The #1 Thing Every Successful Sales Rep Must Have

DRIVE is the #1 attribute that a sales rep must possess. If they lack an healthy level of DRIVE, not much elses will matter.  Thus, a successful sales hiring strategy must identify sales candidates with DRIVE.  Internally driven people know how to set goals, develop a sales plan to achieve the goals, and are disciplined to execute the sales plan. Yet, how can business owners and sales managers reliably determine if a sales candidate is driven?

Although there are many assessments tools in the marketplace that are used to evaluate current sales team members and sales candidates, most are not sales specific.  If the assessment tool can be used for all positions by asking the same questions, then it is not sales specific. DISC, Predictive Index, PXT Select, Kolbe, Culture Index and many others fall into a universal assessment tool for all positions. Although these assessments tools are outstanding at identifying communication style and other behavioral attributes and interests, they are not able to drill deep into the DRIVE issue.   

Fortunately, there is a solution!

The assessment tool we use in our recruiting practice is ideal at identifying DRIVE which is the primary attribute of top sales performers. This assessment tool, SalesDrive, asks questions specifically about the sales reps’ attitude and behaviors in their current sales environment which provide clearer results than general assessment questions.

Goal setting, ambition, competitiveness, success mentality, and resiliency are key behavioral traits that collectively manifest a high level of DRIVE. The first step in building a successful sales team is to hire salespeople who are driven. Sales Managers can then train and coach these driven individuals to achieve outstanding sales results.

Yet, sales positions are not created equal. They come in all different shapes and sizes. A salesperson’s success in one sales environment does not guarantee success in others. Thus, matching an individual’s sales style to the position’s sales style is important.

Match your DRIVEN sales candidates to the style of the sales position by asking these questions:

• Is the sales position a Hunter (new biz) or Farmer (existing accounts) role?
• Does your company compete on price or sell value?
• Does the position require patience and discipline to manage a long complex sales cycle?
• Does your product/service have a short sales cycle that can be closed through virtual selling?
• Is there heavy competition for your product/service?
• Is your product/service new that requires educating the customer?

Achieve a higher chance of sales success by hiring DRIVEN salespeople with the right sales style. If you would like to assess your current sales team or assess sales candidates in an upcoming search, give us a call at 317-578-1310 or email info@safarisolutions.com 

If you are would like to test your own level of DRIVE, take a complementary assessment via this link.