Top sales performers are born that way – they intuitively know what to say and do and – well, they are instinctive superstars! It's the #1 most popular myth about salespeople Not necessarily so! There is nothing “natural” about becoming a world-class sales rep. The best became the best by listening to their coaches and mentors, opening up their minds to new schools of thought, and working hard at their jobs.
According to research from Miller Heiman, the best sales reps:
Prepare for their sales calls
Plan their approach for targeting clients on calls
Have a standard process in place for reviewing opportunities
None of these are natural-born behaviors.
Harvard Business Review delved further into the behaviors of top salespeople. Their surveys of thousands of top salespeople at leading companies identified the following characteristics:
91% of top salespeople had medium to high scores of modesty and humility
85% had high levels of conscientiousness – a strong sense of duty and reliability
84% scored very high in achievement orientation, continuously measuring their performance against their goals
82% scored extremely high in curiosity levels, with the tendency to ask questions to gather information and close the sale
Behavioral psychologists say we can understand people by observing their behavior. We measure behavior. So – if we know the behaviors of top performers in our sales team, according to their results, then we can create a coaching plan to elevate the average performer to superstar status!
How, then, does a manager coach an employee to become a top performer? The manager uses the behavioral data, Job Assessment (Performance Requirements Option), and our Coaching Guide to:
Identify the behavioral patterns of top performers from the Behavioral Assessment
Measure these behaviors against the ideal behavioral pattern from the Job Assessment
Identify differences between the average sales performer and top performers
Create group analytics to determine gaps between the average and top sales performer
Create a Coaching Guide for the average performer to elevate them to a top performer
Coach the average performer, set goals, guide them, and provide ongoing feedback
Managers can finally have the tools to build a team of top performers, in sales or any other department, by using the solutions, tools, and education we provide.
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