Sales

Before you start to hire a sales person you will need to analyze what sort of business you are in and what sort of sales person you want to help grow your business.

Do you need someone who is hungry to close or are you looking for someone who will take time to form long lasting relationships? Do you need someone selling on the phone or are you expecting him or her to go out and meet with potential customers. Each of the above tasks requires different types of sales people to perform well. Presuming you are looking for a sales person who will meet with your customers, there are a few common traits that all sales people should posses.

1. Your sales people must look good. They will be representing your company and how they present themselves will reflect on the perceived quality of your service or products.

1. They must be great communicators. I don’t mean that they must be good talkers; communication is not about talking it is about making sure your message is understood. Too many sales people think they must talk the customer to death to make the sale and this is usually a mistake.

1. They must be good listeners. Listening is an essential part of great communication but for sales people it is more than that. The sales person has to be able to listen to and understand the customer’s needs before they can hope to provide solutions that the customer will buy.

1. They must be able to ask the right questions. When interviewing a sales person they are selling themselves so you can see if they ask the right questions or if you have to tell them what they need to know.

1. They must be quick thinkers. Sales people will often be faced with difficult problems from customers and they need to be able to solve these problems without having to refer to higher authority.

1. They must be good to have around. Ask yourself if you enjoy spending time with the sales person. If you don’t like their company how can you expect your customers to like them?

1. They must be positive. A good sales person is a positive go-getter. Even though the environment around them may seem to be negative or even difficult they must poses a positive nature and be able to continue to be motivated when times are tough.

1. They must be persistent. Good sales people know that “No” doesn’t mean “No”. It may mean “Not now” but it does not mean “Not ever”. A good sales person will continue to go back until he is in a better position to help with the customer’s problem.

1. They must be honest. Good sales people never lie! The moment a customer thinks the sales person is lying they will stop listening and look for the first opportunity to walk away.

Once you are sure that the person you are hoping to employ as your next great sales person possesses the above then you can go on to ask questions about experience, product knowledge, selling skills and availability. Remember you employ for attitude, you can always teach the skills they need.