You can hire and train and hire and train salespeople over and over again, but that doesn't' mean that you will have a winning sales staff.

There's one key element, one trait, one absolute necessity that every great salesperson must possess, but first, let's look at some of the mistakes that you make when you hire salespeople.

Sales is a world all its own and the best salespeople never have to worry about finding something to sell or someone to sell for. Having said that, why is it that so many companies allow a human resources person to screen salespeople?

What does a human resources person know about sales, they're analytical types? Salespeople are a unique breed, and should only be considered for employment or a project, based on the opinion of a real salesperson, not a human resources droid.

No offense to people in human resources, but they're not salespeople and really don't know what it's like to go out into the trenches everyday and get battered with rejection, traffic jams, appointment cancellations, and always have the anxiety of a number to hit. No, human resources people sit in their little office and play king, rejecting real sales pros because of their limited knowledge.

I learned my sales skills at an early age and those kitchen table discussions have stayed with me. Being the youngest in the family, my ears absorbed the expressions that worked, the timing that was so important, and the study needed to be successful.

    If a person can sell tomatoes successfully, they can sell software. Most people don't believe that, but the fact is; people who know the art of selling, can sell anything.

So if you're on the hiring side and looking over salespeople, don't worry about what they have sold, because you can have two different ways to look at salespeople.

If you need a salesperson to sell your software and you are facing two salespeople; one with software sales experience and one with tomato experience, you're thinking is one of the following;

1) An experienced software salesperson is what you need, because they understand how to sell software and a tomato salesperson doesn't know anything about selling software.

2) An experienced software salesperson may be burned out selling software and really doesn't care about your product and just wants a job to pay the rent. Perhaps the experienced salesperson is just using you, while he or she develops his or her own software to sell.

3) The tomato salesperson knows how to sell, but wants to shift gears and is excited about selling software, willing to put in the hours learning and discovering, and won't let anything stop them. The tomato industry doesn't seem to be growing as fast as the software arena.
Are you looking at the skill set or the experience on a piece of paper? Salespeople, who really are sales-people, stand out from the crowd and here's the one key element, the one trait, the one absolute necessity that every great salesperson must possess;
They must put their mental and physical energy into making money, not saving money.

You want tigers out in the field and on the phones, not lambs, order-takers, or pen-dicks.

Hiring salespeople that are hungry to make money and not living too-cushy of a life are great, but it's even better when you have a corral of salespeople who have a "life-style" to maintain. Salespeople who put their mental and physical energy into making money aren't afraid of a cold-call, aren't put-off by a "No," and don't know what it means to quit.

No matter which title you slap on them; sales associate, account executive, personal account manager... they're salespeople and you want sharks who will keep going back for the sale, not tuck their tail between their legs and retreat never to be seen again.

How many sales are made on the first attempt; very few and you can't count your grandmother buying a vacuum as a first-time close.

Speaking of close; I have been approached by people trying to get me to buy something and never once asking me to buy either through a common closing line or an outright request.

I have a lot of years of selling experience in tangibles and intangibles and the greats, keep asking for the order.

I know what it's like to call someone that I don't know, and they don't know me and ask for a million dollar commitment and get it, because I kept asking.

Traits to look for in a salesperson;

1) Puts their mental and physical energy into making money.

2) Dogged in asking for the order.

3) Knows the power of getting a "NO" answer.

4) Smiles while under fire and keep their cool.

5) Not afraid to go back to the customer when the order is wrong. (Tomatoes don't always arrive in perfect condition.)

6) Dresses for the position in a serious get-the-job-done way. (Looks all business.)

7) Punctuality is never an issue, nor is the weather ever an excuse.

8) Understands finishing the day, before it begins.

9) Ability to adjust to the other person's tone.

10) Eats product knowledge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

11) Knows the competition and why your product or service should be preferred.

12) Don't let a non-salesperson pick your sales people.

Remember; you want people selling for you that will put everything they've got into making money, because they'll make money for you. Savers never seem to have that fire under them to get out there and knock on doors.

Salespeople are the greatest invention of mankind, but if you don't have them working for you; they'll be working for someone else, like your competitor.

Pay them big and they'll earn it and you'll earn more from their efforts.

I've spent almost my entire life selling and making presentations and I still get the "high" when I close a deal. If you're not in sales, you really wouldn't understand what I just said.

"A hungry man will pick up a shovel and dig, even in the rain." -Lazz Laszlo