Finding talent for the sales function is much tougher than for most business functions. You are looking for “creatives” (in the problem solving sense) for a role that requires extraordinary dialogue skills governed by daily setbacks that occasionally become progress.
In the past we looked for the all-rounder with the sales personality, when buyers had little choice but to deal with salespeople as the main source of information. Today, buyers don’t need to talk to sellers until all other channels have been exhausted. Even then, the buyer will only engage with sellers who can deliver quality dialogue, not friendly relations.
There is also a need today for more specialized sales roles across the revenue generation flow. The 360 degree seller doesn’t suit some situations, especially where a lot of lead generation is needed and / or a strong technical or early prospect support input is necessary. Or, some roles require a salesperson who is “multi-instrumental” but at a master level across the board, e.g. your early sales hires often fall into this category.
If sales recruitment was difficult in the past, it’s several levels more difficult today.
There are two big talent decisions you will need to make.
1. The first is what roles do you need that will deliver the demands of the pipeline? The role definition will, in turn, determine the ideal candidate profile. Don’t under-estimate the work needed to cleanly define what a specific role is meant to produce.
2. The second decision is the investment you need in training, onboarding and personal development. In particular, how do you plan to ensure each seller is executing the company’s playbook? And are you prepared to stick to this principle: we expect people to execute the company’s version of the playbook, not any version?
Finding talent for the sales function is much tougher than for most business functions. You are looking for “creatives” (in the problem solving sense) for a role that requires extraordinary dialogue skills governed by daily setbacks that occasionally become progress.
In the past we looked for the all-rounder with the sales personality, when buyers had little choice but to deal with salespeople as the main source of information. Today, buyers don’t need to talk to sellers until all other channels have been exhausted. Even then, the buyer will only engage with sellers who can deliver quality dialogue, not friendly relations.
There is also a need today for more specialized sales roles across the revenue generation flow. The 360 degree seller doesn’t suit some situations, especially where a lot of lead generation is needed and / or a strong technical or early prospect support input is necessary. Or, some roles require a salesperson who is “multi-instrumental” but at a master level across the board, e.g. your early sales hires often fall into this category.
If sales recruitment was difficult in the past, it’s several levels more difficult today.
There are two big talent decisions you will need to make.
1. The first is what roles do you need that will deliver the demands of the pipeline? The role definition will, in turn, determine the ideal candidate profile. Don’t under-estimate the work needed to cleanly define what a specific role is meant to produce.
2. The second decision is the investment you need in training, onboarding and personal development. In particular, how do you plan to ensure each seller is executing the company’s playbook? And are you prepared to stick to this principle: we expect people to execute the company’s version of the playbook, not any version?
Finding talent for the sales function is much tougher than for most business functions. You are looking for “creatives” (in the problem solving sense) for a role that requires extraordinary dialogue skills governed by daily setbacks that occasionally become progress.
In the past we looked for the all-rounder with the sales personality, when buyers had little choice but to deal with salespeople as the main source of information. Today, buyers don’t need to talk to sellers until all other channels have been exhausted. Even then, the buyer will only engage with sellers who can deliver quality dialogue, not friendly relations.
There is also a need today for more specialized sales roles across the revenue generation flow. The 360 degree seller doesn’t suit some situations, especially where a lot of lead generation is needed and / or a strong technical or early prospect support input is necessary. Or, some roles require a salesperson who is “multi-instrumental” but at a master level across the board, e.g. your early sales hires often fall into this category.
If sales recruitment was difficult in the past, it’s several levels more difficult today.
There are two big talent decisions you will need to make.
1. The first is what roles do you need that will deliver the demands of the pipeline? The role definition will, in turn, determine the ideal candidate profile. Don’t under-estimate the work needed to cleanly define what a specific role is meant to produce.
2. The second decision is the investment you need in training, onboarding and personal development. In particular, how do you plan to ensure each seller is executing the company’s playbook? And are you prepared to stick to this principle: we expect people to execute the company’s version of the playbook, not any version?