B2B Buying Process May Give Edge to Inexperienced Sales Reps

New research from Forrester shows greener sales reps may have an edge on veteran sales reps thanks to the new B2B buying process. When asked to rank (in order of importance) the five steps to conducting a successful sales meeting, salespeople with less than five years of experience answered nearly as correctly as those with 11+ years of experience, suggesting that the knowledge gap between the two groups is small.

Indeed, it’s true that head knowledge and experiential knowledge are two different things. However, the research suggests that salespeople with less experience often bring an open-mindedness and pliability to the table that allows them to quickly adapt to recent market shifts. Here are three reasons why:

2. They’re often already in touch with the “buyer-first” approach to sales (because they’re more likely to be savvy online buyers themselves).

3. They can easily (and are often eager to) adopt a relational approach to sales.

As Forrester points out, this doesn’t mean you should steer clear of experienced reps. Rather, you need to align your candidate criteria with the needs of your buyer and your sales process.

When looking to add a new team member to your sales force, there are some characteristics you can look for that will tell you far more about a candidate than an impressive number of years on their resume:

• Calculated risk taking
• Sociability
• Capacity for abstract reasoning
• Creativity
• Ego drive
• Sense of urgency
• Empathy

In fact, according to research published by leading business media outlets*,  the word “experience” often doesn’t even rank among the top ten most important considerations for a sales hire.

The goal is to hire someone who will be able to navigate the terrain of the buyer economy - experienced or otherwise. In the buyer economy, where executives and upper level managers can educate themselves on a product or service with just a few clicks, a salesperson should have one goal in mind: solving business problems.

The list above is a great place to start when considering what to look for in a new hire. It’s important to note that you shouldn’t adopt this list (or any list) of benchmarks as your own without doing a little research first.

The 3 Steps No Hiring Process Should Be Without

No one knows exactly what you need from your sales team more than you do. Here are some things to consider that will help define the traits that are most crucial for your team.

1. Define Your Goals:

How do you know what to look for in a candidate if you haven’t defined what you want? Doing some research and getting clear on your expectations for a new hire is imperative. You’ll onboard a far more valuable (and long lasting) employee if both you and the person you’re hiring are clear on the expected results. 

2. Create a Success Profile:

Every department of every company wants to work with people who are smart and motivated. So move beyond generic definitions of success. What is your sales team’s secret sauce? What is it that your team (and only your team) brings to the table? Make a list of the qualities found in your top-performing salespeople. What is it about them that works so well? In addition to traits listed here and elsewhere, it may also be a culture fit or an alignment of values that makes them so valuable. Write these things down, and be specific. Then use this list as a basis for hiring decisions based on cultural alignment. 

3. Don't Rely on the Job Description:

Once you’ve created a Success Profile, you have an incredibly powerful tool in your sales tool kit. Rather than give your new employee a bullet point list of menial tasks, use the definitions from your Success Profile to draft up an agreement between you and your employee. Outline the kind of results (both tangible and intangible) that you expect from them. These Commitments to Action empowers your employees to know exactly what’s expected of them and gives them a sense of responsibility to hold up their end of the deal.

At the end of the day, the amount of experience you decide to look for in a candidate should be based on the unique needs of your organization. As with any hiring decision, it’s not always black and white. There are some experienced salespeople who can quickly adapt to change, and some inexperienced salespeople who can’t. So be sure to look beyond the resume and hire the person who can have the kind of sales conversation you want your sales team to be known for – the kind that wins opportunities.

*Research data gleaned from multiple sources including: Forrester.com, Inc.com, Success.com, and Entrepreneur.com