If you’ve set your sights on growing your business and increasing your revenue this year, then you’re going to need qualified and competent professionals on your sales leadership team. One way you can find your next sales leader is by identifying high-potential employees with the right characteristics and skills to be successful in executive sales positions.
Korn Ferry, a talent management organization, conducted a survey that assessed how companies found and developed future leaders and were able to single out specific signs that indicated future leadership success. Recognizing which sales reps demonstrate these abilities will help you make a more informed decision when it comes to hiring a new sales leader.
Track Record of Formative Experience
When evaluating a sales rep’s track record of success and experience, you can’t just rely on whether they’re hitting their numbers. Top sales reps are often moved into leadership roles because of their ability to perform, but end up failing because of who they are. Instead, look at how the sales rep is making their numbers. Are they using the company’s processes and methods, or do they ignore the rules and do things their own way? A sales leader needs to be an advocate of your brand and an extension of how the company does business.
Next, look at the sales rep’s experience. Are they currently performing any of the job duties performed by a sales leader, or taken on more responsibility in their current position? Finding out the answer to these questions will help you get an idea of their past, and in turn will help you get an idea of their future success.
Leadership Traits
Just because a sales rep isn’t in a leadership position doesn’t mean they can’t display leadership behaviors. Some of the most popular leadership traits are assertiveness, honesty, and decisiveness.
A sales rep who takes initiative to help a colleague with a challenging customer, for example, shows more leadership ability than a sales rep focused only on their own performance and doesn’t help the team. Also, look for sales reps who collaborate with their peers about strategies to handle challenging clients. Observing these informal leadership behaviors can help predict who already has leadership tendencies and abilities.
Learning Agility
Another opportunity to observe signs of leadership is during sales coaching or mentoring sessions. Pay attention to sales reps who take the advice and use it when performing future tasks, not someone who is just passively listening. Also, how is the sales rep applying the information to new situations? Sales reps who are more learning centered and excited about finding out new ways to do things will perform better in leadership roles.
Even if you’re able to identify a sales rep with all these leadership signs, you still have to access whether your organization can support this type of transition. Do you have the necessary sales leadership training available in-house, or do you even have the time to train this person? If you can’t support this function in-house, do you have the funds to send the sales rep to a sales leadership course, seminar or business training at a university? If you’re not able to put in the time, effort, and money to fully develop a sales rep into a sales leader, then you might want to contact a sales recruiting firm to perform an executive search to help you find a qualified sales leader.
