I’ve been seeing this distinction first-hand among salespeople I have encountered of late.  I’m not sure there is a clear-cut sales ability towards product vs. service sales, but I do know that certain salespeople have skills and aptitudes that support one over the other.  In that vein I give you a quick breakdown of sales traits that come from these two forms of selling.

Product Sales
-Quantity-focused – the approach is to close frequently and success is measured in total numbers
-Speed first – fast, frequent closing is their approach, 1-call closes are their ideal
-Off-the-shelf – typically they prefer to sell a pre-designed solution
-Discount – their drop-close is to discount

Service Sales
-Quality-focused – the approach is to find the bet fit solution and success is measured by customer retention
-Thoroughness first – details are the key to closing here as they have to qualify need in depth
-Custom – most sales involve crafting a solution from existing pieces, but few are truly off-the-shelf
-Include – their drop-close is to add pieces to the solution for same price

Ok, it is a quick list, but you get the idea.  My vision is that successful salespeople need to harbor abilities from both product and service sales.  However, there are salespeople who are engrained towards one side or the other.  This hardening of the categories becomes evident when they wander over to the other side of the sales tracks and try to succeed there (yes, I mix metaphors).

I know of one salesperson who is presently attempting to cross this divide and it is not pretty.  His entire approach is rooted in the other format which has led to bad decisions, poor strategies and limited sales.

When hiring salespeople, the first indication is the candidate’s experience.  The second indication is their sales approach.  Make certain these are two tools you use in your hiring process.

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