7 most critical characteristics for selecting Sales

Only 20-30% of Sales Professionals consistently meet or exceed their goals. The likelihood of a Sales Professional being successful appears to be low. In selection psychology, we speak of a low base rate: few people are suitable. This is reflected in the poor conversions of the recruitment funnel.

Selecting Sales is tough.

If the recruitment pipeline is too thin, there is a considerable temptation to make concessions on the selection criteria because, “after all, we can’t turn everyone down.” When there is too little choice, employers focus their selection primarily on extraversion. That is, selecting a good chat, presentable looks, and easy contact. Being successful in sales requires much more than that. In this blog, I take you through 7 critical traits and give tips on selecting them.

“If you select primarily for extraversion, you weaken your sales organization gradually. ”

7 critical attributes of Sales.

Sales Professionals who consistently achieve their goals appear to possess these seven critical traits.

Conscientious: Top Sales excel at being organized. They are dutiful and distinguished by self-discipline. They make well-considered decisions. You will not see impulsiveness, thoughtless choices, or failure to keep appointments.
Modesty: Despite their achievements, top salespeople remain modest. This makes them approachable and trustworthy to customers.
Achievement orientation: They are driven by results, set ambitious goals for themselves, and work hard to achieve them. A constant eagerness for results and scoring drives them to excel at their profession. Of course, they are competitive and want to win over others, but it’s more than that; they particularly compete with their own goals.
Curiosity: Top Sales have a strong drive to learn and understand. They ask questions, dig deeper, and try to understand their customers’ needs and problems fully. This requires strong analytical skills. This curiosity helps them provide customized solutions.

Limited need for warm relationships: Contrary to popular belief, top Sales have little need for personal relationships. They are sociable rather than social. They know how to communicate professionally and primarily build business relationships.
Don’t get discouraged: Rejection and setbacks are integral to selling. Top salespeople do not get discouraged by a no. They are resilient and see every rejection as an opportunity to grow and improve. This group is emotionally hardened.
Limited reflective ability: While this may sound surprising, we see that top salespeople are often somewhat “blind” to their own shortcomings. This can help them remain confident and determined without being distracted by self-doubt.

“The recruitment strategy determines success. The better it is, the fewer concessions you have to make.”

Which Sales Professional boosts sales?

Now that we know the seven critical characteristics, we can start selecting Sales. The trick in selecting Sales is to avoid being tempted to be too uncritical. Accept that you will have to reject many candidates. Making contact easily, having a smooth chat, and having good looks really isn’t enough.

Therefore, it is crucial to identify all seven essential characteristics of a candidate. A good selection process consists of several steps. At each step, you gather evidence about multiple characteristics. For example, the steps of a selection process may consist of an interview1 / interview2 or online tests / telephone interview / live interview or interview / online assessment / live exercise, etc. The combination of steps should ensure that your organization collects sufficient dominant evidence on all seven traits.

An interview-only selection process provides evidence of some of the seven critical traits. Still, a sharp judgment of all traits proves difficult in practice. This requires additional selection steps.

Moreover, you have to consider low conversions in the funnel. In other words, many candidates will drop out. Because of these low conversions, you will have to recruit many candidates; therefore, you can only spend limited time and costs per candidate.

A selection process with the following steps can help you select a good Sales Professional:

With a short online pre-assessment as a 1st step, you can identify potential risks for the seven critical traits of each candidate. This will immediately eliminate much of the chaff in this stage of the selection
process.
With the remaining candidates, you organize a STAR interview in which the characteristics with the most significant risks should be addressed in the interview. Ensure an interview lasts a maximum of 75 minutes; otherwise, organize 2 STAR interviews.
For the last few remaining candidates, organize a full assessment. This is a no-brainer if you weigh the costs of such an assessment against the lost turnover. Such an assessment identifies the pros and cons and development opportunities.

One size fits all?

No, of course not. There is no standard selection process for all sales positions. Some sales positions are so specific that you call a headhunter for those, or you know someone yourself. Even then, the seven critical characteristics apply. With one candidate in the pipeline, a pre-assessment will not help you. But if you have doubts, consider a full assessment as a final step.

7 most critical characteristics for selecting Sales

Selecting Sales is tough.

“If you select primarily for extraversion, you weaken your sales organization gradually. ”

7 critical attributes of Sales.

“The recruitment strategy determines success. The better it is, the fewer concessions you have to make.”

Which Sales Professional boosts sales?

One size fits all?

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