Unicorns, Hunters, & Farmers – The Makings of a Good Salesperson

Finding the right salesperson is possible, it just may require a little more training 

When component manufacturers are looking for new salespeople, they tend to want unicorns: sales pros with industry experience. 

“You are really looking for something that is difficult to find,” says Ryan Hikel, Sales Manager at Shelter Systems Limited. “The most successful people in the industry are those who have that personable follow-up with clients, but they aren’t like a used car salesman, and they know what they are talking about [product wise]. That’s hard to find.”

While unicorns are great when you encounter them, it’s best to start looking for salespeople who are naturally able to sell, those who can sell to your target market once they are trained in your company with clear new-hire onboarding and ongoing training programs to teach the missing pieces. It’s important to understand the whole person - not just their skills, but also their behavioral strengths, experience, and competencies that align with the demands of the sales role.

In this tight candidate market, it is key to focus on the behavioral and cognitive abilities of a candidate, and then train the technical side.

Behaviorally, “hunter” style salespeople are assertive and quick to connect with others while also able to handle risk. These more proactive sales representatives need to be self-driven and motivated to continually bring in new business. On the other hand, more inbound “farmer” style sales individuals are much more collaborative and attentive to details. Their approach is less aggressive and more amenable to their prospects and clients’ timeframes. 

“In the good old times, when we were so darn busy, the sales position was more of a service position, a technical role. You could almost remove the ‘sales’ title and call them a technical field rep,” said Hikel, who describes his sales team of six employees and two independent contractors as a mix of hunters and farmers. “That has changed as things have cooled off. We need hunters to shake the trees. But it’s difficult to find someone with the personality traits of hunters who also have enough experience. You can train the technical side, but it takes a while.”

In this tight candidate market, it is key to focus on the behavioral and cognitive abilities of a candidate, and then train the technical side. This is particularly critical because it can take up to one or even two years, depending on the complexity of the work, to get a new hire with no industry knowledge up to the level of an expert. When bringing in new talent, Hikel has them work in production and design, so they learn the process and are able to understand clients’ pain points and how the product is built, while also being able to answer questions intelligently. They also use the SBCA’s training programs as a resource. 

Cognitively, most companies need someone who can learn. The trick is finding someone who will also be interested in the work and has the desire to learn. It’s key to know how to interview around these “invisible” aspects, to understand if a sales professional is open to learning and to change, and able to respond quickly to different clients’ needs when they encounter challenges. 

Employers must also understand a person’s composure, and how well they keep their emotions under control when challenged or frustrated, particularly when hiring those go-getter, take charge types of salespeople. During the interview process, employers need to investigate each candidate’s customer service approach, which is essential in sales. Candidates should demonstrate a genuine interest in understanding customer needs and providing solutions that benefit the client. This creates the opportunity for more sales to the client in the future and the ability to ask for referrals. 

Strong verbal and written communication skills are crucial. Look for candidates who can articulate ideas clearly, listen actively, and adapt their communication style to different prospects. Interview the candidate and their references when the candidate had good proposals written for clients, as well as times when they had errors in their writing. 

Ongoing training focused on the sales process, deal reviews, coaching, customer service, planning, and communication training is also important to keep any salesperson’s skills sharp. 

The training of new hires should also include a rich understanding of the ideal client demographics. This is important for new hires as well as existing staff when there are changes. 

“The big change I made when I took over was because 60% of our sales were lumberyard and 40% were builders and direct. I said we need to pick a channel,” says Justin Richardson, President of Richco Structures. “We don’t have a lot of track builders in our region. We’re now 90% lumberyard and only 10% direct to developers, builders, and framers.”

This move allowed Richardson to realign the sales force with the new sales strategy, resulting in four salespeople on staff, backed up by the design component techs who support the quotes, orders, and engineering for them. 

Because this sales strategy essentially focuses on the lumberyards, one of the required competencies that Richardson’s salespeople need is positive relationship building skills. “I was always a relationship seller, partnering with people,” Richardson continues. “We’re partners. We need to provide quality products; our partners push our products, and we work together to be successful.”

Sales training shouldn’t be a one-time event either. “We do a quarterly review and analyze board footage, quote conversion, possible targets and internal stakeholders at existing lumberyards, external issues, customers, and what we can’t control. We also let them voice any internal struggles,” Richardson concludes.

Ongoing training focused on the sales process, deal reviews, coaching, customer service, planning, and communication training is also important to keep any salesperson’s skills sharp. 

About the Author: Dolly Penland, President & CEO of Business Results, a PI® and CATIL Certified Partner and Talent Optimization consultancy, works with organizations to help them hire and manage their talent to their highest potential. She specializes in multiple areas including business sales growth, turnover reduction, and leadership development.