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If you\u2019ve ever wondered what top sales leaders are looking for when they\u2019re hiring a new rep, this article should provide you with actionable insights that you can use in your next job search. I sat down with Kerry Webb<\/a>, Director of Sales-New Business at Avast<\/a>, and asked her a number of questions that our headhunters get asked all the time by\u00a0sales professionals like yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>KERRY WEBB\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kerry has more than 20 years of experience, starting out as a sales rep before moving into leadership. Since the beginning, she has been a perennial top-performer \u2013 selling and leading teams in both B2C and B2B, inside and field sales. She has increased\u00a0 \u00a0 sales effectiveness by over 40%, has exceeded company sales goals by over 150%, achieved +725% YOY growth on new solutions all while achieving best in class employee satisfaction scores. She has been in the trenches and understands the challenges and the rewards that come with being out in the field, and she firmly believes that this has been instrumental to her success as a sales leader, and her effectiveness as a coach.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no right answer to this. However, it feels very natural to be introduced by someone else \u2013 so a referral is great. A LinkedIn message is good as well. Someone who doesn\u2019t approach you when the job is posted, but rather someone who wants to be ready and kept top of mind when a position becomes available. Some of the best people are telling you that they are interested before there is a position. Be proactive! It\u2019s also important for the candidate to demonstrate that they\u2019re positive and energetic as well \u2013 I\u2019ve had a lot of people who have approached me and they\u2019re personality and level of interest falls flat. So, there are two parts to this \u2013 there\u2019s the way that they approach you and there\u2019s the how. Having confidence, enthusiasm and a certain presence will make the candidate memorable and will make me think about him or her when the time does come to fill a position.<\/p>\n That\u2019s interesting, because I\u2019m not as tough as other people that I\u2019ve worked with. I don\u2019t spend as much time on the resume as many other people do. I\u2019m interested in their core competencies, so I\u2019m usually willing to meet almost anyone. That said, I am looking for consistency \u2013 making sure there\u2019s not a lot of gaps in employment and the length of time spent working at each organization. I\u2019m looking at the type of work that they did, to determine if there are transferable skills. If you can find people who have done the job before then that\u2019s great, but I like to give people a chance because I\u2019m looking for the competencies more than I\u2019m looking at what they\u2019ve done. Their resume shows me where they\u2019ve been and what they\u2019ve done in a certain length of time, and it tells me whether it makes sense that they\u2019re applying for the position that they\u2019re applying for. Beyond that, I like to talk to people.<\/p>\n Top performers are not in the noise. Every organization wants more leads, every organization wishes they had a better compensation plan, and every company has some turnover \u2013 but a top performer doesn\u2019t talk about that. Rather, a top performer spends their time saying, \u201cI need this and I need that, I tried this and I tried that\u201d and they\u2019re open and they\u2019re asking for help and they\u2019re just trying to make things happen. Top performers ask questions, they find solutions, they\u2019re not making excuses, and they have a reason as to why they are approaching things a certain way. They make it happen \u2013 in their own way, and in their own time.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the top performer is a collaborative person. They\u2019re very outspoken when it comes to what they need and they\u2019re willing to ask more than one person for it. As the manager who works with someone like that, all it does is make things better. They are asking the right questions, they are being inquisitive and they are bringing up the right things. I\u2019ve also found that they don\u2019t want to be recognized, because they\u2019re just so busy making things happen. It\u2019s important for me as a leader to support that, and be available when they need something because when they bring something up, I know that that is something that we need to pay attention to.<\/p>\n Top performers can also be emotional, but they are inherently positive. They are internally driven and they believe that they can do anything. They are competitive and they are always urgent \u2013 they never stop when they are stuck. Top performers are motivated by money, but they also want to be the best. A top performer isn\u2019t quiet, and they won\u2019t let anyone beat them. They are also the best trackers of their sales. They are not afraid to call a customer if they are behind on their numbers \u2013 which in my experience in very rare. In fact, I would say that less than 10% of salespeople will pick up the phone and call customers if they are behind.