The economic downturn proved to be difficult for most businesses, but with conditions gradually becoming more positive, you may find yourself proudly holding a “help wanted” sign. As the decision maker, there are important characteristics to seek when vetting new candidates. In this post, we highlight three important sales qualities and how to test sales candidates for your cabinet dealership.
1. Listening Skills
How on earth can you properly sell to a customer when you don’t pay attention to their needs? As frequently mentioned in the 4M Sales Process, listening is essential. By listening intently to potential customers, your staff can determine their specific needs and wants, and begin to develop the ideal cabinet solution. When interviewing prospective hires, assess their listening abilities by presenting some role-playing scenarios with a hypothetical customer.
2. Communication Skills
Communication is crucial from the moment the customer walks in the door, to the post-installation follow-up. Businesses rely heavily on these skills, so your potential candidate needs to prove that they excel in verbal and interpersonal qualities. Without these expertise, they will not hold their weight in your dealership. A face-to-face interview should indicate almost immediately the strength of your candidate’s communication skills. For an additional test, you may want to have them shadow a current employee during their daily duties. Not only will you get a sense of how they present themselves around customers, but you will also see how they fit in with your sales team.
3. An Ability to Close
Since you are hiring a ‘sales’person, their ability to sell is a vital determining factor in whether or not they’ll be an asset to your business. Experienced sellers should be able to provide you with a record of their successes as well as details of their past performances. A salesperson who is hesitant to offer this information probably isn’t the kind of member you’d like to add to your sales team. Would you buy a kitchen from this candidate?
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