Did you know that the average turnover time for salespeople is only 6 months? Why? Because most don’t have the correct behavioral style to do the job effectively. That type of turnover costs your company a lot of time and money, and reduces your ability to serve your clients well.

I’m sure you’ve experienced working with some sales representatives that are – in actuality – too timid to effectively make presentations. You’ve also seen some who are overbearing, have poor people skills, and thus don’t relate well to others in this capacity.

When looking for successful salespeople, look for those who are extremely high in Influence with a balancing style of Dominance on the DISC Behavioral Model. DISC is an indicator that qualifies individual’s behavioral styles. There are four core styles. Below are just a few descriptors for the Influence and Dominance styles required of a successful sales representative.

For Influence, they are:

social and verbal aggressiveness
optimistic
good persuaders
visionaries of the big picture
people-oriented
team-oriented

For Dominance, they are:

solving problems
driving for results
positive
powerful and authoritative

All of these are vital characteristics for someone to excel in sales. However, such high levels of Influence also bring about some limitations in other areas such as:

• impulsiveness
• unrealistic in appraising people
• lack of attention to detail
• disorganized

This means that your many of your sales reps will need some sort of assistance with follow-through and organization. As team-oriented people, they almost expect that there will be someone else to take over the tasks they are not well prepared to handle.

Their behavior lends itself to new adventures, taking risks, people and freedom. Those high in Influence and Dominance will not do well with excessive rules or regulations, or in companies who tend to limit their mobility.

When interviewing to fill a sales representative position, look for those people who show a genuine love of people, who are able to build a relationship with clients, who are team oriented, who can take charge and solve client problems, and who are positive but authoritative.

These are the core behavioral aspects that will help the new hire relate to people well, become a trusted liaison between your company and the client, develop new solutions to assist customers and achieve the sales results you’re looking for.

Kathi Graham-Leviss is Certified Coach and Behavioral Analyst who assists companies with defining and developing their salespeople, sales departments and sales practices. Visit XB Consulting’s website for additional information on sales workshops and DISC Behavioral Assessments.