“Know the strengths of each person you hire.” — Peter Drucker
Last week I noticed an increasingly common scenario in our industry: inconsistent sales performance from an established sales staff. One manager I spoke with had recently been hired to oversee numerous branches over a multi-state region. Six months later, the individual realized that there were a few above-average players onboard but the rest of the sales staff were chronic underperformers. This situation is playing out in financial firms across the nation. The solution? Invest in identifying which sales people have the necessary traits needed to succeed in sales. No amount of training and sales knowledge can make up for a lack of true sales talent.