Sales Rep Skills Recruiters Look For: Top 10 List
What Makes A Good Sales Representative?
An effective sales recruiter is uses a specific framework to assess sales candidates. This includes: track record of performance (quota achievement), industry expertise (selling what to who), sales motion alignment (high velocity or slower enterprise), and a review of top sales rep skills.
Mark Hunter, a consultative selling expert, said, “Sales is about helping others and making a difference in their lives.” That’s what makes a good sales rep.
In this article, we’ll tackle the top sales skills recruiters look for when assessing a sales candidate.
Top 10 Sales Rep Skills Recruiters Look For
Communication Skills
Sales is all about good communication. Active listening and succinct responses to questions and inquiries are a must to make the most of the limited time sales reps have to talk to prospective clients.
A good sales rep can articulate complex product or service features in a way that the customer can understand. Not pitching the product, but highlighting how the product can help them. They do this with business rapport (understanding of the customer’s world and challenges), personal rapport (they are likeable and able to find some common ground with the prospect), and a strong level of emotional intelligence.
They are able to ask smart questions throughout the process, identify sales ‘hooks’ to ask further drill-down questions on, and ensure the customer is equally engaged in the process – asking questions which demonstrate their interest has been piqued.
Initiative
A second top sales rep skill is initiative. This is the ability to anticipate or identify a sales need and proactively respond.
This includes recognising sales opportunities, prospective clients and prospect challenges/opportunities. Sales reps with strong initiative will consistently reach out to clients when they sense these triggers and strive to add value whilst building strong customer relationships.
Additionally, initiative is not just for selling, it also drives personal and professional growth. Sales reps with strong initiative will reflect on the areas they need to work on and be proactive in taking steps to improve. This means greater effectiveness in selling and an acceleration in career progression.
Decision-making
Quick and accurate decision-making is also key. This is the ability to quickly and accurately understand the customer’s needs and determine the solution that fits their concerns. Strong sales reps will also make quick decisions to qualify prospects in or out of the sales funnel, minimising their time spent on customers with a low chance of converting. Learning and building this skill will take time, so sales reps should practice win/loss reviews on deals and meetings to learn as quickly as possible.
Optimism
Rejection is an everyday part of a sales rep’s life. 44% of sales reps give up on prospects after just one attempt. That’s why optimism is considered one of the most important sales rep skills – the ability to stay positive even after multiple rejections and not take things personally.
A part of this is seeing different angles when faced with rejections. Knowing that no’s are not always closed doors, that it could be an opportunity to offer different and more fitting solutions. They can also be sources of ideas for service updates that can benefit customers.
Tact
Tact is a key factor in building customer relationships. Sales reps must know how to deal with rejections while ensuring bridges aren’t burned. Customers may reject the offered product or service because it did not meet their expectations or it is not what they need. That’s why sales reps must be sensitive to how customers communicate their no’s and respond accordingly.
Tact is also the skill of facing and answering initial customer inquiries in a way that would lead them further down the sales funnel. This emotional sensitivity can create an opportunity. The customer may not purchase now, but may consider the product or service in the future. It is also one of the sales rep skills that is highly important in peer relationships with other sales reps and members of a deal team.
Honesty
Sales reps should always have a high level of integrity and honesty when working with prospects. It is about articulating the product’s features and values to help customers see why they need it. Sales reps who practice honesty build trust with customers, making them more likely to purchase. What’s more, it protects the integrity of the company and the sales rep’s personal reputation and brand in the market.
Confidence
Customers will feel more comfortable and trusting of someone who is confident rather than nervous. A sales rep must have conviction in the product they are selling and their ability to help prospects with their problems. This is a learned sales rep skill; it may be a bit shaky at first, but eventually, a strong sales rep will build true confidence with consistent customer prospecting.
Competitiveness
Sales is a competitive field. There are multiple products and services in competition with each other, and it is the sales reps’ selling skills that will influence customers which one they will purchase.
That is why you need highly competitive sales reps. Competitiveness is the drive to get better at what they do. This includes reaching quotas and building better relationships both with customers and colleagues.
Team Collaboration
A sales rep may face customers one-on-one, but they are still part of a team. Candidates with traits of a good team player will perform well on the sales floor. Good team player traits include supporting others, working closely with other members to reach goals, practicing accountability, and dedication to effective team communication.
Organisation
An organised sales rep knows how to manage their time and resources to reach goals, both for sales quotas and improving skills. For example, a rep will only have limited time per day for prospecting customers, so prioritising windows for this on a daily basis is important for maintaining the sales pipeline. This is one of the more overlooked sales rep skills, but a key one.
Continuous Learning is Key in Sales Rep Skills
It’s important to remember that a sales candidate can’t have these top skills all at once. Candidates can only gain these skills once they are on the sales floor and seizing every opportunity to improve and learn.
Which skills are needed at the start of a specific role? And what can be learned along the way? This all depends on the role specifics and priorities for that business. Whilst you may not have them all, the best thing you can show hiring managers is that you will continuously improve.
Looking for a sales recruitment agency active in developing sales professionals? Know more about us at Salient Group.
