As employers look to advance great salespeople through the company chain, they should not rely on promoting workers based on observation alone. While employees may have perfect attendance records or have great quarters, it’s important to look at objective sales data to ensure workers are consistent in their work and will be successful in their new position.
Here are five ways to identify top salespeople:
1. They actively seek out deals
Star workers in the sales department do more than just close a deal and move on to the next lead. They also look for their next opportunity to land new customers as well as develop business relationships that could lead to high-value sales in the future, according to Business 2 Community. Before the dive into a deal, they think about their plan to close the deal and the sales targets they need to achieve.
2. Their average sales deals numbers are huge
As top salespeople strive to raise the bar even higher in terms of their deal values, they will likely have some of the best numbers for average sales deals, according to Harvard Business Review. Since the average value of deals is crucial as a key performance indicator, employers should look at this sales effectiveness metric and see which workers have higher numbers than the rest.
3. They contact leads fast
While salespeople often juggle multiple tasks at the same time throughout the day, how they maintain contact with leads could make a difference in their sales numbers. To make sure sales representatives are making sufficient contact with leads, employers could evaluate their speed-to-contact indicators, Inc. magazine recommended. This will show companies how fast salespeople have that first conversation with leads.
4. There is a plan B
During the work day, there are some things that could go wrong: deals fall through, leads aren’t interested in sales pitches or salespeople are not getting any closer to meeting the company’s objectives. Good salespeople have a plan B in case things go wrong, showing they have excellent problem-solving skills, which are necessary for any advanced position in companies.
5. They are engaged with their jobs
In a highly competitive field like sales, the most successful workers are often the most engaged. They enjoy the work they do, which is a critical element to having a high level of output and meeting their sales targets.
