Remember, you will need different sales profiles for different
types of customers and the complexity of the sale. Firstly, let’s
get acquainted with the different types:
type
1 The Relationship Builder
This profile is very much like the farmer. They take time to build
and nurture strong advocates in customer’s organisations and
as noted above, gain loyalty from their efforts. The can tend
to be very generous in giving their time to help others and also
tend to get along with everyone. From a selling perspective, this
profile will do well when the sale is quite straight forward, with
little complication. They will be one of your solid performers when
matched with the right account base.
type
2
The Problem Solver
This profile is just that...they love to solve problems. They are highly
reliable in responding to customers problematic needs and
tend to be very detail orientated. As part of their profile, you will
find these people come from technical or systems and process
backgrounds and they are diligent at ensuring that problems get
solved. They will approach selling from an analytical, fact based
perspective. They will not perform at their optimum level with
simple transactional selling.
Type 3
The Hard Worker
I am sure you will identify with this one. They are the person that is
always willing to go that extra mile for customers and they tend
to have the philosophy that they will succeed through plain hard
work. They are the people that make more phone calls during the
day and more visits every week than the rest of your team. They
certainly do not give up on a sale and are very self motivated.
From a management and motivational perspective, they are
always interested in feedback and ongoing development.
type
4
The Lone Wolf
Who knows a sales person like this? They tend to follow their
own instincts instead of the rules...are very self assured and can
be quite difficult to control. They can be deeply self confident
and tend to be the rule breaking cowboys of the sales team.
Managing them tightly and keeping them in check will be
difficult, but certainly can pay dividends if you are up for the
challenge.
type
5
The Challenger
This profile is just as it says...a challenger. They always have a
different view and try to look at the sale from alternative and
challenging perspectives. They make sure that they have
a deep understanding of the customer’s business and the
industry in general and are comfortable to push or challenge
the customer during the sale. If you have a complicated
or complex situation or sales environment this profile will
significantly increase your chance of success.
Now that you have a deeper awareness of the different profiles
that exist in sales people, can you identify who in your team
fits into what category? More importantly, I have learnt that
once you have identified them, it all comes down to how
you manage these sales profiles both in the field and through
performance management. Each needs to be managed
differently to get the best out of their profile characteristics and
to ensure that they are always being challenged.
If you would like to learn more about these different sales
profiles or Sales Force Effectiveness generally, then join me
at my business breakout session on Friday October 04 at the
Fenestration Australia 2013 Annual Conference in Canberra.
David Esler is the Principal of Kaizen Executive. If you are looking
for more information or wanting a more effective sales team in
the field, contact David on 0420 905 580 or visit his website at
www.kaizenexec.com.au
28 www.awa.org.au Winter 2013