Hunting the True Hunter Sales Professional
Making the recruitment process challenging is knowing how to detect the true‘Hunter DNA’, during the interview process.
Sales ‘DNA’ can be defined as the traits and behaviors common among top performing sales professionals. These traits typically include ambition, competitiveness, sense of urgency, confidence, perseverance, optimism, resilience, the ability and desire to influence others.
The weight an interviewer assigns to each particular trait should be based on the particular type of selling required to drive sales. In a ‘hunter’ position where the objective is to actively acquire and close new business, competitiveness, a high drive to win, resiliency, and the need to interact with and influence others are the traits of the true hunter sales professional.
The importance placed by the average hiring manager on a candidate’s sales DNA when screening candidates is typically very low. Selling experience usually takes precedence, based on the rationale that a candidate with experience selling a particular product/service has a deep network of contacts that could be leveraged in the new position. While this is sometimes the case in industries where relationships are important and there is limited turnover in buyer organizations, the role is more that of an order-taker, a customer service oriented sales rep who can maintain relationships. Businesses looking to grow revenues through new client acquisition need to assign more weight to a candidate’s selling DNA
to uncover who they really are.
Why? The right sales DNA finds a way to succeed. The right sales DNA acquires the requisite knowledge quickly, figures out who they need to know and makes the right connections. They are able to get to the buyers and influencers and find ways to make themselves indispensable to any selling organization.
In order to find a HUNTER during the interview phase of the recruiting process, evaluate each candidate based on the following 5 key identifiers…
Is the candidate talking openly?
Effective hunters project a sense of confidence and possess all the social skills they’ll need to be successful. They are eternally optimistic believing they can close any prospect, and persist until they do. During an interview they will be excited to discuss how they have grown a territory, closed the largest deals, and penetrated accounts no one else in their department could. At any time during the interview, true hunters are eager to share details of their achievements… specific deal sizes, percentage by which they exceeded quota, and awards they have earned.
Is the candidate talking tasks?
Focusing on the right selling tasks is what separates the top performers from the rest. Selling effectiveness is not a generalized trait, it’s a function of the sales task. When interviewing candidates, effective hiring managers listen carefully to how candidates respond to behavioral based questions. Does the candidate intimately describe how they successfully penetrated targeted accounts? Do they discuss their approach to cold calling, getting past gatekeepers, and how they respond to the word ‘NO’? Do they describe how they have adapted their selling tasks as their brand, offering, and technology may have changed in order to consistently hit their quota?
Does the candidate talk about people?
Influencing buyers is a key part of any selling process, and true hunters have the ability to persuade prospects even when they may not be aware they are in need of a particular solution. Hunters will describe how they successfully establish trust with buyers, work to understand their business needs / challenges, and how a buyer thinks. They articulate how they embrace collaboration across the sales process, and how they demonstrate the value of their offering by precisely incorporating the prospect’s requirements.
Does the candidate walk away from poor opportunities?
Hunters also understand that not every sales opportunity is a “good” one, and that client selection is a crucial decision that will influence their selling effectiveness. Elite hunters will be able to speak to their ability to walk away from an opportunity where they are not able to offer a sufficient solution and/or spend time on opportunities that make better “business sense” for the long or short term.
Does the candidate focus on solving business challenges?
Hunters take a consultative approach to understanding a client’s needs and identifying the right solution to solve those business challenges. They will articulate the value that questioning, listening, and understanding prospects requirements are integral in to their selling success and that forcefully pitching for a quick close yields unfavorable results.
Identifying successful hunters during the interview process requires an interviewer to understand the hunter’s mentality and cut through the façade often presented by sales candidates.
By asking the right interview questions and carefully examining the responses provided using the five aforementioned measurements, hiring managers can separate the true hunters from the rest of the pack.
