Salespeople are one of the most integral parts of most businesses; a specialist sales recruitment agency will already know what makes exceptional salespeople. If you don’t know, you can read the top 7 attributes to look out for in top IT salespeople here. However, there are also bad habits you need to look out for when you’re hiring a new salesperson into your business.
Ultimately, salespeople are at the forefront of your business’s customer service, having a direct line to your customers and pushing through sales, they have one of the most significant impacts on your profits. Salespeople with bad habits can quickly lose customers and even damage your brand reputation, all of which could be the difference between your business thriving or failing.
Read the following bad habits that you should look to avoid in potential new sales hires. Remember, if you need expert assistance in hiring a salesperson who will fit in well with your business, a specialist sales recruitment agency can help.
Poor product knowledge
It’s often the case that salespeople don’t have the level of product knowledge as the people who are developing the product. For many customers, information around functionality, and how the product will improve their lives will be at the forefront of their decision on whether or not to make a purchase. Being too technically specific can actually put the customer off buying the product because they don’t understand what they’re being told.
However, salespeople must take their level of product knowledge seriously and are prepared for more knowledgeable customers to ask more technically based questions.
Having poor product knowledge will not only hand customers over to your competitors (66% of customers switch companies because of inadequate customer service), it will damage your credibility in the long run.
Remember, your salespeople don’t just make sales, they represent your business as a whole in each interaction they have with a customer- 76% of customers say that customer service is the true test of how much a company values them. If the service isn’t providing them with the level of information they need, they will feel undervalued and go elsewhere.
By using a specialist sales recruitment agency, you can have access to sales talent with track records of success, who are passionate about learning and developing an in-depth product knowledge in every new role they take on.
Assumptive and inactive listening
People working in sales become used to the repetition of customers calling up about similar problems or requests. For top salespeople, this is the perfect opportunity to perfect their sales techniques and see which one works the best for similar enquiries.
However, repetition can lead to inactive listening. Salespeople who don’t actively listen to their customers only retain 50% of the information they’ve been told after 10 minutes. This lack of information can lead to lazy assumptions of what they think the customer wants or needs, which might not be correct. Being inattentive is not going to encourage customer loyalty and reflects poorly on your whole brand.
As mentioned previously, using a specialist sales recruitment agency is a great way to bypass bad habits such as inactive listening. Excellent listening skills are fundamental to the job, so it’s vital that you have that assurance when you hire a new salesperson to your team.
Conclusion
Many businesses and recruiters are aware of what makes a successful salesperson. However, a sales candidate that has some of the best attributes could also be hiding some bad habits that undermine the positive ones. Being able to spot these habits in the recruitment process is crucial to the success of your business- after all, how does your business survive without making consistent sales?
If you want to hire salespeople with habits that make them successful in their job and their customers feeling valued and wanting to return in the future, use a specialist sales recruitment agency. They have access to pools of talent that have hand-picked as top talent. If you don’t access them, your competitors will.
At GK recruitment, we are a specialist sales recruitment agency that has over 20 years of IT recruitment experience. If you need help recruiting a successful IT salesperson, we can help you find your perfect match. Contact us on 01257 429 499 or email us at info@gkrecruitment.com.
