The $64,000 question in the sales industry always has been what makes a good sales person. Is it nature or is it nurture? And what traits can company managers look for in finding their next top performer?
A report from a trio of Dallas-based researchers claims they have found a way for managers to look for certain characteristics during the hiring process to avoid employing the wrong candidates.
According to the research, sales managers have customarily relied on broad brush personality traits like dominance, sociability and empathy to identify potential top sellers. A far better predictor of future sales performance is a salesperson willingness to initiate first contact with prospective customers, declared the researchers, George W. Dudley, Shannon L. Goodson, and Trelitha R. Bryant. Personality factors all play in sales success, they said, but "the will to persistently prospect is the keystone. Without it, the other characteristics don't make any difference. All you have is a highly trained professional visitor."
Studies by Mr. Dudley and Ms. Goodson have shown that sales people who hesitate to promote themselves and their products to prospective buyers sacrifice an average of 15 orders every month. For company managers, detecting sales call reluctance before a hiring decision is made helps to correctly identify candidates as potential top producers or future liabilities.
The trio examined some 1,043 currently employed salespeople in fields ranging from financial services and real estate to manufacturing and advertising sales.
Approximately 222 of the salespeople were identified as very high producers (in the top 20% of their companies), and 206 as very low producers (bottom 20% of their companies).
Each participant completed a 110 question test designed specifically to detect and measure12 types of behavioral inhibition associated with sales call reluctance. Then, using only questionnaire results, the researchers attempted to correctly classify each participant's production.
Analysis by the researchers correctly identified 65% of the very high producers. While, they admitted that's not perfect, they said it was a significant improvement over the rate of candidates correctly identified at time of hire, which can range from 20% to 54%.
Ms. Bryant emphasized that even small increases in selection accuracy can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted training and unmet quotas. "In most cases, knowing up front whether a candidate will be able to prospect comfortably saves time, money and frustration."
The researchers also found that the high producers have significantly less fear that their calls will be seen as pushy or intrusive. They don't wait for a mythical "right time" to call on prospects; to them, it's always the right time.
On the other hand low producers are more likely to criticize, complain and make excuses for their behavior. They tend to be more difficult to manage, coach, train, and advise than their high-producing counterparts.
Mr. Dudley declared that many sales people are not comfortable with initiating the sales person/client relationship. "They can't, won't or simply don't make initial contacts with prospective clients in sufficient numbers. As a result, many salespeople who have become well-versed in relationship building chronically lack new customers to build relationships with," he said.The researchers are affiliated with the Behavioral Sciences Research Press. For more information, go to
