Finding Motivated Sales Professionals

A question I get asked frequently is, "How do you find motivated sales professionals for X industry?"  It doesn't matter which industry most sales and marketing managers are seeking better more motivated performers.  Here are some insights that reveal where to find them.

Before I answer this pressing question, I always have to ask, "Tell me about your current motivated top performers?"  Unfortunately, this question stops most sales managers in their tracks.  I'm either told they can't describe their current performers and don't really have any, that's why they are looking.

This is the sad state of business to business sales.  Look at your sales team, do you have any one person that stands out ... if not, why not.  Why are you hiring someone else?  Are you growing the department? Or, Are you positioning to let someone go?

Most sales managers wouldn't know a good motivated sales professional if they jumped up an bit them on the nose.  This is very understandable, many of my clients are too busy to know the difference, often expecting sales people to sell without any leadership.  How motivated are your sales people?

Selling in industrial business-to-business requires lots of upfront training ... training you've already invested with the people you already have.  How much will it cost to add just one new sales person?  How long before they can sell what you offer?  There are better ways to find motivated sales professionals.

Every company is different and a sales professional who excels in company A may not in B, even worse, if you don't have any motivated top performers in your organization you may have a bigger problem.  Looking outside your company isn't always the best place to find motivated sales professionals.

If you're not expanding a sales team and just looking for better results, consider the possibility of creating motivated performers with the group you have.  This always starts with (1) a skills assessment.  Next, (2) document your groups best practices.  Finally, (3) implement self-monitored performance measures.

These three points are key to a strong selling foundation.  It doesn't matter if you find the most motivated sales professional in the world, if your organization doesn't have these three things it will be back to mediocre after the newness wears off.

The lesson today is to find motivated performers in your current sales team so you'll at least know what one looks like.  Even better, you'll upgrade the performance of the individuals you've already invested in.

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