There is a myth regarding strong salespeople that they have to be outgoing. I contributed a short piece to an article earlier this year in regards to this exact error. And then I read this quick blurb for Selling Power’s Identifying the Skills You Want in a Candidate:
Sure salespeople need to be outgoing and driven €“ those are a given, but what about qualities that people need to have to fit in your particular position?
No, that is not a given and not a truth. Writing in such generalities is not accurate because selling style is not as important as sales skills.
Style is simply a matter of how a salesperson will approach communication. Today’s complex, extended sales cycles often align more closely to a salesperson who is not necessarily an “outgoing” salesperson (a term that can be defined in more than one way).
Skills are the abilities that differentiate salespeople. A more thorough analysis also identifies the motivations, rewards and aptitudes of the salesperson. Understanding all of this information as a whole is tantamount to success in hiring salespeople.
This piece of advice from the article is valuable:
Kursmark also suggests reviewing the long-term objectives of your company. “You want to make a hire that’s going to be right for the current time period, but also for the future,” she says. “Are you looking to grow in a certain area? Are certain types of business becoming more important? If so, can you enhance that hire by bringing in people skills rather than fundamental skills? “You need to think long-term so when your company gets there, you’ll have the talent on board already,” says Kursmark. “You’ve laid the foundation.”
Absolutely correct. When we profile the sale for our customers, we look at specific information for today and, more importantly, tomorrow. Where do you want the sales position to lead? Many times managers are over-focused on specific aspects of a salesperson based in large part to a recent failure. Candidates are then compared to the previous salesperson who failed in the role. If any similarities appear, a strong candidate is downgraded.
It is important to focus on where you want the position to go and what ideal looks like in that role. Define those parameters and then hire salespeople with complementary skill sets for that position.