There are a lot of decisions to make when you hire sales people and if you make the wrong move it could come to back haunt you for a long time. When you first put the word out that you are looking to hire new salesmen you have to have an understanding of what makes a good salesperson. Hopefully you already know it isn’t the way they are dressed or how good they look. There is absolutely no correlation between someone’s physical appearance and their success as a salesman.

Some of the most successful companies will have all applicants take a DISC assessment test before ever meeting them face-to-face. Those that are qualified based on the personality test process will be invited for an interview based on their skills and not their appearance. Many test results will also tell you if they have what it takes to be good in the position. Even though you may know what makes a good salesperson objectively testing for the traits will reduce the chances of you being swept up with someone with great sales ability that may not be able to close the sale.

It does take a special talent to hire sales people and whenever you are looking to make a sales hire you have to consider who is going to be conducting the interviews. Four interviews should be scheduled, three at the very least for a sales hire, and conducted by different people so you receive an objective assessment of their talent potential. Pre-employment testing, such as the DISC assessment should be done before any interviews take place. If the test reveals a lack of sales ability, interviews will likely be a waste of time.

It is not easy to hire sales people and one of the things you need to consider is if they are the type of person you want to be working with many years from now. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with using your own judgment when you hire sales people it can’t be the only thing on which the hiring decision is made.

There are numerous testing tools available to help make the best decision when you hire sales people and you need to take advantage of them all. There may still be someone who slips through that isn’t the best fit for the position but you have a much better chance of hiring the right salesperson for the position if you use all of the available tools in your toolbox.

The proven way for any company to achieve better sales is to hire top performing sales people. Unfortunately, not every hiring manager or sales manager knows how to hire only the top performers and what questions to ask to rule out those who only think they are the best. One of the key ingredients in hiring the best is the sales assessment questions job candidates are asked during the interview process.

During the initial interviews there are certain things you are not allowed to ask, and all good hiring managers are aware of them, but there are other questions that you are required to ask if you only want the best. It is OK to ask sales assessment questions to determine a candidate’s job qualifications and with sales, the candidate’s experience will not tell you anything. After all you are interested in performance not how long they have been in sales and unless you ask how they increased their level of performance in their last position, you won’t know.

By asking the right questions you can determine their values. Don’t confuse values with priorities. Someone’s personal values will not change and cannot be affected by outside influences. However, their priorities will change based on a number of influences. For example, you have established sales goals and their priority is to call on 20 people per day. Another project comes up and they will only have time for 10 calls a day, which is now their priority.

You will also need to establish what most companies call a job description. Unfortunately, once you put that description in writing it could limit the scope of the position. Having a job description can be a map on how to hire a salesperson, as it can be used to develop interview questions sales position candidates will be asked. Achieving better sales should be your priority and assessing the values of the candidates will help direct you to the right person.

Your sales assessment questions should provide answers that are results oriented, not answers that the candidate thinks you want to hear.  Asking what their goals are means nothing if they can’t provide the means of getting there. It’s important to note that while past performance is often an indicator of future success a person with solid values that are in line with your company’s values has the best chance of bringing in better sale and becoming the top performers in your company.

With the help of the AHS Sales Hiring program, you’ll get very good at knowing how to hire sales people. The next question is; how will those salesmen perform once they’re under your sales manager’s guidance? You have to take into account the personality and values of your sales manager just as much as you do your sales hires. Building a sales team with top performers means nothing if the sales manager running the crew is a weak link.

Personality Profiles Matter with Managers, Too

Great salesmen have certain personality styles. DISC personality assessment tests show great sales hire applicants have these styles in common:

• High Drive
• Influential
• Steady and Focused
• Compliant

To hire and excel at training sales people with these personality styles is your goal. It’s also your goal to make sure your sales managers have the same traits. The bad news is top performing salesmen aren’t always the best sales managers. Make sure these traits are in place and then learn how to look beyond them for the additional traits of a great sales manager.

The Difference between Great Salesmen and Great Sales Managers

Another personality style you’ll notice with top performing salesmen and saleswomen is that they are usually very independent. Hire sales people who are self-motivated and you’ll have a much stronger sales team. The flip side of that coin is what happens when you make one of those highly independent top performing sales people a manager. A manager that is too independent won’t best serve the needs of the team.

The great sales manager finds a way to adapt their independent personality style that made them a great sales person to begin with.

Natural Style vs. Adapted Style

Successfully training sales people and building a sales team require that your sales manager have or develop an adapted personality style. This means that they are capable of taking their natural sales personality style and cater it to fit the demands of the sales manager role.

• Natural Style – Salesmen and sales managers have a personality style that comes naturally. This is their natural default way of approaching their jobs. They are usually naturally independent, steady, influential, etc.

• Adapted Style – This is how salesmen and sales managers see themselves needing to behave in order to do the job well. Salesmen who show signs of being capable of adapting their personality styles tend to be more successful sales managers. This is where the fierce independence of a top sales performer can be adapted to the team player mindset of a strong leader.

How Do You Know if Your Sales Manager Is Adaptable?

The DISC assessment test can be given to sales manager applicants. This test will analyze the potential sales manager’s natural vs. adapted personality styles and give you an indication of their ability to head your sales team.

Remember this important point. A sales hire applicant can show all the signs of being a top performer throughout the interview, but still fail after a few months on the job if your sales manager isn’t the right fit. Make sure your leader has the traits and adaptability necessary to support and guide the successful sales team your company deserves.