This week we focus on a trait that is strongly needed in a team-based sale.  The salesperson needs to be the lead on a team-based sale, but they have to have the ability to let the other team members do their part.  If the salesperson struggles in this area, they will be less efficient and more dictatorial in their interaction.  A bad mix in today’s market.

Surrendering Control
The ability of a salesperson to surrender control of a given situation, or outcome, to another person or group of people. The ability to be comfortable in a situation where a significant portion of the responsibility for achieving a goal lies in the hands of others.

A salesperson with strength in this trait will be comfortable trusting other team members with the success of a mutual objective.

A salesperson with weakness in this area will have difficulty turning responsibility over. They want control when the results of a task will impact them directly.

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Quality of standards is an important aspect of successful selling.  A salesperson who does not ensure quality has a tendency to appear inaccurate, or to the extreme - sloppy.  Since salespeople are initially the face of the company, this quality disconnect can present a poor view of the company’s quality as a whole.

Quality Orientation
This trait is a measure of a salesperson€™s affinity for seeing details, grading them against a preset standard (internal or external) and identifying flaws. This is directly related to a person€™s preference for paying attention to detail. Whereas attention to detail is more a measure of how capable a person is to appropriately see detail, this capacity also measures their proclivity for such accuracy as well. Instead of simple ability, it answers the question €œHow much of a desire do they have to ensure quality?€

A salesperson with strength in this trait will have an underlying desire to constantly evaluate things at a subconscious level; to be comparing them to predefined set of standards.

A weakness in this area does not indicate the lack of ability to see details, but rather a lack of motivation to use their innate ability to see details and ensure a high quality of work. They either do not understand the standards, which have been set, or they are not capable of using their own judgment to set such standards for themselves.

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This week we look at an insightful trait that has become more important for salespeople in today’s market.  Sales requires a certain “feel” for a situation even though all of the data is not obvious.  You could call this trait sales intuition.

Decision Making
The ability to accurately compile intuitive perceptions about a situation into a decision or action. This ability allows one to be €œintuitional€ as opposed to intellectual (requiring data and logical reasoning) in effective decision making. This capacity requires a good deal of understanding of people, the outside world and the ability to visualize the whole picture in a mental scenario.

A salesperson with strength in this trait will be comfortable making decisions on their feet without having to study a situation or requiring logical data to examine.

A weakness in this trait indicates a salesperson who is not comfortable making decisions until he/she has had sufficient time and information to analyze a situation.

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This trait is one to measure in all salespeople since it reveals much of how they approach prospects, how they handle rejection and how they hold up under stress.

Sense of Self
The ability of a salesperson to realize and appreciate their own unique self-worth. They base these feelings on internal factors as opposed to external ones. This internal feeling of value allows them to appreciate themselves based on who they know themselves to be on the inside. They do not judge themselves based solely on what they do, what role they occupy or what success they attain. This capacity could also be considered the level of €œself acceptance.€

A salesperson with strength in this trait is able to value themselves as a unique entity aside and apart from their role or ambition. They base their value on their own internal standards.  This internal €œhappiness€ with one€™s self plays a crucial role in job performance and satisfaction.

A weakness in this area can be a major deterrent and manifest itself in a person in different ways; domineering, perfectionism, risk aversion and/or the inability to handle criticism or rejection effectively.

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This week we explore an important aspect of a salesperson’s psyche.  If you are a sales manager, this trait will explain your salesperson’s view of himself and how best to manage to that view.

Self Assessment
The ability to practically and objectively identify one€™s personal management strengths and weaknesses. This is the ability of a salesperson to take the skills and techniques that they have gained in evaluating external situations and apply them to evaluating their own performance and abilities.

A salesperson with strength in this area is capable of accurately evaluating his or her own strengths and weaknesses. They see themselves clearly.

A weakness in this area indicates a salesperson who does not judge his or her own capabilities accurately. They incorrectly evaluate their abilities (either over-estimate or under-estimate).  This inaccuracy can create trouble when they set their own goals and expectations.

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Each week we highlight a specific sales trait with definitions of how that trait manifests itself as a strength and a weakness.  We do this for one simple reason - there are aspects of selling that can’t be taught.  In a sense, certain traits are hardwired into top-performing salespeople.

