Do Your Sales Reps Have These 3 Success Attributes?

In previous articles, I have written about the 3Ds – Drive, Determination, and Discipline. Your sales reps must have these three attributes to deliver star performance.

Let’s dive deeper into these three attributes:

Drive:  Internal motivation to excel and be the best one can be.

Some people are internally motivated. Others are externally motivated. For instance, some kids will clean their room only if they will receive a reward for performance or if they will be punished if they don’t perform. These kids are externally motivated for this task. A child who cleans his room without being told is a person who is internally motivated for this task. Translating this to sales, ask yourself, do you have to push your sales reps to make cold calls or do they do it naturally?  

Determination:  Able to set sales goals and resolved to do whatever it takes to achieve them.

Do you remember the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Perseverance comes naturally to successful sales reps. They call prospects multiple times until they finally connect. And, if they get a “no,” it is not a final answer. It is just a “not now” answer, so try again later.

Discipline:  Self-directed to consistently execute a sales activity plan that drives results.

Discipline is method of behavior to achieve desired results. For example, we brush our teeth every day because we want the end result of clean, healthy teeth. We routinely perform this ritual without much question as we have disciplined ourselves to do it. In sales, we have daily tasks that may not be extremely pleasurable such as cold calling, yet successful reps routinely do it as they know it delivers the desired results of new business.

If your reps have the 3D attributes, they will figure out a way to be successful regardless of the obstacles they face. Successful sales professionals make things happen, regardless of poor market conditions, stiff competition, or perhaps even sub-par product and services.

How can you tell if your current sales reps possess the 3Ds? Consider sales assessments that provide an objective measure of these natural gifts.  

Learn more about how to identify sales professionals with Drive, Determination and Discipline.