What makes a brilliant salesperson? Some insights.

Earlier this week I attended a seminar for heads of small businesses seeking to build strong sales organizations. I expected the presentation to be about generating leads and the joys of consultative selling. Fortunately, this session encapsulated less tactical and more big-picture information. I learned some things about what makes a strong salesperson to be sure, and I also learned about what makes a strong business owner in the process. Afterall, business owners hire these people. We have to know what matters.

The presenter, Chip Doyle, offered some immediate ways to identify strong salespeople. I was relieved to hear that loudmouths, or unequivocally extroverted people need not necessarily apply.

Having built BlogHer's sales organization to its current level, I hardly match what I, myself, would envision as a salesy type (though the propensity to talk is there), and the more I dis-identify from that stereotype, the prouder I feel of my role. Rather than "close," I have this nagging desire to tell the right story to people. I feel compelled to let people know how things have gone right, what not to do, how to do things better based on what I've seen, and in the process sales occur. If I feel the client has learned something, I feel good about the transaction.

Though, Doyle warns, deriving too much personal self-worth from selling is dangerous. We know the types who sell high and live rather low, justifying the low with their sales record. But he warned of a related type, someone who is more concerned with being liked by the client than meeting goals. While strong follow-through often means more sales, we're not always going to do deals and make friendships simultaneously. Sometimes a client has to buy from you because they have to, not because of your astounding selling ability. Sometimes clients don't need your services, and there's not much you can do about it.

I recall a salesperson I worked with once who spent the bulk of his time on leads that weren't interested. On the one hand I admired his tenacity and refusal to be discouraged by the word no. On the other hand he wasted time with no's when he could have been getting to yeses. While a good salesperson has a strong drive to provide value and to win, she must also be willing to accept less-than-perfect fits and walk away from those who don't see your value. We (hopefully) learn this when we date: we must give relationships the college try, but if the other person isn't treating you as someone with commitment potential, move on.

I always believe in a consultative approach to selling, and yet, if a client isn't ready to hear what I have to say or has a different philosophy toward the industry and disagrees with my approach, I'm better off not shoehorning this sale into my program. Rather I can find clients that are open with my take, rack up a success with that client, and then re-connect with the skeptics.

Chip's take on strong sales candidates was psychological. There are types of people who can handle ambiguity much better than others; adding my own take, they can also extract tangible outcomes from ambiguity and know early whether to move on. Anyone who can change is capable of being a good salesperson. During the downturn, as the staff of the start-up I worked for dwindled from 90 to 40 to 20 to 10. I noticed that the people that stuck around were the adapters. They were fine with being moved into new roles, learning the intricacies of them, and leveraging others' knowledge to get up to speed quickly. With so few of us left we all had to take on some form of sales role. Our most successful cold caller was our assistant producer, who was used to having her role changed daily, and liked the challenge of penetrating new companies.

Belief that a no may be turned into a yes with more information about the client.

 

Doyle shared major weaknesses of salespeople that should alert you to potential problems later. One is determined by how a salesperson spends money.

"Why do you think this is important?" Doyle asked the group.

I came up with a very practical answer: If a person has a need for regular income rather than the possibility of a windfall, or if they can't tolerate cycles of income, they won't be happy in sales.

But that wasn't the answer. Rather, Doyle said, gaining any insight into how a candidate spends money shows their comfort with asking for money. For instance, it's awfully difficult to sell million-dollar rings at Tiffany's if you wouldn't dare buy yourself a top-rate diamond. You may not be able to afford your own million-dollar diamond, but you would never be capable of selling one if you felt it wasn't worth the money, if you always sprung for cubic zirconia.

When hiring a salesperson you must consider whether this person balks at your pricing, continually asks for discounts, or seems to have continuous disagreement with how you price your product or service. Of course, salespeople can offer you more insight and a reality check on pricing as they interact with the market, but you must take note of their belief in the value of your product.

Another interesting note that resonated: Does the salesperson take responsibility for outcomes? Personally I struggle to not make myself responsible for market downturns, changes in budget, and other factors out of my control. However, I've also seen the opposite on a sales team: If sales are down, it's because the product sucks, or there simply is no way to sell in a competitive market, etc. Rather than accurately reporting feedback from the marketplace they skew data (or lack of it) as signs of impossibility.

One of the best salespeople I ever encountered struggled her first few months out, even becoming a bit discouraged from time to time. But she kept management apprised of all noteworthy data from the clients and lobbied for small adjustments--value adds, for instance--to help spur sales, without undermining the original pricing. She never questioned the validity of her targets, or complained that she could never get through to them, rather she systematically approached all accounts and kept a friendly pressure on them. When she didn't hit goals she acknowledged this and said she would assess the areas where she had successes and where she didn't, and kept going. Eventually she did hit targets, and this seemed rather deserved, seeing as she also acknowledged her role when things were not so good.

A final bit of wisdom Doyle mentioned that resonated with my experience with sales: The personal beliefs of a salesperson may inhibit or propel her forward. These are hard to assess without a personality test or some experience with the salesperson, but they are critical in determining success. Among some common inhibitors of success (inspired by my own experience):

• Belief that you are supposed to show utter mastery of your product and have an answer for everything.
• Belief that you are judged on performance and not going to win a contract if you showed any signs of flubbing your lines; not being in full, confident character, etc.
• Belief that you are not supposed to ask questions of the customer, that you are to take only what information they provide.
• Belief that body language is the only indicator of interest. If the customer wasn't smiling and nodding, you weren't getting anywhere.
• Belief that if the customer didn't call you back they are not interested, and never will be.
• Belief that any discussion or acknowledgement of a competitor will kill a sale
• Belief as a sales manager that high achievers are born and not made or encouraged into success.
• Belief that you owe a customer a debt of gratitude for spending a lot of money with your company.

Sure, resumes tell some of the story, but these other aspects tell you much more about who will perform for your company.

Comments

[GoingLikeSixty]

Good stuff. I have the most respect for successful radio ad sales people: they are selling thin air!

[Christien]

I remember my frist sales job in advertising was for a major media conglomerate's local sales effort. At one point, my GM told me that I would probably never be successful because I didn't "BS" enough and never spoke first. I like to listen to people with more experience than I as I think it helps me grow. Initially, I really took what he said to heart because after all he hired me and I was only 23. A bit later, he came down on me for following up with a client, learning of their dissatisfaction and trying to rectify their situation. He basically said I was supposed to sell and the results were not my problem. We very much disagreed. From then on, I did my job and rarely heeded his advice. Also, he did a great deal to keep me from achieveing my long term goals of moving into a major market doing national ad sales. Even to go so far as keeping me from meeting EVPs that would come into town after having requested time with me. I don't know if Mr. Doyle would look at me as an ideal salesperson, but I know that I am now doing national ad sales in a top 10 market. Looking back, it somewhat bothers me that there are such sales managers leading people. I don't necessarily believe that it's his fault as much as I think he's a product of his environment (corp culture).

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