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Hiring decisions can be some of the most critical decisions a company makes, and it's essential to start with talent. When a new hire has the right talents for success in the role, they learn and grow quickly, more easily achieving success.
But it’s not enough to make great hires. Even the most talented people need coaching and development to maximize their strengths and reach their full potential. When a manager hires top talent and then invests in their development and engagement, both the individual and the company grows.
At The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS), we use a sales talent assessment to guide our clients to hire and coach superior sales talent. This tool accurately predicts success in B2B sales roles and also provides leaders with a better understanding of the candidate’s innate strengths and weaknesses.
Below we hone-in on two of the 12 behaviors that you can coach to increase sales performance.
What does Achiever look like in the field?
Achievers are pushers, trackers, and doers. They shoot for the top and ooze self-confidence when they get there.
They may not compete with others as much as they find themself focused on their own success and the rewards that go along with hitting their goals. This go-getter enjoys keeping score and pushing themselves to be at the top of their game!
Achievers are motivated by many things, including money, personal rewards, and recognition. A hard-driving Achiever finds it exciting to capture a prize that they’ve worked hard to earn. Therefore, they always bring their A-game and push themselves to do more than expected.
Management needs to understand the Achiever completely and give them exactly what they need. Recognize that they want to play the leading role — not a supporting cast member.
If this sounds like a dominant theme you're trying to develop, it’s important you manage them the right way.
Individuals with intensity in Competition are fiercely competitive and see every opportunity as a chance to win. Self-starters, they measure their success by being the best, closing the sale, and getting paid for their accomplishments. These salespeople prospect for new opportunities, drive rate and increase their customer’s success. For them, losing is not an option!
What does a salesperson with the strength of Competition do day-to-day?
Driven for success, you can expect them to lose sleep at night if they don't come out on top. You can always spot the super-competitive seller on your staff — the one who always compares themselves to coworkers as well as the salespeople across the street.
They don’t just want to win; they have to win! They measure themselves on many scorecards and can report their performance numbers whenever asked.
As you can imagine, one of the most frustrating things that can happen to that highly competitive salesperson is a dry spell. This challenger needs to feel as though they’re scoring points regularly, or they’ll begin to worry that they've lost their mojo and will quickly become frustrated.
Your team is made up of many unique individuals. It’s vital to coach and develop each person based on their talents. These are just an overview of two talents we cover in our eBook Coaching Sales Talent. Download your free copy to find more tips for coaching Achiever and Competition – as well as the other 10 talents listed in the eBook.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog because we’ll be covering more talents each week!