When you hire sales reps, it’s important to identify and avoid certain personalities that could cause trouble down the line. Though it can be hard to identify problem sales people from one interview, understanding a few basic types can help you dodge the hassle of firing them.
- Lone Wolves: Lone wolves are the typical ambitious hotshots who bring in great numbers but are only looking out for themselves. Sales reps have to work in teams frequently, so having one ambitious team member who puts themselves before everyone else can be a problem. A lone wolf may choose to hide opportunities from the company so they get all the credit, but this means they lack the support of a team and their deals may frequently fall through.
- Show Offs: Similar to lone wolves, show offs tend to be so ambitious that they alienate people around them. Unfortunately, sales success often depends on the team, so having an employee who treats others poorly rarely ends well.
- Over-schedulers: Over-schedulers tend to take on more they can handle. This can come from a great work ethic or ambition, but either way, it can become a problem over time. The rep may have difficulty keeping all their deals straight and their customer service could fall as a result. This can put your whole firm’s reputation at risk.
- Over-sellers: Over-sellers have an alarming tendency to promise more than your firm can deliver for the sake of closing a deal. This can result in heavy repercussions for your firm. If you have a rep who consistently leads clients on and can’t deliver, it may damage your reputation and burn bridges with important clients.
- Clingers: Persistence is important, but clingers will get so obsessed with a great opportunity that they’ll stick with it long after their chance of closing the sale has passed. This becomes a problem when they talk with optimism about the opportunity to the rest of the team, and the team plans around a deal that’s never going to close.
When you hire executive sales recruitment firms, you have a better chance of avoiding employees like these. Executive sales recruitment professionals interview potential sales reps for a living and know how to dodge red flags. Hire an executive sales recruitment firm if you want to save yourself the trouble of hiring.
