Traits to Look for When Hiring Sales Reps

When looking to hire sales representatives, there are three areas to evaluate in candidates, traits, skills and knowledge. This note looks at the traits you should look for.

Sales representatives are the primary point of contact into your company for your customers.  Customers also tend to buy from people they know and like.  As a result, sales representatives should outgoing, friendly, approachable and likeable.  They should also have patience and the “thick skin” needed to deal with the challenges, obstacles and rejection when customers say “no.”

Other traits that are commonly found among successful sales representatives:

• Integrity – you need to trust that your sales representative will do what’s right for your customer and what’s right for your company.
• Tenacity – in addition to having thick skin, your sales representative must be able to get back into the arena following rejection.  Strong sales representatives don’t take “no” for the final answer.
• Commitment – sales reps need to be committed to success, both your company’s success and his own success.  Successful sales reps have personal and professional goals that they are working towards.
• Passion – excellent sales results often follow from the passion your sales rep brings to his job and to each opportunity.  Your sales rep not only believes in what he is selling, but needs his customers’ to believe in it too.
• Creativity – when faced with an obstacle or objection, the successful sales rep will find a around the obstacle.  He or she will work to develop new sales approaches, adapt the product or change the customer’s perception of the need.
• Optimism – successful sales representatives invariably have an unfailingly positive outlook.  The next opportunity, the next sale is always imminent.  The best sales reps, however, maintain a realistic optimism.  They know when to move on from a dead deal.

Wallace Management Group helps companies define what they need in the sales reps they hire to open new markets, close new customers, establish their products and drive increased revenue.