SalesScore

If I asked 100 Business Owners and Sales Manager what is the most important sales competency, I am sure that I would hear a variety of answers. Here is a short list I believe I would hear repeatedly by many.

• Prospecting
• Closing skills
• Problem Solving
• Ambition & Drive
• Relationship Building

All of these answers are important, yet the degree of importance depends on the way a company sells their products and services. Not all sales positions are the same. Companies with repeat business may need to focus more on Relationship Building where as companies with a complicated solution sale may require more Problem Solving skills.

Yet, the #1 universal competency for all sales types is Ambition & Drive. You cannot teach Ambition & Drive. You either have it or you don’t.

The question you may be asking now is, “How do measure the level of Ambition & Drive in a sales candidate?” Great question and glad you asked!

Hopefully you are not relying on the candidate’s own story that they are truly motivated to be successful. (Blah, blah, blah.)  If you do, you will get stung more often than not. The best way to evaluate Ambition & Drive is through the use of sales assessments. There are many on the market that do a great job of measuring this competency.

Before your make your next hire, be sure to assess for this #1 most important competency, Ambition & Drive. Candidates without a high level of this crucial competency, may be destined to fail. And, you will feel like you are pushing them up the hill every day until you let them go.

Ann Clifford