Transcript: Hey guys, it’s Ben Lai from Sales Ethos. Today is part one of three on the topic “What to look for when recruiting sales people.” Following on from my interview with Tommy Sim the other day, I thought I’d provide my different perspective on what I would look for in the ideal candidate.
Look, there are lots of different things that are going to contribute towards the success of a salesperson. But if you can identify just a few of the top traits, then you’re going to go a long way in terms of the hiring process.
Recruiting Salespeople: The Willingness to Learn
So the first thing that I would look for in hiring a salesperson is the willingness to learn. The willingness to learn is an important trait because it demonstrates that they are humble… That they can accept constructive feedback… That they’re constantly looking for ways to improve themselves. As the saying goes, you hire for attitude, and you train for skills. A lack of experience, or a lack of skills can be made up for very easily. But to get a person to change their attitude is incredibly difficult.
So a willingness to learn is the best way and the easiest way to make sure you’re covered in this area. As a result of having this trait, they’re going to be extremely easy to coach. It’s going to be easy to give them feedback, and you know that the potential on their performance is going to be unlimited.
Recruiting Salespeople: How to discover a willingness to learn
Now, how do you go about looking for and finding this trait in people? The kinds of questions that I would ask in the interview would be “What was the last book that you read?” If they can’t answer that, you know you’re in a bit of trouble there. The other questions that you can ask or you can look on their CV is to look at what courses they have attended. What self-development activities have they done?
If they have no evidence of that, then you know you’re in trouble. But if on the other hand, you know they’ve read several books, and they can describe them in detail to you, then you know that they have this important trait of being willing to learn.
Recruiting Salespeople: Your perspective!
So I’d love to hear your comments. That’s just my first thought on what I would look for in an ideal sales candidate. But what are the traits that you would look for? What is the top and the most important one? Leave a comment below. Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and remember that integrity plus skills equals success.
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