No matter whether you’re in financial planning, real estate, stockbroking, retail or politics, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that a flair for sales is a prize-winning talent.
However, the techniques used a decade ago are now out of date, which makes it increasingly important to find staff who have the right skills or personality types to fit what your business is trying to achieve.
How to find winning sales recruits
Finding the right salespeople for your business isn’t a cinch. In previous posts, I’ve written about the age of the informed consumer. Information is easily available. Google is the window to the world, which means that by the time a client approaches your firm, he or she has already completed at least 80 per cent of his or her research online.
Therefore, the role that sales can play in educating potential clients has been made largely redundant. As a result, the archetypical pushy sales person is rapidly approaching extinction. If you drive a client too hard and too early in today’s market, they’ll simply walk into the arms of a competitor.
Thought leadership
The sales function has changed forever. Nowadays, a salesperson should embrace a thought-leadership approach when interacting with leads and clients. With the help of marketing and communications, your firm needs to be engaging with clients well in advance of a sales relationship.
The sales function must become more consultative and more driven by trying to understand the client’s needs, including what they’re trying to achieve.
Does this mean the end of the ‘relationship’ sale? No way!
People still buy from people
The death of the salesperson is greatly exaggerated. It’s true the style of selling has changed, but people still buy from people. This fundamental ground rule will never change.
In my experience, the most successful organisations have a strong sales and marketing strategy. This means they build multiple lead sources, which they cultivate over time through the sales pipeline, with activities such as thought leadership.
These qualified leads are then supplied to the sales team, which is armed with more information about the client than ever before. This information gives the contemporary salesperson a healthier chance of winning the business, as he or she knows where the lead sits on the buying timeline.
The human element will never change, and expert salespeople will continue to nurture business and personal connections with clients. However, it is folly to rely solely on a sales strategy based on taking clients to lunch.
Combine the best of both
Ultimately, more sales will be delivered by strategy. If you shape a sturdy marketing strategy, driven by a useful understanding of your client and a program targeting them at each stage in the buying cycle, you will set your sales team up for success.
And when it comes to finding sales people, simply look for those who know how to build a relationship. You’ll know a winner when you find one.
