SGIA Journal September/October 2013 - (Page 47)

How To Hire and Retain a Sales Champion Behind every company's increase in market share there is at least one sales champion: Someone who understands human needs, communicates clearly and knows how to gain a buyer's trust. Some sales champions have gone on to become very successful business owners and teachers. Great sales people are made; anyone can become successful in selling. All it takes is the right training. Right? Maybe. It’s not as simple as that. To make it in sales, or in anything else, you must bring big desire and clear reasoning. Unfortunately employers often overlook these inner ingredients during the hiring process. Many sales managers still make the mistake of hiring a salesperson swayed largely by their resume, looks, dress and talk. They believe this is all that is necessary to mold them into a grand producer — a little training before sending them off to conquer the marketplace. When minimum emphasis is placed on what's behind the nice suit and smooth talk, you will shoot yourself in the foot. The interview process should be your opportunity to get a holistic picture before signing on. How can you use the interviewing process to better know if the person sitting across from you has the necessary inner traits to make a good candidate? If great sales people are made, this does not override your responsibility as a manager to conduct a thorough and complete interview. Visit SGIA at SGIA.org A candidate that lacks certain basic intrinsic ingredients will almost certainly guarantee failure, and employee turnover is time consuming and costly. Advances in communication and social media technology can give your sales team incredible access to analytics on your prospect's behavior, interests and needs, useful information that can result in creating different sales strategies that can even produce higher conversion rates. However, relying mostly on analytics as your assurance to close a sale or keep a customer loyal is a trap. The art of selling is simple, but demands superlative care and persistence. Selling achievement is hard work while very rewarding and profitable at the same time. Talk with any experienced, successful salesperson and they will tell you that without these “inside” qualities, disappointments and failures will end your career quickly. Sales success requires a deeper motivation at the foundation. Sales training then becomes easier and more effective because your student brings the right stuff and willingly embraces knowledge and personal growth. Start with identifying your student's desire level and go from there. How can you find out if your applicant is the one you're looking for? How can you save time during the interview process and make the right hiring decision? What Tai Aguirre, VP-Business Development, Taico Incentive Company “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” — Babe Ruth SGIA Journal ■ September/October 2013 | 47 http://www.SGIA.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SGIA Journal September/October 2013

How to Sell in a Tough Economy
How One Fine-Art Photographer Created a Four-Story-Tall Print
December 1, 2013 Training Deadline Approaches
Affordable Care Act — What is New and What is Happening
Reducing Inkjet Ink Usage
Want Your Graphics to Look Great and Last? Start with Surface Preparation and Cleaning
2013 Market Trends & Product Specialties Report
Digital Ceramic Printing Continues to Cast a New Business Model for Output Providers
How to Hire and Retain a Sales Champion
Going Grand: Does It Make Sense for Your Business?
Flames Made Easy with Knifeless Tape
The Edge is Near: Innovations in Fabric Finishing
SGIA Expo Sponsors Lead the Industry Charge to Orlando
The Innovation of an Art Form: A History of Screen Printing
In Many Specialty Graphics Shops, Old and New Technologies Sit Side by Side
SGIA Helps Making Shipping Easier with YRC
New Products
Specialty Imaging Shines at the 2013 SGIA Expo

SGIA Journal September/October 2013