A successful sales agent: an exotic "fruit" that hits every million?

A sales agent (there are even a few of them) is for every more or less large company. Most often, trade agents are necessary for the presentation and sale of goods, but if it comes to services, their activities can be no less effective.

So, you got into the development of your business until the moment when you needed a sales agent. However, how to find a suitable specialist who can cope with the tasks assigned to him? According to the latest research, more than 52% of the company's sales come from the work of only 27% of agents!

What features of the candidates are worth paying attention to first? Perhaps you will be surprised, however, it is a stereotype that all successful salespeople are sociable, open, assertive and slightly aggressive, energetic. Many great sales agents are courteous and even slightly shy people. Among them there are men and women, tall and low, able to speak beautifully and do not have this subtle art, extremely neat and not.

Experts for many decades are trying to make a detailed portrait of a successful traveling salesman. McMarrie, for example, believed that the sales agent should be a real "boyfriend", a man who was used to always achieve the intended goal. Other important features - vigor, self-confidence and attitude to any objection as a challenge in his address.

A more concise description of the image of the ideal candidate was made by Meyer and Greenberg. According to them, the main qualities of a sales agent are a feeling of empathy (the ability to penetrate the emotions and feelings of a potential client) and self-motivated dedication, a powerful personal need for successful sales.

As for the selection procedures themselves, everything here depends on the employer. However, professional tests will tell you a lot more about the candidate than the most detailed resume.

An important point is the training of sales agents. What should they be taught? Do not sell, of course. And feel like an integral part of your company, sincerely interested in its development and promotion. It is necessary to conduct a presentation of goods (talk about the procedure for their manufacture, designation and advantages over analogues). Also need to tell the future sales agent about the target audience and competitors.

The duties of the sales agent are successful sales. Is he coping with them? There are several ways to evaluate the efficiency of salespeople:

• Comparison of results of work of separate agents;
• Comparison of current results with previous ones.

The first method, as practice shows, is more effective. After all, every sales agent seeks to outperform his colleagues (his salary directly depends on it). The more additional incentives he will have (bonuses, incentives, or vice versa, fear of dismissal), the more effort he will make in order to stay in a heated place or move to an even more sunny one. Be sure to monitor that every sales agent duties assigned to him, perform in full - this will allow you to cut costs and get the maximum profit.