Recently I was speaking with a business manager who was frustrated with a perceived lack of sales talent available in the greater bay area. He indicated that in the past 15 months he had hired four new business development types and that all four had turned over with a consistent record of low to no success. His concern is shared by others if I am to take into account the conversations that are appearing on various boards dedicated to hiring as well as conversations with hiring managers and recruiters. Where is the talent and why are companies finding it to be increasingly difficult to retain producers? In my own case, the need is not to find sales types with years of experience, rather I am looking for raw talent and a sense of self motivation. Don Shula, who was known for an ability to produce winning teams year after year summed it up in this fashion. “I can teach skills but I can’t teach attitude.” This is a statement that rings true and is representative of my desire in hiring sales talent. Show me a desire and a willingness to learn and I will teach you the mechanics of successful sales. It is a simple process that only requires the determination and desire of an individual to see a task through from start to success. Perhaps the challange is not a shortage of people but rather the need for instant gratification. In our lives we are able to find, buy or simply obtain what we want in immediate fashion. Sales takes time. Is this simply a question of drawing from a pool that expects and possibly needs a more immediate return? It is a simple question but the answer is perhaps more involved that it has been in the past………….
May 30, 2007 at 11:02 pm
gratification. However I think that people have a greater need — to feel proud of what they do. This is why people have a tendency to sacrifice instant gratification for what they feel will give them the sense of fulfillment in the long run.
Having said that, I think the sales profession suffers from having a bad reputation. Telemarketers, used car sales people, door-to-door sales men. The people you hang up on. The same people you think are out to scam you to make a quick buck. They are all lumped together under the same category. As a result even sales people have come up with euphemisms for the profession — “Account Manager” “Business Development Manager” “Account Executive.” Notice how the word “sales” is often dropped.
I think pride needs to be instilled back into the sales profession because it is an honorable one especially when the sales person has real value to offer. And maybe then there would be more talented people willing to learn the sales trade and willing to invest the patience into the process.
May 30, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Steve, you were born to be a blogger. Nice job.
May 30, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Lisa,
Your point is well made and allows me to dip deeper into the challange of hiring quality sales individuals. It is always interesting to me that conversations with potential candidates shifts very quickly to how much money is guaranteed without the consideration of a lack of demonstrated success in previous jobs. In a recent conversation with a another business manager, he was lamenting that he is willing to pay for demonstrated talent, but that the people with track records are typically not the ones looking for change. Show me what you have done and describe for me the mechanics of how you can duplicate your success and we have a proper business dialogue that is of value.
As you suggest, pride is a product of success…………and that should be a tangible part os an individuals history. Not as always as a sales professional but in college, in sports, in a customer service capacity. I am looking for those individuals that have pride and confidence in themselves so that they learn the sales trade and find the long term gratification of a job well done!