<\/p>\n I want to know about their sales process, what motivates them and what kind of environment they are looking for \u2013 and then it\u2019s all behavioral around those things, as I can build off of those answers. \u201cWhat worked for you? What didn\u2019t? Tell me about a time, tell me about a sale, explain your involvement in that sale, tell me why you picked that one to talk about?\u201d This helps me to understand their passion.<\/p>\n I want to see what motivates them. I\u2019ll ask standard questions like what kind of boss brings out the best in them, what type of environment brings out the best in them, if they could pick their job what would it look like, what does a day in the life look like, what\u2019s your sales cycle, etc. But I\u2019m really reading between the lines as I\u2019m trying to identify what their motivators are.<\/p>\n At Avast, we\u2019ve started to ask candidates to present to us. We ask them to sell us what they\u2019re selling today. Like we\u2019re a customer. We give them instructions on how to do it and then they present. This gives us a good indication of how coachable they are, if they can think well on their feet and if they can make it interesting.<\/p>\n In an interview, I\u2019m assessing whether a candidate is a culture fit by first looking internally. Who do I have on the team today. What works? What\u2019s missing? What can this person add to us? What\u2019s going on in our world and could they handle it? So it\u2019s being aware of what they\u2019re looking for, what they bring, and determining if we need that in our environment at this time. Will it enrich what we have today?<\/p>\n One way that I\u2019ve found to be successful when a candidate is assessing culture is to ask to come in and do a side by side, and I think it\u2019s important for companies to have that kind of open environment. I like it when a candidate asks For remote employees, it\u2019s crucial that they ask the right questions in the interview. They can\u2019t be afraid to tell the hiring manager what they need to be successful. I would want to understand what kind of support they would need from me in order for them to be successful, because I can tell them right then and there if that\u2019s something that can be done.<\/p>\n When a candidate asks me about career growth in an interview, I throw it back at them and ask them what kind of growth they\u2019re looking for. In a perfect world, what would they like it to be? I will ask them where they see themselves in one, three and five years. I make it a point to always let people know that they have to do the job that they\u2019re in or applying for first, and that they have to succeed in that role. You\u2019ve got to prove yourself. If an organization is going to make an investment in you, it is essential that they see that that person is succeeding in their role before they decide to further invest company time and resources in their professional development.<\/p>\n It\u2019s great to have interests and to talk about them. Show your passion. This is something I look for in a candidate when I\u2019m interviewing. I want to know that they care about something and that it matters to them. This tells me a lot about a person, as I get an opportunity to find out more about their story. This also tells me that the person has a routine \u2013 that they\u2019re disciplined, structured and determined. This is a clear indication that the person will be successful in sales. Involvement in networking groups, trade groups and associations is another one that I look for. Top performers are typically involved in some sort of external community of professionals. They know how important it is to have a network.<\/p>\n First and foremost, I emphasize what needs to be done on the front end. That\u2019s where most of the work is done. You have to be proactive, and you have to get in front of people \u2013 whether that be through your network, through LinkedIn, by building a creative campaign or event. To be successful in sales, this is where you need to spend the majority of your time. Once you have identified a customer that wants to talk to you, you engage in a very detailed needs analysis and discovery phase. After the discovery, there will be some type of presentation, followed by negotiation and close. Too many salespeople go straight to presentation and then try to close, without doing the work on the front end, and this usually backfires. I\u2019ve always been a firm believer in the Consultative approach. I coach my team to approach a prospect as a consultant, not a salesperson. To understand their business and to see where they can help. They shouldn\u2019t have a solution for them at the first meeting, and they may not even have one tomorrow. But at least they\u2019ve taken an inventory, and gotten to know their business. At some point down the line, there will be an opportunity where we can help.<\/p>\n The first questions I would ask this person are as follows. \u201cWhat are the differences between what you\u2019re selling now and what you want to sell? What do you think are the similarities? How would you adjust to those differences, and what would you need to do to prepare yourself for those differences?\u201d. If the candidate can\u2019t make that linkage themselves, then they\u2019re probably not going to be able to convince me.