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A sales candidate’s resume will tell you about the sales experience of an applicant and other work related information that might impact performance in the sales position you have open. If the candidate’s smart, the resume will also highlight past successes in glowing terms. However, just because it is written in the resume, doesn’t mean what is written there is true or that the candidate can repeat the successes that are listed or attain the performance levels again for you. What is vital for you to learn in selecting a candidate for an open sales position, is how well a candidate will perform in a job like the one you are trying to fill. Often a employment interview will never even touch on the candidate’s competence for the new position.

Questions are rarely asked of how the candidate might perform in the new job, if the applicant is selected for the position. If the candidates are applying for a opening with new responsibilities or a new product or service line, different from what they have sold in the past, what’s to say they have the untested skills to do this job for you. As discussed in earlier myths, most interviews seem to focus on the functional skills that you can measure. Does the candidate have the needed degrees, licenses and training? Do they have experience or will they need to be trained?

Most interviews focus on what an applicant has done in other jobs similar to the position you have open. There’s this illogical conclusion that if they succeeded in the past, they will succeed again. And if a candidate is good at describing past successes, they will do the same for your organization. Past performance is no guarantee of future success. What is really important is how you evaluate an individual’s competencies, defined as the skills, knowledge and personality needed to do the job that you are trying to fill. To learn more about the do’s and the don’ts of hiring sales professionals, check out my new manual 101 Sales Management Myths at: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/myths4.htm

VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. an Ohio consulting firm specializing in sales and sales management training, personal coaching, advisory services and publishing. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Service Linen Supply, Bank One, Jefferson Wells International, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of the “best selling” Building & Closing the Sale, Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications a division of Thompson Learning. He has also authored a client acclaimed Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching, telemarketing, and personal productivity manuals. To obtain a substantial discount on two of Virden’s latest books, 101 Sales Myths or Organizing For Sales Success, go to: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/

The key to sales performance is the quality of an organization’s salespeople. That includes, and starts with, having a great sales leader. But, what makes a great sales leader? There isn’t a single extraordinary defining characteristic. But, there are common traits and practices.

A profitable growth focus is the foundation of the great sales leader’s operating approach. Sales strategies are built around acquiring and retaining business. The strategies are particularly defined, disciplined and resolute. Losing revenue (and therefore growth) that was hard fought for is unacceptable.

An ability to energize and inspire sales resources to achieve high performance standards distinguishes the great sales leaders from the ordinary. They use every opportunity to unify subordinate managers and energize sales resources – creating a singularity of belief, purpose and esprit de corps.

Great sales leaders regularly communicate their high performance standards, encouraging and pushing to make profitable growth happen. There is little tolerance for the uncommitted. Low performers are swiftly removed. No one who works for a great leader has to wonder what the leader expects or wait for an annual review to find out whether his or her performance is satisfactory.

Disciplined sales processes guide the action plan for field sales resources. Tools facilitate customer management and tally the conversion of leads to customers. The sales pipeline and customer management system reveal what’s working well, what’s not, when and why. In combination, the processes and tools drive continuous refinement of the customer acquisition approach to ensure accomplishments match expectations.

While they spend considerable amount of time in the field and are involved in the sales effort, great leaders achieve results through the delegated responsibilities and accountabilities of their people. They resist the urge to jump in and save or close the sale, recognizing that sales people will neither rise to higher levels of competence nor assume accountability for results without having had the experience of handling difficult situations themselves.

John F. Tallitsch is the founder of TopMark, a consulting boutique specializing in sales effectiveness and sales compensation. TopMark helps companies create finely-tuned, results-oriented sales capabilities through solutions encompassing: customer segmentation and targeting; sales strategies; sales force and territory design; performance-driven sales incentives; and talent strategies. You can contact John at 440-963-1240 or visit http://www.top-mark.com for more information.