Treating your employees as a family is a vital component of some of the most successful company cultures around. When you are looking for people to join your sales team, it is essential to ensure that they can be trusted to do a good job and represent your company well. These five character traits are shared among the most successful salespeople:
1. Focused and determined
Pay attention to how the candidate looks at you when interviewing them. This is a sign that the person is really focused on the speaker. Ask them about their career goals and where they envision themselves in five years. Ask about their past jobs or experiences in life that showed them how they managed to overcome obstacles and still succeed. To make sure you are choosing the right person for your team, find out their winning reputation.
2. Great listening skills
When it comes to selling, people often forget that listening is more important than speaking. Ask questions about the points they made 5-10 minutes ago. This will ensure that your candidate is entirely focused and listening to you. Ask them about the time they had to listen in on a colleague or friend to understand the problem. Ask them about how they used their listening skills to identify a need in a sales call. To determine if they are present in the moment and can translate your words into their body language, pay attention to what they say.
3. Smooth communication skills
You don’t have to be the most intelligent or most articulate salesperson in the world to be a great one. However, they must be able to communicate clearly and seamlessly from one idea to another. You can ask the candidate to respond to several topics during an interview. Salespeople often need to speak about a variety of issues without sounding sloppy. You can play role-play with the person and have them sell you an imaginative project to help you understand their creative thinking abilities. Also, make sure that they are comfortable speaking about any topic, which is something every salesperson will encounter.
4. Persistence and asking “Why.”
Salespeople are more likely to say “no” than they used to. Salespeople will face the “no,” but how they respond will determine their success rate. Ask potential candidates about the times in their lives when they have been hurt but managed to get back up. You can then play the role of a customer refusing to buy by role-playing with them. You should thank them for their time and tell them that the price is not essential. Watch how the person in front of you responds. If they don’t thank you for your time and want to be contacted again, then they are failing. Ask them “Why” they aren’t interested. Forcing them to acknowledge this is an excellent way to get to the bottom of the matter. This will allow you to determine if a person is persistent and persistent.
5. Organized
Take a look at the person in front. What did they wear to the interview? How did they present themselves to the interviewer? Ask them about a time when they needed to be organized to reach a goal. Salespeople must be able to manage multiple responsibilities and the stress that comes with them. The organization is critical. You must ensure that the person you choose to join your team has a clear purpose.
These characteristics should be considered when you are hiring for your next sales job. Although sales skills are easily taught, personal traits are hard to teach. Hire people who are trustworthy and can help you reach your goals.
