It’s down to two…
What makes you stand apart? How do you tip the scale in your favor?
That’s the golden ticket, silver bullet, and secret weapon.
Building a team or selecting the right solution is a skill great managers strive to achieve. You can hit goals, share ideas, and level up in your industry with the right team. Your sales team drives every part of the business. Businesses look to their sales leaders for direction, from forecasting revenue to creating marketing and product budgets.
Building a sales team that can bring on 500 new clients each year will provide rapid growth to continue to expand into the marketplace. But, finding that team and continuing to challenge, train, and incentivize them is another topic.
Sales skills are hard to determine in an interview process.
The ability to learn about a product or service can be taught. The process for demonstrating and following up with pricing options or a contract is standard. How do you select your next team?
As I was hiring my sales team, I learned that one out of three people I hired would not work out. Now that’s terrible odds, but as I observed this phenomenon throughout my career, I believed it.
We buy from people we trust.
But you can’t teach someone to act trustworthy if it’s not innate for them. How to Win Friends and Influence People, Getting To Yes, Spin Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales, and many more are all great books to get started. It’s your responsibility to continue to educate yourself. Not your company’s fault for poor training. Take the initiative to keep your skills up.
I look for people who continue to grow and drive their territory or department as if it was their own business. They keep learning, keep reading and keep growing in their profession.
Even the best of the best can get better.
Due diligence and understanding a market is the key. I look for people who get involved quickly and are not afraid to pick up the phone and ask questions. At this level, you are expected to make decisions and contribute. Period.
Your successful contribution to the company will help create a culture open to new ideas. Your confidence in the first interview may provide you with a unique opportunity. How you manage that path is up to you.
Invest in yourself always.
