I know we have a large number of readers to this blog that are also account executives/sales professionals, so you’re welcome to read this and apply it to yourself.
I can’t tell you how many phone calls we get from sales managers/CEOs who complain that their people just can’t communicate the value of their products, and they’ve got to either train them or replace them.
Good news for us—since we’re in the training business.
But with that pain also comes a certain amount of guilt. I had one president tell me last week that he “took it personally that he couldn’t teach his people how to sell.”
There are three things that will be the foundation for whether a person has it in them to be successful in your business:
1. Fit
Does the salesperson’s personality fit the personality required of the position? If they’re very outgoing and enthusiastic and you expect them to call on CFOs who are very reserved and calculating, how do you think that’s going to work?
Or, if your AE is not a detail person and you’re selling engineering services, how do you think that’s going to work? The personality fit has to be there.
2. Competency
It’s amazing to me how few companies take time to say, “What do our salespeople need to be competent at in order for them to achieve at high levels?” What most people ask is, “What do they need to achieve to keep their job?”
And that’s the wrong question. Make a list of all the things that your salesperson needs to be competent at to be in the top 2-5% of producers. Don’t settle for top 50% here, go to the top (while you’re dreaming, you might as well dream big).
3. Resilience
Does your team have a strong, tough mental/inner game when it comes to bouncing back, being tough, talking about difficult issues, preemptively solving problems, etc.?
B2B sales is not a walk in the park. It requires confidence without being cocky, assertiveness without being arrogant and leadership without being controlling.
Some of that is trainable; some comes with the person, already baked in.
So before you blame yourself or feel guilty that your team is not selling at the level it should, take a look at these three things and excuse yourself from taking it personally.
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