What is sales DNA - and why it’s the hidden success driver of sales force

Sales DNA? What on earth is that, I hear you say. You've probably never heard of it. And yet it's key to the success of your sales organisation.

First, a little background information...

Before explaining what sales DNA is, let's agree on what a salesperson needs to succeed. First and foremost, they must have a strong desire to succeed in sales. Because it's a difficult job. I talk about this here. So let's assume that you have salespeople who have this desire to succeed in sales. What dynamics do they encounter in their daily work?

• Prospects who will have no qualms about rejecting them. That's the nature of the job. So you have to be emotionally capable of handling rejection.

• What's more, your sales representatives will not be validated by their prospects. As human beings, we naturally seek validation, some more than others. So in sales, it is important not to have this need for validation, this need for approval.

• Your salespeople will also need to ask your prospects for money at the beginning, middle and end of the process. The ability to talk about money is therefore key. But it doesn't come naturally to everyone. Some people have a strong emotional connection to money for reasons related to their upbringing, family, culture or other factors.

In short, there are many situations that are not easy to handle, and salespeople need a certain amount of "brainpower" to be successful.

The impact of not having the right sales DNA.

Poor sales DNA within your sales team is clearly a source of many headaches for managers. This can manifest itself in many ways:

• Excessively long sales cycles. In the video below, I explain why, for example, a poor purchasing cycle can result in customers taking too long to make a decision.

• Ongoing negotiations. For example, limiting thoughts about money will make it difficult to ask for a lot of money.

• Difficulties in challenging prospects if there is a strong need for approval, and therefore in differentiating oneself from the competition, which can result in a low conversion rate.

How can you understand the sales DNA of existing salespeople or candidates?

As you can see, knowing the sales DNA of your existing salespeople or candidates for a vacant position is key. It helps you understand why your existing team does not have the attributes necessary for success and where you need to coach them. And for a candidate, assessing this DNA allows you to determine whether you want to meet them for an interview or not. This saves you time and, of course, prevents you from hiring a salesperson who doesn't have the necessary skills to succeed.

Excerpts

You can find an example of an assessment of a sales representative and their sales DNA or download examples at this link. The example below is an example of a report used during recruitment with a recommendation to meet the candidate (or not) in order to have a data-driven approach without any decision-making bias.

Should an existing team be assessed, then there is naturally no recommendation we put forward but a role compatibility as well as a personal development plan.