Technical Experts as Sales Reps

Health care industry sales positions often require technical product expertise, advanced degrees and specific professional credentials. For example, assistive technology professionals are required for training disabled patients in using that technology. Technical experts can demonstrate your products and problem-solving capabilities, but their in-born natural personal motivation must be to sell, not just tell. Customers are drawn to technical experts whose knowledge and consulting expertise masks their prime objective: selling. These people are known as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Hiring technical experts can be rewarding, but the process of assuring that the candidate’s in-born personal qualities will naturally motivate them to increase sales performance requires special hiring expertise.

Benefits of Technical Experts

Some customers actually reject being approached by typical sales reps but are drawn to those who possess practical product knowledge. Technical experts can quickly build lasting customer relationships and business loyalty as product specialists. The major developmental task in technical experts’ career growth will be fine-tuning selling skills. This skill set can easily be developed by attending sales courses, reading books and then by assigning these experts to a sales manager or mentor who can guide their development. In addition, there is nothing like a commission check to reinforce new habits. Regardless of their specific job requirements, all sales reps are still defined by a combination of their knowledge, skills and personal qualities. Of these three, only in-born personal qualities cannot be acquired, and these critical internal motivators are often hidden during interviews. Credentials, product knowledge and specific expertise can easily be verified during interviews and reference checks, but you would have to be a trained psychologist to validate the candidate’s 20 internal personal qualities that will likely determine their future sales success. Hiring primarily for technical knowledge without regard for personal qualities and motivators of top reps is risky, but predictive tools are available that can increase your hiring success. The first step in hiring technical experts in sales positions is understanding the common traits of all peak-performing sales reps, and then assessing the presence of these qualities in people who are knowledgeable, credentialed experts in their fields. Specific levels of each of the following inborn personal qualities are required for an effective match with a specific sales processes. While industry norms exist, your specific sales process will define the required levels of each quality. Super-closers draw on high levels of ego-drive and assertiveness. Long-term business developers require appropriate levels of these two qualities, but also require higher levels of accommodation and empathy supporting the stamina required for protracted sales processes. All naturally talented sales reps align favorably with the following in-born personal attributes:

• Obsessively guided by strong ego-drive; an insatiable and addictive appetite to persuade. No is not in their vocabularies.
   
• Highly assertive, exuding confidence and self-assurance combined with a reasonable level of back-up aggressiveness. This balance supports an ability to address objections appropriately and forcefully stand their ground if required.
   
• Empathy and accommodation support an ability to perceive human feelings and read social cues while also motivating a natural desire to help others. An instinctive balance of these qualities cues great reps when to push forward and when to back away.
   
• Successful reps are self-structured and independently establish their own working methods while operating autonomously. Most reps work for companies with compulsory procedures and sales managers who have their own rules. While self-structure is important, so, too, is sensitivity and acceptance of external structure and rules.
   
• Gregariousness and sociability. Effective salespeople must be comfortable and confident when meeting people and initiating conversation.
   
• Skepticism is not always considered a positive social quality, but is required to assess a customer’s underlying intent toward a product. Successful reps possess a reasonable level of doubt and the instinct to subtly question motives.
   
• Instinctively balance prudent risk taking with cautiousness. Adequate levels of both of these qualities is mandatory.
   
• Abstract-reasoning ability; the aptitude to identify problems and the logical relationships among concepts. Quickly process and react.
   
• Absence of fear of rejection; rejection is a perpetual reality in selling. Natural-born sales reps thrive on rejection and draw energy from objections as personal challenges. Ego-strength is the capacity to handle frequent rejection as it supports stamina and perseverance.
   
• Supporting ego-strength is courage, the strength of conviction and willingness to respectfully speak truth to power. Sales people do not control their environment so tolerance is important in setting aside things beyond your control.
   
• Finally the sales process is typically gated by the perpetual sound of a ticking clock counting down a fiscal year, measured in parallel with a sales quota. Urgency and energy are mandatory qualities.

Compounding the interviewing challenge is that people with strong technical backgrounds may not realize that they may also possess these in-born qualities. When people are hired primarily for knowledge, but without careful consideration of their internal motivators, disaster is likely. But when skilled technical experts also have the internal qualities of naturally driven reps, it’s sales magic. Fortunately there are predictive, cost-effective tests that can increase hiring success and minimize costly hiring mistakes by scientifically measuring the presence of these critical qualities.

In Summary

When done correctly, wolves in sheep’s clothing can develop into highly effective sales reps. To effectively identify potential “wolves,” you can interview to discover their product knowledge and skills, but you must professionally test to identify the 20 in-born qualities. Avoid hiring technical experts only for product expertise. While they can provide immediate answers, they will not focus on driving personal sales success and the growth of your business. One of the most rewarding experiences you can have is exposing someone to an opportunity where they professionally excel, but never considered. Developing technical experts to be great sales reps can pay great dividends for your business. As business leaders, one of our primary roles is identifying, developing and inspiring all employees to achieve their personal goals while driving your business to success. Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of GE, shares that view. One of my favorite quotes from him is: “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

Read all the articles in this series at homecaremag.com/retail-mark.