Sales Teams are Under Pressure

ANGELA HAMILTON

Associate Partner

Gallup

gallup.com

Topic: Human Resources

Now more than ever, sales teams are under pressure to successfully perform. Likewise, their managers are under pressure to spot talent, nurture top performers, and drive their teams to success.

But how do sales teams measure success? The majority of sales leaders base their replies on one indicator: generated revenue. But Gallup has found that revenue alone cannot tell sales leaders about long-term sustainability.

Hiring more experienced salespeople does not improve the sales force over the long term. Gallup’s research of more than 250,000 sales representatives in two dozen industries shows that the sales position is a talent-driven occupation. Talent is defined as a "naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied." Think about a salesperson's inability or unwillingness to hear the word "no.” That talent — which is nearly impossible to teach — is exceptionally powerful in great salespeople.

The surest path to success in a sales organization is finding people whose talents naturally position them for success. In other words, hire new players whose talents match those of existing "A" players.

This approach differs from the conventional approach of improving the effectiveness of a sales team by hiring salespeople with more experience or by providing more training to the current team. Research shows that salespeople in the bottom 50% of most sales forces will get little benefit from additional training. Improving the talent base of a sales team, however, results in substantial increases in an organization’s effectiveness and productivity. Over the past 30 years, Gallup identified a way to quantify the talents that characterize top sales producers and to measure the presence of those talents in potential salespeople.

Gallup’s experience with hundreds of sales organizations around the world suggests that following a simple path can help you build your own world-class sales force:

Step 1: Hire people who naturally behave like your best producers. Analyze your current recruiting system to determine if your selection assessments are predictive of future success. Build a recruiting and hiring system that will attract and identify the most talented people.

Step 2: Identify and develop each salesperson's unique strengths. A strengths development program will lead to improved talent retention, productivity, profitability, and customer engagement.

Step 3: Build a great workplace. Ensure that your managers are contributing to the productivity, retention, and growth of sales performers. Measure your managers on the strength of the engaged workplaces they build and maintain. Gallup analyses reveal that 30% of sales teams can be significantly lacking the required talents to be successful.

This does not mean they aren’t working hard or they aren’t dedicated to the company; what it does mean is that they are not right for sales. By ensuring that new hires are the best fit for the position, you are safeguard

2010-06-29 08:24:19 -0600