3 Core Qualities of Successful Sales Talent

Are you actively recruiting and hiring for your sales team? If you’re smart, the answer is always yes. But how do you truly determine the difference between the future A-players you’re interviewing and the destined-to-be-average or below-average reps?
Do you concentrate on their ability to close or their ability to articulate effectively? At HubSpot, Director of Training and Development Andrew Quinn focuses on identifying three distinct qualities that make someone successful in the B2B world.

3 Core Qualities of Successful Sales Talent

Even more so than past performance, Quinn believes the three qualities below are strong indicators of top sales performers:

1. Tenacity: This is at the top of the list. In order to be successful, sales hires have to have a relentless drive and perseverance. Without the ability to bounce back from rejections, be resourceful, and push themselves to improve, there’s no way they’ll last for long. Bottom line: sales is challenging. Top performers don’t just accept that, they thrive on it.
2. Curiosity: Without a genuine interest in a prospect’s business, it can be impossible to get them to respond and open up. That eagerness to learn will not only help reps figure out what makes their buyers tick, it will also drive them to consistently try new things to improve their process and performance.
3. Organization: Now more than ever, we all need to be able to get more done in less time. And the key to that is strong focus and organization. Without it, reps simply won’t be able to keep up.

 

Sample Sales Interview Questions and a Free Hiring Assessment

Download our free sales interview benchmark guide. Inside you’ll find the necessary questions to ask to really dig into a candidate’s experience and assess them on these three key qualities.

Image by Barbara Walsh