Building a sales organization (Part I)

When building a sales organization finding the right sales person(s) is the single most difficult task for the company. The right sales person can perform magic for a company whereas a misplaced person can severely damage the image and reputation of a company.

After all you are asking for a person that sells for a living to sell themselves to your company.

In my view there are four pieces to a great candidate:

i) has a network within the targetted industry, not just prospects/customers, but also analysts, competitors, related vendors, investors, and so on

ii) understands the market, the technologies involved, and the limitations it imposes, the future challenges politically, and do they have a future vision

iii) has knowledge about different selling techniques, and sales approaches, understand different financial pricing models, and

iv) has the right personality traits (the black magic)

Below a list of traits that I commonly use to identify if someone has the 'black magic'

• People oriented


• Risk takers


• Curious and inquisitive


• Results oriented


• Ability to handle objection and rejection


• Tenacious


• Resourceful


• Competitive


• Problem solver


• Good listeners

Certainly many hiring managers will sway their decision based to a candidate that has the right 'feel'.

If this is the case I would challenge you (a) to find three candidates with the 'right feel', and (b) honor both with a well prepared detailed interview.