Traits of the bubbly sales rep

I was out on the road doing some field coaching earlier this week with a great sales rep. She was a classic.

See if you recognise the type:

• In her mid to late 30s
• Excellent communication skills
• Bubbly, effervescent and full of NRG
• Keen to change the world overnight
• Taking on far too much responsibility
• Over promising and over servicing clients
• No idea with time and territory management

From experience these are the reps that will burn out within 18 months at your company. They will leave your company and go somewhere else for a:

• Slightly better car
• Better lap top
• A few extra dollars

18 months later, they will be off again.

So, why do you hire them?

1. They interview really well
2. They seem confident and determined to succeed
3. We like their attitude and positive outlook

Top 3 reasons why the bubbly rep won't last more than 2 years with your company

1. No real process - Sales success is more about following a proven process than it is about having a bubbly personality - give me process over personality every time
2. Shocking self-management - The bubbly extrovert often struggles with their self-management and wastes enormous amounts of time being in the wrong place at the wrong time (CRMs won't solve this)
3. They don't understand relationships - Despite strong first impressions they are not true relationship builders and do not really understand how a proper commercial relationship works

Who should you hire when looking for great reps?

Glad you asked Steve, as the biggest challenge any sales manager will face is finding great sales people.

My top 7 things to consider when hiring sales people

1. Work out what you want - Finder, Minder or Grinder - This is very important
2. Don't place too much emphasis on their performance in the interview it's of fairly limited value. Dig deeper and look for their values, attitude and beliefs- seek evidence
3. Profile or psych test the sh-t out of them before they start. You would not spend 50k on a vehicle without a mechanic inspecting it first. Lift up the hood and have a good look at the engine
4. How long have they lasted in previous sales roles - people repeat patterns most of the time- people repeat patterns most of the time - did I just say that?
5. Always be looking for new sales people - if you advertise for a role you will attract the gypsies of sales - they are always on the move, they are probably the bottom 20% of the market
6. Allocate sufficient time in their first 3 months for you to be with them. Develop, nurture, coach and guide them when it really matters
7. Trust your gut - My wife is great at this. "I didn't rate that guy, not sure why, I just didn't like the feel or vibe he gave out"

Your sales conference in the New Year

I take a well-earned rest from December 18th to January 20th. During this time I will be a wrestling referee on most days refereeing daily bouts between my 3 kids.

Tickets are still available if you want to watch.

Posted in Sales; Tagged Sales, Finding great sales people, Sales Management; Posted 11 November 2009 by Steve Herzberg