Hiring good salespeople

How can a company produce good salespeople? Surely if the product is what people want, it will sell itself? In fact, though, there is a multi-million dollar industry out there, and everyone is in competition, all chasing the same targets. Suddenly it is not so easy after all. For the long-term growth and profitability of a company, building a high-performing team of salespeople is crucial.

What does the recruitment officer have to consider when interviewing a potential salesperson? He might ask, for example, how much energy the individual has, and how efficient they can be. Crucially, how will they deal with rejection that is part and parcel of a salesperson’s life? Will they persist or will they turn tail and quit? How motivated are they by the hunt for new customers, and how much attention will they give to the maintenance of the current ones? Are they likely to share information, or hoard secrets? What is their attitude to risk-taking? And just how much sheer effort will they put in to be successful?

But it is not just the responsibility of finding the right person. That is an essential, and cost incurring process in itself, but having found that winning personality, it is crucial that they stay with the company. If, after the company has recruited, trained and groomed the right person, they then leave to work for the competition, how much wasted profit does that represent for the company, which then has to embark on the whole costly process again?

It is therefore important to identify factors that help drive a successful salesperson. The first and perhaps most obvious is money. Sales effectiveness is measured by money. If you sell, you get paid. Often, if you don’t sell there is no financial reward at all, as many such jobs are performance-based. This establishes the competitive nature of the job. However, the competition is an internal one, where the person is actually in competition with themselves. This is where targets are essential, as the successful salesperson is constantly trying to improve their previous records. It is a powerful desire to excel which motivates them to succeed. A successful demonstration of this acts as a positive influence on their morale, and ultimately the sense of fulfilment they get from the job.

Another, perhaps less obvious motivator can be recognition. To be in competition with oneself means that the recognition of one’s achievement could also remain internal to oneself. This suggests that external recognition of targets achieved can create pride and identification with the company. Titles such as Sales Executive of the Month or Senior Sales Club membership can offer the acknowledgement of success and the ongoing motivation which builds strong bonds and associations between the salesperson and the company, thus ensuring a successful relationship.

2. Выпишите незнакомые слова и выучите их. Затем переведите следующие слова и выражения:

нанимать на работу, работники отдела продаж, конкуренция, конкурентный, цель, долгосрочный, доходность, специалист по найму персонала, с высокой производительностью, текущее обслуживание, прикладывать усилия, обязанность, нужный человек, обучать персонал, дорогостоящий, выявить факторы, измерять, финансовой вознаграждение, по результатам труда, эффективность продаж, послужной список, самореализация, общественное признание, достижение, гордость, отождествление себя с компанией, топ-менеджер, старший, абонемент, связи, обеспечивать, превзойти, настроение в коллективе

3. Выберите подходящий вариант A, B, C или D для ответа на вопрос или продолжения незаконченного высказывания.

1 What reasons are given for constructing a team of good salespeople?

A The competition already has them, so you should too.

B If the product is already great, a great sales team will have no problem.

C It should positively affect the viability and size of the company over time.

D Selling is good for business.

2 Why is facing up to the possibility of being turned down an essential skill in a salesperson?

A It increases the individual’s efficiency.

B Unfortunately it is an everyday occurrence, so you have to get used to it.

C Persistence is not always enough.

D In the long run, you can’t change people’s minds any other way.

3 According to the text, why is important to establish a good working relationship with an employee?

A There are not that many good sales people out there.

B Many resources used in finding and molding that person would have been better used elsewhere.

C A sales team likes to stick together once it is formed.

D If successful, they could be head-hunted at the expense of the original company.

4 According to the text, how does money help the effectiveness of a salesperson?

A It is a performance indicator of the most motivating kind.

B If you want to get paid you have to sell.

C You can buy anyone if you pay them enough.

D Without money, you won’t achieve anything.

5 What other motivators have been suggested to influence such a person?

A A sense of belonging to the group of a good company.

B A feeling of superiority from doing better than the others.

C Wanting always to do better than you did before.

D Constantly hitting targets makes you feel good.

6 The final paragraph discusses the benefits of recognition which help to

A make the person feel good.

B build an internal and external reward system.

C form a sense of responsibility for the future of the company.

D establish a connection between personal and company achievement.

ВАРИАНТ 3

1. Прочитайте текст и вставьте варианты фраз в пропуски. После этого письменно переведите текст.