Older article here from our local StarTribune paper – Sales Skills Hiring Managers Seek. There are some interesting points from the quotes in the article, but one thing that stands out to me are these quotes from different recruiters:
…and have achieved in athletics.
and
A sports background also helps.
This background is couched around the competitive nature of sports transferring to successful selling. I’m not sure I buy into that correlation, but it does intrigue me. I played sports throughout high school and college and can envision many self-centered teammates I would not recommend for any sales position. Still, I am probably over-focused on the exceptions.
However, I do find these pieces of information far more valuable:
“In general, however, companies are seeking salespeople who listen well, ask pertinent questions and bring creativity to the sales process.”
He also seeks people with a good emotional quotient or EQ. “You need to understand your personality style and that of others to be successful in sales,” he adds.