Are Your Salespeople Competitive Achievers?

In the world of sales, it’s no secret that there are individual performers who stand out from the rest of the pack. These remarkable salespeople are naturally driven with an intense need to achieve along with their love for competition. Let’s call these highly coveted sales professionals, Competitive Achievers.

Competitive Achievers are ambitious and set demanding goals. They are willing to work as hard as necessary to get things done. They thrive on winning, take on challenges head on, and are determined to outperform others. These top performers expect to succeed and remain resilient in the face of difficulties. That’s right . . . they will make cold calls and get back up after being rejected every day.

These Competitive Achievers have the secret sauce . . . DRIVE!

DRIVE is comprised of 3 key elements:

• Need for Achievement
• Competitiveness
• Optimism

Many sales managers say when starting a sales search, “Find me an athlete!” I understand their point that athletes are generally competitive. But there are many non-athletes who are also competitive. Chess and poker players come to mind. Thus, being an athlete is not the only winning ticket.

Also, an athlete may be competitive, but not all are driven to succeed. Consider the difference between individual athletes and those that play on teams. Although there are many highly driven athletes in team sport, particularly at the elite level, there are also many team athletes that need their coach to push them to train and practice. On their own, some team sport athletes would just show up for the game and bypass practice. Thus, not all athletes are internally driven.

The key to successful sales hiring is identifying salespeople with all three elements of DRIVE. And the most important one is the “Need for Achievement.” Without it, your next sales hire may end up at best a “B” player, but not the superstar you desire. Couple an intense “need for achievement” with a healthy dose of “competitiveness” and resilient “optimism” and you have a winning ticket for sales success in your next hire.

Fortunately, there is a reliable sales assessment that can identify these three essential DRIVE elements. To learn more, consider taking a complimentary assessment using this link:

And if you would like more insights about how to recruit driven “Competitive Achievers” in your next hiring initiative, give us a call at 317-578-1310 or email us at info@safarisolutions.com.