Sales Prospecting Perspectives

As the end of summer draws near, hiring season looms upon us inside sales professionals. Many recent graduates will be looking for their first job after a relaxing summer, and many seasoned sales reps will be taking stock of their current positions. At AG Salesworks, we’ve seen many potential inside sales reps walk through our door for interviews in the past few weeks. However, our hiring process isn’t for everyone. After all, new sales hires frequently fail, so we want to make sure that we’re hiring the best talent to benefit our clients and our prospects. During the initial interview, we have a keen eye for personality traits that will help the candidate thrive in an inside sales environment. Here are 3 traits we look for in an inside sales interview and 3 questions to ask when assessing if a candidate’s personality is a good fit for your company.

As an inside sales manager, I try to use my few minutes of downtime to read articles related to my field.  When I open the “news” section of my LinkedIn, almost all of the recommended articles revolve around professional women.  My news feed is flooded with articles about Sheryl Sandbergs Lean In, work life balance, women who don't want to work for female managers, women who do want to work for female managers, areas where women outperform men,  women being urged to “sit at the table." The list goes on and on. 

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from Chris Croner, Principal at Sales Drive, LLC.

One of the most frustrating experiences for sales managers is hiring “hunter” salespeople who produce lackluster results in spite of their stellar interview performance.  Unfortunately, this phenomenon occurs all too frequently and results from insufficient scrutiny of candidates in the recruiting process.  One of the most common mistakes companies make in this area is failing to screen candidates effectively before moving them into the interview phase.

...And How to Spot Them Before They Burn Up Your Time And Money

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from Chris Croner, Principal at Sales Drive, LLC.

Have you ever felt burned by a sales candidate who looked great in the interview but failed to meet your expectations?  This is one of the most heartbreaking and frustrating experiences for sales managers and business owners... And, unfortunately, it is also one of the most common.  Many candidates come with seemingly ideal experience and potential, and yet the best sale we get out of that candidate is their interview performance.  Although these situations can be very discouraging, we can avoid them by looking beyond the candidate’s demeanor, experience level, and even track record, and instead into the most important non-teachable predictor of success: the candidate’s innate level of what psychologists call Drive, a critical personality trait and key aptitude that research shows must be in place to succeed in “hunter” type sales positions.

The office is teeming with people moving between desks, rushing to write information down or share something with a co-worker. Phone conversations can be heard from every corner of the office, and the voices mingle to produce one low drone, a din heard throughout. In one corner of the office, a man hangs up the phone and emits an exasperated sigh. In the other corner of the office, a woman jumps up for joy, pumping her fists in the air. There’s an air of excitement in the office: success could happen for anyone; anyone can make a difference. It’s a wild house of ambitious thrill-seekers; it’s a jungle in there.