Sales Myth – the myth that there’s only one source of sales person. I have tested 30,000 candidates and I know that that’s NOT true. There are at least 2 types in the simplest definition. There’s the sort that can generate new business and there’s the sort that nurtures the existing client base. It takes totally different skills, perceptions, and style to successfully do those 2 different jobs.

The new businesses go out there into the world as people have to be agile, adaptive, fluid, sometimes they’re spontaneous, sometimes they shoot from their hip but that’s the sort of style they need to be able to work their way through the unknown respond to whatever comes at them with precision and become proactive in the smallest little nuance of opportunity they’re able to move themselves to effectively deal with it.

Account managers are very different. They will be effective when they’ve had plenty of time to think about, strategize, plan, thinking through the details of what does my customer need, where does my customer need to be in a years’ time. How will I help them get there? That is a stay-home-and-think process. If you interchange those jobs or if you interchange the people who have to perform those jobs, you will NOT get the optimal outcome.

You can keep the hunters at home, the new business people at home and make them tend to the crops. You can. They will be willing. They will think. Oh, lovely. I can rest. I will just, you know, have a chat to the existing customers because, you know, I created them probably 3 years ago, they will know me. It would be lovely to catch up with friends and have a bit of a yang. But if you keep your hunters at home, they become lethargic and stroppy and careless because to perform well, they need to stay on their toes and deal with the unpredictable.

You cannot make the farmers go and hunt. They are not able to do that, willing or otherwise. There are lots of times business do telemarketing of promotions for Christmas or something where they think they can get the whole company on the telephones, 5% of the sales force is capable of initiating a sales conversation. 15% are able to continue a conversation. That’s the account managers. So, be really clear if you are hiring people. What you need for this job and be able to identify them.

Sales Inventory Profile is able to identify, to the last degree which sorts of sales person, if at all, your candidate can become.

Bringing your more Sales Myths Videos here with Part 4.