SalesScore

The world seems overflowing with sales gurus who share their wisdom on how to make your less than stellar sales people become superstars. Yet, with all this wisdom available to your sales team, are you getting results? If you have tried everything to get your sales team in shape, yet with limited success, then you may be missing a critical ingredient.

 

Sales success formula for your sales reps can be simplified into one word . . . Ambition.

 

Ambition drives the sales train. Here is a little poem to sum it up.

 

It can’t be taught,

It can’t be bought.

It can’t be steered,

Nor can it be engineered.

Ambition is either there . . . or it is not.

 

So, what is this thing we call, Ambition?  It is often described as “motivation.” Yet, motivation can be created in two ways . . . . internally (intrinsic) or externally (extrinsic).

 

People who “drink the Kool-Aid” are externally motivated. Someone or something externally drives their motivation. In sales, a talented Sales Manager may inspire their sales team to glorious results, but what happens if the Sales Manager leaves? The external inspiration is gone. If your sales reps are not internally driven, their sales performance may be lackluster without someone pushing them up the ladder of success.

 

Sales professionals who are internally motivated (or self-motivated) do not need external factors to motivate themselves. They create their own success; in spite of the obstacles and struggles they may face. The Devine Group defines “Ambition & Drive” as an attitude of expecting to win and striving to be the best one can be. People that are intrinsically motivated drive themselves to success. They know what they want to achieve, believe they can do it, set appropriate goals, and then execute an action plan to deliver their desired results.

 

So, if that is all there is to it, why do so many sales professionals fail. First . . . not everyone is internally motivated. And, those that are, may not be internally motivated to sell your products and services. Can they do it? Maybe. Will they do it? Another maybe. Thus, too many “maybes” in the equation creating a lower percentage chance of sales success.

 

Before hiring a new sales professional, measure their Ambition. Sales assessments measure internal motivation with a fair amount of reliability. Granted, there are many other variables to sales success, yet Ambition tops the list of “must-haves.” People who are self-motivated and love to excel have a significantly higher probability of sales success.

 

Remember, you can’t teach, buy, steer, or engineer Ambition. Your new hire either has it, or they don’t.

 

If you would like to learn more on how to hire sales professionals with high Ambition, click here.