A good client and friend inspired me to write about what many of us take for granted. The difference between a good salesperson and an excellent salesperson is often just a "thin line". To get that extra sale or increase the existing sale, takes a little bit more thought and a little bit more guts than the average salesperson. Top that with a little extra effort and you have separated the "winners" from the "at-leasters".
Winners
The winners make up the upper 30% of the traditional sales force. They are persistent without being pushy. They are the ones that continuously seek out additional opportunities. Always looking for that "thin line" so they can cross it. Here's an example: Let's say we have this salesperson (we'll call her Gail) and her boss (we'll call him Murray). Let's say Gail sells plumbing supplies. Gail exemplifies a winner by always looking for opportunities to provide more product and service to her customers. Customers come in to buy products to satisfy an immediate need. Gail helps them with that. Murray, as an educated coach and manager encourages additional sales with bonus programs. Because of this encouragement, Gail frequently crosses the "thin line" to seek additional opportunities to provide better, more complete service to her customers. No pressure. Just a deeper understanding of what is really important to that customer… a great example of winning teamwork.
At-leasters
The world is full of "at-leasters". These are mediocre individuals that frequently say - "I may not be a 'winner', but 'at least' I'm not as bad as the losers." This is a dangerous breed to have on your sales team. These people are o.k. And that's o.k., i f you want an o.k. company. This "at-leaster" attitude unfortunately is contagious and can quickly become the dominating culture of your business.
The "at-leasters" rarely, if ever, cross that "thin line". It might make them uncomfortable or it might take extra effort in time or patience. If there is a risk that their ego will take a hit with a "no" or a "let me think it over", they won't go that extra mile. Also if there is a more fun/comfortable task to do, they will choose that over productivity.
Non-Winners
At first past you may assume we're talking about losers here. Not necessarily true; although we will see the losers here. However, there are also "non-winners" on there way to becoming "at-leasters" and "winners". So keep a close eye on this group. Lose the "losers" and nurture the "non-winners" to the "winners" circle. This does take time and energy. If you don't have the luxury of having extra time and energy to spend, you need to make sure you go through several (at least two), pre-hire assessments to make sure you are only hiring "winners".
Don't leave this selection process to your own good judgement. There are good assessment instruments available to dramatically minimize your risk of hiring "at-leasters" and "non-winners". The thin line separating the excellent sales people from the mediocre sales people is frequently not visible during pre-hire interviews.