In this guest blog James describes 5 key core characteristics to look for in a new candidate. James Fray is a highly respected and experienced recruitment consultant. He is an expert placing high performance sales people in demanding sales roles.
Are you in knots hiring quality Sales candidates ?
Remedy; Look for “Big Waves” !!
When interviewing Sales candidates there are 5 key core
characteristics required , candidates needs to demonstrate.
These can be labelled as W.A.V.E.S
W; When “Rebuttals” happen – can they cope ?. Rebuttals are not a
sign of dis- interest, in fact can be the exact opposite. Is there
any facet of any kind of sales that does not encounter them ? –
No chance !! Rebuttals are rungs on the ladder to sales success.
Testing this characteristic is critical with Sales candidates and understanding how candidates handle these rebuttals on a regular basis.
A; Application; Any sales individual that assumes half efforts can be
effective need to be eliminated immediately. ” A small jump is easier than a large jump, but no one wishing to cross a wide ditch would cross half of it first”.
V; Visualisation; “The block of granite which was an obstacle in the path of the weak, becomes a stepping stone in the path of the strong .”
High quality sales people spend time “Visualising” a successful sales
process, from introduction to closing the deal. A hundred metre world
champion sprinter will be able to visualise every stride of the race until they cross the line as the winner. The champions keep reliving their success as should successful salesman.
E; Expert ;Top Sales people must be experts in their field. In depth knowledge of Product/Services, pricing, USP’s, strengths, weaknesses, development needs. Can they demonstrate these qualities in the interview process ?
S; Standardised Presentations; Top Sales people virtually eliminate inconsistent performance on physically or emotionally “down” days.
If your selling is based on your personal brilliance, your results will plummet and be inconsistent on your “down” days .
” The wind and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators “
Email; james@jfcmc.co.uk 07720 832183
