Do Your Sales Reps Have These 5 Problem Solving Behaviors?

Discovering a customer’s “pain” has become standard language in the sales world. Yet, the discovery process of uncovering pain still seems elusive to many sales professionals. Why? Because they are not natural problem solvers.

When we think of problem solvers, we tend to envision people like engineers or inventors. Yet, top performing sales professionals are natural problem solvers too. And, the more complex your company’s product or service, the more important problem-solving capabilities become. Even companies selling simple commodity products can benefit from hiring sales reps with problem solving skills.

What traits do Problem Solvers have that make them stand out from the rest? According to the Devine Sales Assessment we utilize to evaluate sales candidates, there are five key behaviors that Problem Solvers possess:

• Creativity: Envisioning new options.
• Listening: Seeking to understand what others are saying.
• Emotional composure: Maintaining professionalism and poise.
• Planning: Thinking and organizing strategies.
• Learning: Advancing knowledge, skills and abilities.

How would you rate your sales team on these behaviors? If your reps are frequently coming away from sales appointments without closing deals, then it is possible your sales reps are struggling with problem solving.

Unfortunately, problem solving skills alone do not make a great sales person. There are many other contributing factors such as Drive, Determination, and Discipline. However, if your product or service is complex, which is often the case in manufacturing or technology environments, problem solving skills are essential. Hiring natural problem-solving sales reps would be advantageous in identifying customer problems worth solving.

In summary, if a member of your sales team is struggling even though they seem to have the drive to achieve, then problem solving ability may be the missing ingredient that is holding them back from succeeding.

If you would like to learn more on how to evaluate sales professionals to identify their natural problem- solving capabilities, give us call at 317-578-1310 or click here to request more information.