What does it take for someone to be a top sales performer? Despite all the talk about product knowledge, looking good, talking good and being in constant motion, some groundbreaking research proves otherwise.
As the results of twenty years of research, development and the distribution of assessment tools to measure top performers, Frank Scheelen of The Scheelen Institute in Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany and Bill Bonnstetter of Target Training International, Ltd., in Scottsdale, Arizona found that it’s what’s on the inside that counts most in sales performance.
Much of the past research conducted on top salespeople has been focused on behavior. Little, if any significant studies have focused on what goes on inside a top salesperson until Bonstetter and Scheelen conducted their research in the United States and Europe. In addition to behaviors, their research used an attitudes and values assessment to look at —what are the salesperson’s internal motivators?
When they looked at behavior dimensions, using the popular and internationally validated DISC behavioral model, they found that salespeople in the United States tended to fall into three very distinct behaviors, yet those in Europe dominated three different behaviors. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that successful salespeople can come from various behavior modes. In fact, most top performers, if not all, came from a mix of behavioral dimensions, demonstrating that all behavior styles have the ability to become top performers. The differing factor however was that the researchers found that in each culture, internal motivators of top salespeople were consistently the same. Attitudes—the motivation for performing— far outweighed any strong behavior trait in distinguishing top salespeople.
The attitudes and values-based assessment concluded that the hands- down motivator for top performers in both the United States and Europe was the Utilitarian drive—a strong motivation to achieve results and get a return on one’s investment of time, energy and money. These salespeople are motivated to work long and hard to accomplish their desired result, but they will evaluate business moves from a strong sense of practicality. And, while salespeople who lack this strong Utilitarian drive may find an element of success, without a dominant Utilitarian inner drive, high performance is unlikely to be sustainable.
As intense competition forces organizations to achieve greater heights in key performance areas, high-growth organizations must be ever vigilant in the identification, acquisition, development and integration of innovative technology that is available to assess the potential of their sales teams. Fortunately, this type of technology is readily available today for those who seek it.
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