By Brad Hawley, Head of Client Engagement | 8 min read
A message for sales leaders: the problem isn’t your people. It’s the match.
For the most part, there are no bad salespeople. There are, however, sellers operating in the wrong sales environment — a square sales peg in a round sales hole. Before you can hire the right salesperson, you need to understand your sales environment and what profile is needed to meet your specific sales demands.
Too many salespeople are hired based on gut feeling, personal connection, or intuition. “I needed a sales rep, and my nephew needed a job.” Or: “She was successful in industrial sales, so she should do fine in our B2B services environment.” These assumptions treat all sales roles as interchangeable. They’re not. Most sales environments require a specific profile to complete the team and sell in a way that resonates with the existing prospect and customer base.
At Talnted, we’ve identified 5 elements that define a salesperson’s profile. Understanding these elements — and matching them to your environment — is the difference between consistent performance and costly turnover.
The most foundational element. It starts with B2C versus B2B, but breaks down further into sub-categories — B2C Product, B2B Distribution, B2B Services, and more. A rep who thrives selling consumer electronics may flounder in enterprise software, even though both are “sales.”
Key evaluation questions:
• Historically, who have been your customers?
• Which customer type has yielded the most success?
• What have you most enjoyed selling — and where have you had the most success?
How a salesperson generates leads reveals whether they’re a hunter or a gatherer. Some reps thrive on cold outreach and opening new doors. Others excel at cultivating existing relationships and expanding accounts. Both are valuable — but they’re fundamentally different skill sets that suit different sales environments.
Key evaluation questions:
• Do you rely on existing customer relationships to generate revenue?
• Are you a cold caller?
• What has historically been your most effective way to generate leads and open opportunities?
There are 4 types of salespeople, and understanding each is the first step in evaluating a seller’s ability to sell complex solutions, craft bespoke offerings, or provoke pain points that your product or service can solve. Every salesperson gravitates toward one type, though they can be trained in others. The key is knowing which type your environment demands.
Key evaluation questions:
• How do you typically uncover customer needs?
• What is your typical sales cycle?
• Does your organization frequently flex its scope of service to solve customer pain points?
Inspired by the research behind The Challenger Sale, selling style is a critical — and often misunderstood — dimension. While that research promotes one style as universally superior, the reality is more nuanced. Different customer bases and markets demand different approaches. Someone selling to a textile manufacturer in LaGrange, GA will need a fundamentally different style than someone selling to a law firm in New York City. Two different customers, two different personalities, two different styles.
The “unicorn” salesperson can move fluidly between styles depending on the conversation — identifying triggers that determine how the discussion should be structured and what questions to ask. Typically a more seasoned professional, this adaptability is rare and valuable.
This is also where organizational culture intersects with industry trends and customer expectations. The best hires align on all three.
Key evaluation questions:
• Have you typically sold in a quota-driven organization?
• Does your organization use a CRM, and how entrenched is it in your sales process?
• Do you follow your organization’s standard sales processes, or do you prefer to chart your own course?
Perhaps the simplest element to identify — and arguably the most important. What motivates this person? Most salespeople like commission, but the preferred ratio of variable to guaranteed compensation varies dramatically. In some industries, the right profile wants a 10/90 split. In others, a 50/50 ratio is the norm.
Beyond compensation, some sellers thrive on recognition — incentive trips, President’s Club, being named top producer. Others are energized by expertise and the credibility that comes with being a trusted advisor in their industry. Understanding what drives a candidate tells you whether they’ll sustain performance in your specific environment.
Key evaluation questions:
• Historically, how much of your compensation was determined by performance?
• Have you conducted webinars or seminars on industry topics, and did they generate leads?
• Tell me about your lowest income year and what prevented you from achieving goals.
Once you define your sales environment — and more specifically, the profile needed for an open role — you can recruit to that definition by identifying candidates whose elements align. This approach builds teams with consistent performance while minimizing the risk of costly mis-hires.
Most importantly, you — the sales leader — can walk into the first day of the fiscal year confident that you will achieve annual revenue targets. Not because you hired “good” salespeople, but because you hired the right salespeople. The right players, in the right positions, on the right field.
Get in touch to learn how Talnted can help you identify the exact profile your sales environment demands.
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