In Sales class, obviously we’ve heard a lot about how to sell products and/or ourselves to prospects and future employers but we haven’t talked about what companies are looking for in salespeople. So, per usual, I thought I would do a bit of research and see what I found in terms of articles and such. This post will be geared more towards what companies are looking for in people they are hiring rather than what they are looking for in salespeople selling to them but a lot of it will apply either way I’m sure.
Dependability and Punctuality- Almost every single piece that I read mentioned how important dependability and punctuality were. Makes sense though, right? It’s an important life skill really but for in person appointments, i.e. sales calls, it’s especially. That admin assistant working at the front desk watching you as you come in may be your worst enemy or you best friend. First impressions are strong, even with the sweet, smiley secretaries. Having been one of those front desk ladies, I can vouch for these first impressions. We see you at your worst or at your best. So please, just come a few minutes early and keep the appointment. Please and thank you.
Teachability/Coachability- This another big trait that I found listed many places. Companies are looking for people who are willing to learn on their feet and find out what their company is all about. They also want salespeople who are willing to go the extra mile to learn about their potential customer and what makes them tick. What’s their background? What are the important details about them or their company that are relevant for the sales call?
Self- Direction and Self-Motivation- Sales seems to be more of an individualistic work at times. On sales calls, it’s only you, the customer, and maybe another person or two and that’s it. You don’t have a whole group of people backing you up nor do you, once you fully qualified, have manager hanging over your shoulder, ready to help you at a moments notice. Without being motivated yourself to go out and nail that call or do the preparation needed, how are you going to be successful, both in your eyes as well as in the companies eyes?
Listening Skills- Now this one we have talked about. Being able to listen what the customer is saying is so important. It’s important to the customer itself as well as to after the call. Are you able to relate the relevant details back to your boss, the things that they care about?
I hope that was helpful to read as well as good evidence to back up what Prof Sweet is saying. Personally, I found it very interesting to read what companies/employers thought was extremely important and what they didn’t think was important. Happy Sunday!
Articles I read and used: I read through a ton of different articles including ones from Linkedin, HuffPost, etc. A simple Google search led me to all the info.
BoweryJE22
This is a really cool way of looking at sales, thanks for sharing! It is good to see that majority of what we have been talking about in class is pretty consistent with what employers are looking for in sales representatives. Great job!