Ability to Recruit and Develop a Team
Not only do top sales leaders know how to sell, but they also know how to surround themselves with a team of A-players. Research shows that 72% of high performing sales managers rated the sales team they manage as excellent or above average, compared to 54% for under-performing sales managers. On the other hand, 46% of under-performing sales managers rated their team as average or below average, while only 28% of high performing sales managers thought so.
Hiring a sales leader who has the ability to recruit and train their team is essential. Find out what past experience the candidate has leading a sales team and find out what type of leadership style they used to be effective.
Uses Metrics for Forecasting
If your sales reps aren’t being measured on their performance on a daily, monthly and yearly basis, then you’re missing out on valuable coaching opportunities and more importantly, losing out on revenue. 75% of high-performing sales managers agreed that their salespeople are consistently measured and held accountable against their quota, compared to 58% of underperforming sales managers.
When interviewing sales leaders, make sure to ask for examples of how they use metrics on a daily basis to give feedback to their team. You can’t just rely on a sales leader’s intuition or relationships with sales reps to find out whether the reps are effective or not.
Strong Motivation
Top performing sales reps showed a noticeable difference in their personality traits compared to unsuccessful sales leaders. Some of the traits high-performing sales leaders consistently demonstrated was self-discipline, success-driven and priority focused.
Some of the questions you should ask sales leadership candidates to determine their motivation are:
- When do you tend to dig into your toughest business problems – in the morning, afternoon, or evening?
- What people or events have been most important in your self-development?
- Under what conditions do you work best? When do you do your worst work?
- What are your career goals in the next five years? Why did you decide to make them?
- Normally, most people have periods of letdowns as well as spurts of motivation in a given period. Describe your energy cycle in a week, for instance.
There’s no denying the importance of having a strong sales leader to lead your sales team. Looking for these 3 things when hiring a new sales leader will help you hire a top-performing sales leader who will be successful in the role.