If you employ people you know your number one risk is ending up with a person who doesn’t fit the role as well you thought they would. And that costs you time, money and a lot of angst.
This is especially problematic in sales roles where getting it wrong means business doesn’t come in the door.
By the time you realise the person isn’t going to make the grade, lots of sales opportunities go the way of the dodo.
Full Transcript:
If you employ people you know your number one risk is ending up with a person who doesn’t fit the role as well you thought they would. And that costs you time, money and a lot of angst.
This is especially problematic in sales roles where getting it wrong means business doesn’t come in the door.
By the time you realise the person isn’t going to make the grade, lots of sales opportunities go the way of the dodo.
Now, I’m going to be somewhat controversial and say it may actually not be your salesperson’s fault that they don’t make the grade. They may actually be excellent sales people, but just in the wrong types of sales role.
My name is Rashid Kotwal.
Today I’m wrapping up a series on how to select the right salesperson’s personality for the right role.
In past episodes I’ve gone over the 6 must have characteristics and where they fit.
You can find these episodes on our website at revealedresources.com
Moving on, there are 4 sales preferences which will affect individual performance.
Let’s start with short versus long sales cycles.
Strange as it may seem, some sales people excel at either a short or long sales cycle. For example a car salesperson who needs the emotional high of quick sales might well struggle if hired to sell high end equipment where the deal might take one to two years to come to fruition. They simply don’t have the patience to work the small details and get bored.
Conversely though, a salesperson who can navigate long cycles is usually quite comfortable with quick wins. Probably no surprise there.
The second preference is selling a unique versus commodity type product.
Some salespeople prefer to sell a product that is unique to their company. Something they can get their teeth into and that can be readily differentiated from the competition. Others are happy to sell soap where one brand is hardly different from the next and purchase decisions ultimately come down to price.
Others salespeople prefer to open doors and sell one product versus those who can work an account.
This comes down to the hunter versus farmer preference. Some salespeople get their jollies from penetrating new accounts forming relationships but would get bored really fast if they have to become account managers ensuring the account buys everything possible down the track.
Farmers on the other hand, love servicing the same client and want to work their way through the organisation, slowly but surely.
And the final preference is how many people they need to deal with to close the business.
Some salespeople have a lot of trouble dealing with, and navigating and orchestrating the whole decision making process. Working their way through the layers just isn’t their forte.
They excel though when only one or two decision makers are involved and it’s an easy path to the sale.
Others are born to deal with multiple personalities, agendas and dynamics and are happy to suit their style to the individual personalities they’re dealing with.
Understanding individual preferences and matching them to the type of selling involved means you’ll get the best results if you match your sales people’s personalities to the role.
And realise though that it may be better to have different people dealing with different stages of the sales process.
That way each person is comfortable with their role and can excel which ultimately means you end up selling more.
Wrapping up, I hope you found this series useful. Please do let me know in the comments below. And if you have a sales team whose performance you want to improve, give me a hoy. We’ll diagnose your situation and determine if the right people are in the right roles and if appropriate, prescribe a solution that will improve overall results.
Until next time, this is Rashid Kotwal.