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A network can help you but I don\u2019t think it stop you from succeeding. Everyone must start somewhere. In some circumstances having a network will give you an edge, but if you don\u2019t have one, I want to hear how you are going to address the challenges you\u2019ll be faced with by not having a network. You either have a network and you know how to leverage it, or you absolutely know what it takes to build one. In my experience, not a lot of salespeople have that skill. To have what it takes to start from scratch, and to be prepared to show me a plan on how they\u2019re going to do it effectively is a huge asset.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t need to be the top-performer, as top-performers don\u2019t necessarily make good leaders. I look for people who have helped others naturally, so when there was a problem they\u2019ve gotten people together to try to find a solution. They\u2019ve taken on projects throughout their time that have not just benefitted them, but that benefitted the team. They get involved naturally with rewards and recognition and incentives. They are someone who people approach for ideas and solutions to problems because they\u2019ve done it and they\u2019ve put themselves out there. They\u2019re not the quiet person in the room. They become the natural go-to person. It\u2019s not a surprise when they want to become a leader because they\u2019ve already been acting like it. They have proactively looked for opportunities that would benefit themselves and the team.<\/p>\n Who\u2019s right to be a leader? I\u2019ll always ask, do you want your success to be in the control of others? Or do you want to have control over it yourself? This is a critical question that makes them really question their ambitions to be a sales leader. I also ask them what their motivation is for wanting to become a sales leader. If it\u2019s money and title, it\u2019s the wrong person. A great leader is motivated by making a difference.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t be afraid of the cold approach, but you can\u2019t just do calls. Calls don\u2019t work \u2013 they have to be supplemented with other activities like leveraging their network to ask for introductions, posting on LinkedIn, sending out personalized emails with their picture, wishing them a happy holiday, etc. You must get their attention so that they\u2019ll take your calls. That\u2019s how you get in the door. This is basic, and the most important thing a salesperson should remember is to stick to the basics. Salespeople who try to do more than the basics don\u2019t get a lot of time in their approach, as they are perceived to be junior. Most salespeople think that they\u2019re better than the basics, but in my experience \u2013 the basics are best-in-class sales reps.<\/p>\n relpost-thumb-wrapper <\/p>\n![\"Kerry](\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Kerry-Webb-200x200-Circular.png?strip=all&resize=200%2C200\")
<\/p>\nAs a sales leader, how do you like to be approached by a salesperson who is interested in joining your team?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What are the things that you need to see in a sales resume before you consider bringing an applicant in for an interview?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What are some of the traits that you\u2019ve found to be synonymous in a top performer and that you look for in every hire you make?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nWhat are the things that you look for or want to address in an interview?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How important is culture fit? How can both the salesperson AND<\/em> potential manager screen for that?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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me what the culture is like, and then they try to figure out if it\u2019s an environment that they would enjoy and thrive in.<\/p>\nHow do you position career growth to a potential hire? How do you address that question?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What activities should a salesperson do outside of work to make a good impression on you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What \u201cselling process\u201d or sales methodology do you subscribe to, and how do you disseminate that to your team?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
We meet a lot of successful salespeople who are interested making some sort of a transition in their sales career \u2013 like selling a different solution or selling into a different vertical. How would those people best communicate their ability to make that transition successfully? How could they convince you that they were right for the job?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nIn your industry, how important is it to hire a salesperson with an existing network in the space? Can a candidate with an understanding of the solution offering and a great track record in executing a similar sales process be just as successful? If so, how can they demonstrate that effectively?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What qualities and individual accomplishments do you look for when deciding who to promote into a leadership role?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
One of your strengths as a sales leader is to take an underperforming sales team and turn it around. What tactics do you advise your team to perform in order for them to turn around their own book of business?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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