In the 2nd post in our "2020: The Year for Sales Growth" blog series, our Founder and CLO Tony Cole, discusses the importance of maintaining core sales values within an organization, how these values relate to organized sports, the erosion of these said core values, and the impact they have (or can have) on your attempt to grow your sales organization and sales numbers in 2020.
I have been playing tennis for close to seven years now. If you watched me play, you would describe me as a "football player who plays tennis." I play hard, I compete, I hate to lose, and I play to win. But at my age, I recognize my limitations, and I accept them.
It really doesn’t matter that my chosen sport was football. What matters more here is what it means to have participated in organized sports for many years, and what has happened to the core values and benefits passed down from generation to generation.
One thing I have noticed is the erosion of those core values and the impact they have (or can have) on your attempt to grow your sales organization.
Last night, when I went to play in my weekly tennis league, I noticed a banner that you may have seen at the beginning of this blog (I'll Never Be Benched, Subbed or Picked Last). With every movie I see, song I hear, or book I read; I always apply them to sales, selling, sales management or recruiting. It happened when I saw the banner and it distracted me for the remainder of the evening. I couldn’t help but think that the rest of the banner might read:
- I won’t get the grades I need to get into school or a good job
- I won’t get into the school of my choice
- I won’t get the promotion
- I won’t get a raise
- I won’t win the part in the play
- I won’t win the heart of a significant other
- I won’t be able to beat my competitor in a tough sales situation
- I won’t get the loan I need for a place to live
As you think about what is required of a successful salesperson, what attributes or characteristics are required to be successful? Dave Kurlan at Objective Management Group knows the answer to that question, and by extension of our relationship with him and his organization, we know the answer as well.
Click here to identify what your top performers look like compared to 1.8 million others and top performers in your industry segment.)
Sample Sales Candidate Assessment
What we know is that the top 25% of all salespeople have The Will to Sell which includes:
- Desire to succeed in selling
- Commitment (willing to do everything possible to succeed) in selling
- Taking responsibility for outcomes – they don’t make excuses
- A strong outlook
- Very motivated
Their Sales DNA scores exceed 68%. This means that they have strengths in the following areas:
- No need for approval
- Control emotions
- Supportive believes
- Supportive buy cycle
- Comfortable discussing money
- Handle rejection
This research, based on close to 2 million sales evaluations, shows that perhaps the most important contributing factor in the DNA score is, "Handles Rejection." Meaning, that the most significant factor in determining if your next salesperson hire will be a fit, comes down to if they can handle rejection from prospects.
Simply put, if they can't, then they are probably not a fit for the role!
When evaluating your current talent or looking for new talent, put a check mark next to the attributes you think are important to succeed in your organization. Then, make sure that in your vetting process, you look for those attributes.
Finally, make sure that your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephew are put in positions where they have to overcome adversity, work hard to succeed, and are recognized for what they actually accomplish, rather than just competing.
