes, then which industries are acceptable and which are not? You get the picture.

In reality, that list is not too hard to develop. After that, however, many sales managers get hung up on the next part of defining the role; the intangibles. Usually a sales manager will rattle off a long list of items such as needing a salesperson who is customer focused, a self starter, self motivated, etc. In fact, sales managers use terms that can be quite ambiguous such as “We’re looking for a “bulldog or a real “go-getter”. Well that many sound find, but a more effective approach is to clearly define your expectations. What do you want them to accomplish and how do you expect them to do it?

In order to help you define your expectations, here are a few questions you may want to consider to get you started: Do you want your salespeople to generate their own leads or will the company provide them? If they have to prospect themselves, what types of prospecting activities do you expect them to use? Does it matter? How much new business do you expect from them in the first 6 months to one year? What are acceptable margins? How much or how little should they rely on you, the sales manager, to aid them in the sales process? When should they be able to “go it alone” without your help?

These questions can go on and on. Take the time to discuss and write down you non-negotiables, your preferences, and especially your expectations. The better job you do of defining the sales role, the greater the probability you’ll find a sales candidate that is a good fit for that role. It may take you longer, but you’ll reduce your chances of hiring someone based on some blurred ideas you have of a top performer. If that happens, it can, and usually does, lead to a costly hiring mistake. In the end, the better job you do of identifying the specific criteria you’re looking for in a sales candidate, the better chance you’ll have of acquiring a top sales performer when making that final selection.

About the Author

Barrett Riddleberger is an internationally recognized leader in the practice of sales assessment, sales training, sales recruitment and retention. His new book, “Blueprint of a Sales Champion,” details how organizations can find, train and retain top performing salespeople even in a highly competitive market. An accomplished lecturer, Riddleberger is also highly in demand as a business development and motivational speaker for organizations seeking to inspire their sales force. For more info go to www.ResolutionSystemsInc.com or www.BlueprintOfASalesChampion.com or call 336.665.0506.