Their resume looked great, they interviewed well and you can see that the new salesperson that was hired is going to be a great fit in the company. The courting was fun and the honeymoon is now over. So here comes the big question, is the new salesperson actually going to be successful. It is a question that everyone is wondering about, including the new salesperson. They talked a good talk and now it is time to perform. Chances are that you’re thinking about all the duds that have come through the company that showed a lot of promise early on, but somewhere along the way things went the wrong way and they maintained their employment much longer than they probably should have. Now it’s back to the pile of resumes and this time everyone is a lot more skeptical.
New salespeople that are unsuccessful create an unpleasant experience for everybody; especially that salesperson. At what point can we tell that they are getting traction instead of offering excuses instead of results. Remember that this employment is a two-way partnership and the company is at least half responsible for their success. 6 months after the new salesperson completes their onboarding, you’ll start to know whether or not they have what it takes if you see them producing certain things. Here are the 5 things you should look for in a new salesperson to see whether or not they are going to be successful.
- A good pipeline – Do they have a list of prospects that they are working on? Are they moving prospects forward through their process. Is the list of good quality and reflects the kinds of customers that the company wants? A good pipeline of great prospects is the first key to their success.
- A goal – Too often do salespeople and sales managers leave results up to chance. They have a hard time discussing goals because it suddenly makes everything seem too real. Don’t get your hopes up too high for a salesperson who has no goals. If you fail to let them know what is expected of them, the chances are that they will fail too.
- Sales activities – Is the new salesperson actually picking up the phone, getting in front of people, and delivering a healthy level of sales activities necessary to build a book of business? Are they being bogged down by other responsibilities within the company? You definitely want to make certain that they are doing the work.
- Sphere of influence – Is the new salesperson out meeting with their sphere of influence? These would be old contacts, relationships, and influencers. They may or may not be an ideal customer for your company, but this is an excellent warm-up exercise for new salespeople because this network of contacts can start steering them in the right direction.
- Getting meetings/ sending quotes – This is the biggest thing that you want to look for. If a new salesperson has been at it for 6 months and has not had any meetings or sent any quotes, they are not going to make it. It is time to break the relationship. However, if they are able to get meetings regardless of closing deals, then chances are that you have a winner. They may need some help with their presentation and closing techniques, but getting prospects to agree to a meeting is the hardest thing. Everything after that can be easily corrected. This one is going to make it.