The Non-negotiable Traits of a Successful Salesperson

Find candidates that meet these four critical characteristics necessary for success selling in any industry.

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 “The greatest sales call our new reps make is on us during the interview.  Everything goes downhill once we hire them.”

Unfortunately, this is an all too common complaint we hear from sales managers across the globe.  In truth, very rarely is it a “great” sales call on the part of the sales rep.  More likely it was simply a broken vetting process.  If we are going to hire successful reps, we need to consider a revision in the way we search and discover new sales people, starting with a better list of non-negotiable traits. 

Most companies have a clear set of expectations for new reps, but they aren’t taken into account when interviewing and hiring. These include:

1.   Targeting and penetrating new strategic accounts

2.    Digging deeper into the business drivers behind the technical needs

3.    Executing coaching direction

4.    Navigating and aligning with all key stakeholders

5.    Carefully managing a pipeline of opportunities to closure

Finding reps that can execute these behaviors requires a very tight list of non-negotiable traits beyond simply being professional and following up on requests for pricing.  At Venator Sales Group we use the acronym (CAFE) to identify the four most critical characteristics necessary to be successful, regardless of industry. 

C  =  Coachability

Gone are the days where being a great rep was based solely on the strength of the salesperson’s relationship with technical and purchasing people.  Today, there are  changes affecting every sales team—the least of which is global competition, risk aversion, and more complex purchasing processes. 

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