Choosing Distributors from Outside Your Sector

An adage from the era of mainframes and terminals has survived into the modern era of computers. There were only a few rivals selling early computers that were priced in the tens of thousands of dollars. Even though the competing solutions were very comparable, IBM was frequently the most expensive alternative, making them the dominant player. The widespread belief that "nobody was ever fired for choosing IBM" originated from the sense of security that IBM's dominant market position instilled in its customers.

This common thought is unfortunately prevalent in sales hiring today. "Recruiting salespeople from within one's own industry is a surefire way to avoid firing." When it comes to corporate jobs, sales are among the most challenging to fill. Even with internal sales candidates, many firms struggle. In terms of recruiting, what challenges do salesmen pose?

Get a computer programmer on the payroll first. That's a very different ballgame. The candidate's proficiency in the programming language will serve as the initial hard skill evaluation. No matter what company hires a programmer, the language they use (.net, Java, C, etc.) is standard. An in-depth interview can reveal their level of competence in a certain area. Skilled programmers without relevant work experience in the employing company's market are often nonetheless given serious consideration. They are good at more than just computer programming.

Hard and soft abilities, which are difficult to describe and even more difficult to assess, work together to make salespeople successful. Without specifying the most essential qualities for the role, many companies use buzzwords like "self-starter," "motivated," and "team player" in their job advertisements. Companies sometimes see these qualities as superficial, since they are more attracted to applicants with actual work experience in the field. The underlying premise is that the applicant is familiar with our market and can thus be managed more easily.

This strategy is incorrect. No matter how complicated your product or industry is, it is significantly more difficult to teach someone to sell. Businesses employ salesmen to close deals. Identifying target sales talents ought to be the company's top priority.

The sales process refers to the steps a salesperson takes to turn a potential client into a paying client. Regardless of how much expertise they have in the field, this procedure is crucial. Their track record reveals their preferred method of operation. Their performance for your firm can be more accurately predicted by looking at their sales procedures.

Some process-oriented discussion points to cover with potential salespeople:

Ask them to show you how they normally close a sale.
In this position, what qualities does an ideal candidate possess?
The question is, when do they try to seal a deal?
A sales cycle lasts for how many months? In an effort to break that loop, what do they do?

Ideal salespeople can describe their process from start to finish, including sourcing ideas, qualifying prospects, and closing deals. The value proposition of their company should serve as the framework for this procedure. Give more weight to solutions based on theory than on experience. We scientists need theories. Selling requires practical abilities. The hiring firm can determine if a candidate's talents are applicable to their job if they have a clear definition of their job. Assuming sales abilities from prior work experience is considerably less useful than this knowledge.

EVALUATING

Qualifying ability comes in second, behind the total sales procedure. The ability to see potential in prospects and qualify opportunities is crucial for successful salespeople. The ability to quickly ascertain a prospect's demand, budget, timeline, decision-making process, and alternatives is, of course, crucial, but it is surpassed by all others.

Finding areas of overlap between the candidate's skills and your usual sales process is crucial. Subjects to be covered:

How does their present business put its value proposition into action? What is it?

How do their potential customers usually go about making a purchase? How are they supposed to go about doing that?

In your opinion, what are the three most typical challenges they face? What kind of reactions do they have?

How many other businesses must they defeat in order to secure the deal? Tell me about their most formidable rival and the strategies they employ to overcome them.

You can get a good idea of their qualifying skills by concentrating on qualifying subjects like these. It will be easy to spot a sales prospect who possesses excellent, transferrable abilities. Our current recommendation is to conduct assessments of the top applicants in order to objectively evaluate their competence in areas like listening, empathy, self-confidence, and problem-solving. Candidates with the ability to go above and beyond for your firm would be identified by adding up this data.

UTILITARIAN MOTIVATION

A common denominator among the top-performing salespeople across all markets, industries, and geographies is a desire to see a return on the resources (time, money, effort, etc.) that they invest. These salespeople are goal-oriented because they want to use resources effectively so that they may get results and see a return on their investment.

A key skill for successful salespeople is the ability to quickly and accurately identify which leads will yield the highest return on investment (ROI) in relation to the amount of work put in. This practical motivation works wonders in sales. In order to seal a deal or discover a new prospect, a good salesperson is always putting the pieces of the sales puzzle together and looking for more information.

It is risky, to put it mildly, to hire salespeople who lack utilitarian drive. The desire to make a difference, excel in what one does, hold a position of authority, or create regulations that everyone must adhere to are additional driving forces. Though they serve a good purpose, these are not the driving forces for most top-performing salesmen.

There are three main criteria to use when screening salespeople from outside your industry: sales procedure, qualifying ability, and utilitarian motivation. In order to evaluate the finer aspects of overall fit, these three regions must first be determined. Candidates from outside your business can offer fresh perspectives without being bound by the same old sales cliches that often spread across a certain sector.

The ideal applicant obviously has excellent sales skills and extensive hands-on experience in the field. But all too frequently, businesses become drunk on the prospect of a weak salesperson with some expertise in the field, regardless of their shortcomings. Relying solely on people from your field for hiring can lead to problems. Skip the experience-only trap that produces the same old mediocrity and go straight for the talent when hiring.