There has never been a better time in the staffing industry! Economists are forecasting a 20% growth in staffing requirements in 1st quarter of 2011. For a hungry sales person this means an opportunity to gain market share, expand client base, make a name for yourself, lay the foundation and sew the seeds for a marvelous and lucrative next 5 years.
The question many candidates, employers and Sales Managers ask is, “How do I know if a person, or if I am right for a sales career?” Some answers to that question as well as some insights around who makes it in sales for the long term are detailed below.
A key in consistently producing high levels of sales in any industry is a core belief in the product or service you sell. Fundamentally, you are the type of person that would spend money on the service you are pitching, you know what you expect as a deliverable and then sell it.
Additionally, you posses the right raw material required for a successful sales person. Some raw material traits that the best sales people studied by Sales Gurus, Industrial Psychologists, Performance Analysts and Business leaders are the “high achiever”, “self starter”, “personal accountability”, “solution oriented” and “astute” traits. These are not behaviors or personality traits that are taught, prodded, coached or developed in someone else, you have these traits or you don’t. You know you have these traits when you are the type of person who gets things done with little external stimulation, you drive yourself to high levels of productivity, you take responsibility for what gets done and what doesn’t and you create a plan to get what did not get done complete ahead of schedule. You know you have the astute trait when you have a keen awareness of what is happening with people around you, you observe conversations, communications and respond accordingly, you look in the mirror and see the beauty as well as the warts. You possess the astuteness trait when you are the type of person that looks at what is not working with you and aims to fix it. A person who thinks they are perfect in every way; lacks common sense, common sense is astuteness.
Beyond these personal deep-rooted traits, most highly effective, Sales professionals who build sustainable incomes are people, like it or not who put a high value on money, things money buys, the freedom money provides and the opportunity to measure their effectiveness by the money on their commission check. Another value that propels sales success is the value of independence and influence and power over others. The driving force of needing to control outcomes, wanting your causes to be victorious is critical for most Sales roles.
These two values operating in synergy in a person who has the self-starter trait, the personally accountable competency, the common sense trait, the solution-oriented trait is like a Ferrari engine, a full tank of high-octane gas, a brand new paint job an open track and a green light – vroom!
Now let’s throw in your behavior of being highly competitive, needing to win, your strong sense of urgency and your need to service your customers and you are positioned for a top producer role.
Next, you need to assess your listening skills. Do you sell or do you tell? A person with all the right stuff who does not shut up long enough to hear what the prospect or customer’s true pain is; is a person who leaves money, a lot of money on the table. When you listen you are poised to influence.
If you think a Sales career is the next step for you, I suggest you watch a movie, assess the behaviors, traits, ethics and competencies of the lead “Sales” role and ask yourself if that is you. A great moving to watch addressing this very concept is “The Pursuit of Happiness”. 
Will Smith powerfully demonstrates exactly what it takes to win in a sales career.
Once you determine you have that raw material, behaviors, competencies and values to be a killer sales person, it’s time to isolate and identify the industries that you believe in and are passionate about. Then find companies in that industry that offer a solid value proposition, have a business model you can get behind and a decent training program combined of on the job ‘doing’ and classroom ‘theory’. The last aspect of focus is the commission plan.
Every organization I read about and work with as well as every CEO I interview tells me very clearly if the person is putting numbers on the board, generating sales, retaining customers; they compensate fairly. I have been paid out 16% commission (no base, straight commission); I have been paid out 50% commission. My favorite job by far, my favorite company, the place I learned the most and grew the most was the 16% commission place. They provided the structure I needed to learn the recruiting and staffing business, they provided the coaching and the training and they hired only top producers, I was surrounded by and emulated the top producers.
Do you hear yourself in any of this? When you know yourself as a sales person at heart and you want the opportunity to earn what you are worth. When you never ever want to look for another job; look for a sales career and look to staffing, recruiting and consulting in the Talent Management space. There is no limit on the opportunities and anyone who puts their heart in to it, has a strong work ethic and has the natural ability to sell is in a position to think, work and grow rich.
