Salespeople, along with customer service representatives, are the heart and soul of a business and can make or break a company. They can often be the difference between happy returning customers and unhappy customers who will complain to all their friends. Bearing this in mind, it is vital that companies choose carefully when selecting staff for their sales team.
There are certain important characteristics that can easily be identified at interview stage and it is these characteristics that each candidate should display in order to secure a position. These are communication skills including the ability to ‘banter’, team working ability, organisation, self-motivation, drive, initiative, creativity and the ability to adhere to organisational procedure and process.
Communication skills are an obvious requirement. It is clear why organisations choose articulate candidates to staff their sales teams but what is less obvious is the need to ensure that these communication skills include the ability to ‘banter’.
Being able to think on your feet and carry on human conversations with prospective clients is a vital skill that may make all the difference to your sales statistics. This is a skill that can be tested during the interview process by means of unusual questioning and by placing emphasis on the quality of conversation that is had with the applicant. In sales, quantity is often mistaken for being the most important outcome but quality of contact should not be underestimated, as it is this that will keep clients coming back.
Sales may seem like an individual pursuit but it is very important that recruits are able to show their ability to work within a team environment. Many sales staff work in teams and it is important that staff members are able to trust their colleagues with their clients or after-sales when they are themselves, not at work.
Whether working solo or within a team environment, organisational skills can make or break a salesperson. The ability to keep track of leads and follow up on previous contacts will make all the difference within your department. At interview, you should ensure that there are questions designed to seek evidence of these types of skills or consider a test to ensure that they are there. The best salesperson in the world will miss opportunity after opportunity if they are disorganised in the workplace.
Organisational skill usually comes coupled with a strong sense of self-motivation. Though salespeople are often recompensed for their success, it is important that they are able to self-motivate.
This ability will ensure that staff members can pull through when there is a tough patch. This type of resilience is not easily learned so looking for this at interview is vital if you want to ensure that you have the very best staff possible.
Drive is also a quality that can be tested in interviews, where recruiters will ask candidates to demonstrate their ambition. Recruiters can scrutinising work histories and question any discrepancies to weed out applicants who are not driven to sell.
Coupled with evidence of drive, there must also be evidence of the ability to show and take initiative. The best salespeople are able to think outside of the box and take initiative in order to find solutions for their customers that suit both them and the company. Creativity is a vital component of this as, especially in after-sales, it is often necessary to solve problems and complaints creatively in order to secure and safeguard sales.
Drive, initiative and creativity, though of great importance, are nothing if they are not coupled with the ability to adhere to organisational processes and procedures. Rogue salespeople who promise customers unrealistic things can quickly be the end of your company.
This type of behaviour can lead to poor customer experience, which is then passed on by word of mouth or, worse still, to lawsuits.
Clearly, there are a great many considerations when it comes to hiring salespeople so candidates should consider what recruiters are seeking when preparing for an interview and employers need to take time to find and select candidates that exhibit the above characteristics.
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