Strategically Speaking

Difficult or not, selecting the right sales candidate for the right sales situation is fundamental to building a successful company. ThatÕs why you should run out and buy

Discover Your Sales Strengths, by Benson Smith and Tony Rutigliano. The authors evaluate what determines sales success from the perspectives of both a salesperson and those who manage salespeople. The authors demolish common myths about salespeople and replace those myths with a common-sense approach to creating the right fit for sales success.

Discover Your Sales Strengths is based on decades of empirical research by The Gallup Organization. A typical client scenario would be to determine which reps are responsible for the vast majority of a companyÕs sales. Invariably, this follows the 80/20 ruleÑ80 percent of the sales are made by 20 percent of the reps. Gallup then determines what strengths are common to those peak performers. Although the blend of strengths varies widely from company to company, the authors suggest that great reps are consistently able to:

o Build relationships.

o Impact othersÑget a "yes."

o Uncover and fulfill client needs.

o Focus on meaningful goals and rewards to drive their performance.

o Find the best company, product and client structure to optimize their results.

Many companies may understand many of these elements but are still adhering to well-worn myths about selecting and building top performers. For example, education is frequently a requirement for a sales position. The authors disagree. They contend that in all the companies they have studied, they have "neverÑeven in very technical fieldsÑfound a relationship between education and sales success." They also shoot down these other myths:

o You have to have experience in a market or product to succeed.

o A good salesperson can sell anything.

o There is only one successful sales approach.

o Training will transform poor performers into effective reps.

o Build relationships and sales will follow.

o Money is the sole motivator.

The authors suggest that who the salesperson is can be more critical than what a salesperson knows or has done. In other words, instinctive behavior is key. For example, a study of truck driver safety found that the safest drivers intuitively thought about what was going to happen next on the road. Training canÕt create that instinctive behavior pattern. Someone either has it or doesnÕt.

Great salespeople evolve from a combination of their core strengths and the right job fit. As managers, we must make that happen.