On a recent AirTran flight to San Francisco, as we stepped onto the plane, we were greeted by a flight attendant who welcomed us aboard. I noticed she was wearing Eastern Airlines earrings, which started a conversation about the airline industry.
During the flight, she made us feel comfortable and attended all our needs. She was an excellent representative for AirTran.
As you can see, your frontline employees are the ones who create the first impression of your company. Isn’t this what you want from your next salesperson?
During the next year, many of you will be considering expanding your sales staff. In this article, I will discuss the attributes that a number of Milwaukee employers feel are important for a salesperson to be successful.
The first attribute identified was the person needs to be an active listener, one who demonstrates the ability to listen and respond in a positive manner to the client or potential client’s needs. A successful active listener is also one who is focused on the client and responds in such a way that indicates they are sincerely interested in the specific needs of the client. Here is an opportunity to ask clarifying questions that assist in gathering the additional information you need to go to the next step, providing potential solutions.
The second attribute identified was that a salesperson needs to be a solution counselor, one who works with the client at solving a problem. The active listening skill permits that individual to isolate the problem and develop a number of potential solutions. This cannot happen unless the salesperson spends the time necessary to understand the client’s business and how the suggested alternatives will impact their operation.
The third attribute was that the salesperson needs to have analytical skills and be able to successfully analyze a problem and reduce it to its basic components. You don’t want someone who only reacts to symptoms and does not drill down to the real causes of the problem. The best way to test for this attribute is during the interview process. You want to take this opportunity to pose scenario based questions and see how the applicant processes the information provided. How they develop potential solutions is also key. Have they asked the right questions that would assist in identifying the root cause of the problem? This exercise provides you with an insight into their cognitive processes.
The fourth attribute was the salesperson needs to be outgoing and a good communicator. In today’s socially networked society, the ability to use the components of the Internet is critical. More and more executives are utilizing LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to communicate with each other and others in their network. The ability to leverage all available channels of touch points with customers is key to achieving success with any customer, and the right combination of touch points changes with every customer. Many companies are posting queries on LinkedIn and other networks regarding service and product needs. Unless your new salesperson can navigate the network, they will find it difficult to be successful in today’s competitive market.
In addition to being a good communicator, there needs to be a level of confidence and enthusiasm. A positive attitude goes a long way in building a lasting relationship.
The fifth is that the sales candidate needs to be able to execute successful sales presentations. This attribute requires more than a basic knowledge of the products and services they are offering to the client. I have found that you need to customize your presentations to the preferred communication modality of the client. Your basic PowerPoint presentation is not always the answer. You need to know how your potential client processes information and respond in such a way that they totally understand your offerings.
The last attribute mentioned was the need to be persistent. To quote two members of my MMAC CEO group, “The right amount of persistency may or may not yield an order, but will let the potential client know you are serious about their business, but still respect their time.” “Salespeople must be persistent and develop new customers, bring forth ideas for new products and open doors to new markets historically not served by the employer.”
It may be best to ask the potential client when they wish you to follow up. Being overly persistent can be a turn off to many potential and existing clients. Timing is critical and you want to be there for your client, but let them make the call.
When you determine that you need to add to your sales force, you should be looking for applicants who have a successful sales history and the personality characteristics that would lead to a successful career.
But there is one attribute you cannot see or test for, their “internal pilot light,” the ongoing fire in their belly. This attribute was mentioned by a majority of the employers I interviewed. Self motivation and the ability to constructively handle rejection separate the high achievers from the average salesperson.