And the only way to truly measure these traits is to use objective assessments.

An adept interviewer is able to ask insightful questions and drill down on the candidate’s responses to get to some understanding of the truth.  Rarely is it objective truth.  The information is presented by the candidate in the best possible light to the candidate.  This approach should always be expected in an interview.

But how do you know if the sales candidate sitting across from you has the hardwired aptitudes to succeed in your role?  The candidate has presented their past experiences (in a good light), their successful sales (in a good light) and their theoretical approach to selling.  However, only an objective assessment can provide measurements of:

-Emotional control
-Handling rejection
-Initiative
-Practical thinking
-Problem solving
-Self-starting ability

These are just a few hardwired traits that are not clearly observable, yet alone measurable, in a face-to-face interview.  The better process is to measure these traits before the interview and then pursue these topics for more clarification in the interview.

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Remote offices are the rage amongst a geographically dispersed sales force.  Yet, this distributed structure requires salespeople who have the self-discipline to work effectively on their own.  The only method to measure this trait when hiring is to assess.

Self Discipline And Sense of Duty
This is a measure of the strength one has in the norms with which they rule their own conduct. They feel a need to be consistent and true to themselves in their actions. It is the compulsion that one feels to be true to the ideals they have set for themselves.

A salesperson with strength in this trait will have an inner strength which enables them to weather the most difficult situations. This strength is internal €“ it does not come from an external force such as society or a supervisor. This ability provides a sense of strength which the person will be able to use to bolster their belief in a chosen direction or course of action.

A salesperson with weakness in this area does not tend to focus on an internal belief structure. The lack of an innate guide can result in a tendency to lack commitment to a chosen path or course of action. In difficult situations, such a person may begin to question their own actions or be easily swayed off-course.

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Complex selling require salespeople to have a long-term perspective that they incorporate into their short-term tactics.  This trait can be measured in candidates and existing employees.

Conceptual Thinking
The ability to identify and evaluate resources while planning for their utilization throughout the execution of comprehensive, long-range plans. This trait is much more abstract than concrete organization; it deals with the ability to allocate resources in a mental scenario and accurately visualize outcomes.

A salesperson with strength in this trait can mentally role-play the execution of the long-range projection and make accurate predictions concerning the possible outcomes.

A salesperson with weakness in this trait may have difficulty clearly seeing such a mental scenario, thus tending to have a shorter focus-level and require greater input for predictive decision-making.

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Ok, we’ll approach this week’s trait cautiously since it approaches some forms of gut-level decision-making. Strong selling requires salespeople who do not guess or assume. Rather, they qualify by asking the right questions and listening to the answers.

But let’s face it, there is a bit of artistry to being a good salesperson. Much of that artistry comes from having the ability to make the right decision even when all of the data is not available.

Intuitive Decision Making
The ability to accurately compile intuitive perceptions about a situation into a decision or action. This ability allows one to be €œintuitional€ as opposed to intellectual (requiring data and logical reasoning) in effective decision making. This trait requires a good deal of understanding of people, the outside world and the ability to visualize the whole picture in a mental scenario.

A salesperson with strength in this trait will be comfortable making decisions on their feet without having to study a situation or requiring logical data to examine.

A weakness in this area indicates a salesperson who is not comfortable making decisions until he/she has had sufficient time and information to analyze a situation.

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This week’s trait focuses on an important sales manager trait.  The aptitude to lead others works in concert with many other traits and motivations, but the natural ability to lead can be identified and measured through our assessments.

Leading Others
The ability to organize and motivate salespeople to get things accomplished where everyone feels a sense of order and direction. Effective leadership depends on a fine mixture of capacities that must match the environment in which the sales manager is asked to perform. Regardless of that mixture, every leader must be able to gain the trust of others and be able to solve problems among/for the group.

A sales manager with strength in this trait will effectively combine such capacities as empathetic ability, problem solving ability, self-esteem, role confidence and motivating others into a cohesive approach to guide them towards a mutual goal.

A weakness in this area is most likely indicative of a lack of empathetic and problem-solving abilities.

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