When it comes to sales, success isn’t just about hitting targets; it’s about having the traits that drive results and foster growth. But what exactly distinguishes a successful salesperson from the rest?  I recently conducted a LinkedIn survey to find out, and the results are in.

Survey Results

Effective Communication (44%):

Undoubtedly, the crown jewel of successful salespeople is effective communication. The ability to articulate ideas, actively listen, and tailor messages to resonate with clients is a game-changer. In a profession where building relationships is paramount, my poll found that 44% of respondents believe that mastering the art of communication is the top trait for success.

In the territory of sales, communication is more than their ability to talk – it’s the art of persuasion, negotiation, and the ability to build genuine connections with their clients. Successful salespeople can convey their ideas with clarity, expression, and persuasiveness.

It is also important to remember that effective communication extends beyond verbal interactions; it includes active listening, empathy, and understanding. By truly tuning in to the needs and concerns of clients, sales professionals can tailor their approach, address objections, and ultimately, close deals more effectively. In essence, communication isn’t just a tool, it’s the cornerstone of building trust, growing new and existing relationships, and driving sustainable sales success.

Resilience (39%):

Sales is not for the faint-hearted, so it is no surprise that resilience emerged as the most crucial trait for39% of the participants. Resilient individuals have the fortitude to persevere in the face of adversity, bouncing back stronger from setbacks and maintaining a positive attitude amidst obstacles.

In sales, where rejection is commonplace, resilience is the bedrock upon which success is built. By building resilience, sales professionals can navigate challenges with confidence, resilience, and determination, ultimately propelling themselves towards greater heights of success.

Adaptability (11%):

While adaptability ranked third, it remains a significant factor in a salesperson’s success, as highlighted by 11% of respondents. In today’s landscape, everything evolves quickly, meaning that adaptability is no longer a luxury. Successful salespeople possess the agility to pivot strategies, embrace new technologies, and tailor their approach to meet the changing needs of clients and market dynamics.

Adaptability isn’t just about reacting to change; it’s about proactively anticipating shifts in the market, embracing innovation, and staying one step ahead of the competition.

So, what do these insights mean for sales professionals and organisations alike?

Firstly, investing in communication skills development should be a top priority. Whether through training programs, workshops, or mentorship initiatives, honing communication expertise can unlock untapped potential and drive bottom-line results.

Secondly, cultivating resilience should be ingrained in the sales culture. Encouraging a growth mindset, providing support systems, and celebrating resilience in action can empower sales teams to navigate challenges with confidence and determination.

Lastly, fostering adaptability is essential for staying ahead of the curve. Embracing innovation, encouraging experimentation, and promoting a culture of continuous learning can position sales teams for success in an ever-evolving marketplace.

The findings of this survey paint a compelling picture of the traits that define success in sales. While effective communication reigns supreme, resilience and adaptability play equally crucial roles in driving sales performance. By prioritising these key traits and investing in their development, sales professionals can unlock their full potential, drive sustainable success, and propel themselves towards unparalleled heights of achievement in the dynamic world of sales.

Written by Charlene Craig.

Your inner drive is that feeling of determination deep inside that encourages you to carry on even when you’ve lost your motivation. It’ll help you to persevere even if the odds are stacked against you, and it’ll propel you to keep going beyond others. It’s often the difference between success and failure. Most people with an intense inner drive fail more than others, but they dust themselves off and keep going.

As an Executive Search Consultant, this is an area that really interests me. It’s one of the reasons I’m keen to understand people’s failures and dig into what they did after each setback. Normally, I find that our inner drive is formed in our early years.

When I ask the leaders/future leaders that I interview, “Where does your drive come from?”, the answers that I get can usually be put into two broad categories:

A negative place – an adult telling you “You’ll never amount to anything” can be a catalyst for developing fierce determination to prove them wrong, helping you to overcome adversity.

Or a positive place – a nurturing environment where you are allowed to fail at pursuits, focus on the learning/improvement process and develop a growth mindset. It’s generally ingrained in you from a young age that “if you’re going to do something, do it properly.”

How to leverage it

Dan Pink’s book, “Drive.” In it, he talks about leveraging motivation & drive, highlighting three key drivers:

Autonomy

“Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.” If your aim is to develop a team of driven individuals, you need to give them space, support, and autonomy. They need to feel empowered to make decisions. It’s often the case that in failing companies, there is no autonomy in the teams, and people feel like every decision needs to go through one person.

Mastery

“The desire to get better at something that matters can be a more powerful motivator than money.” If you’re in a job that you truly enjoy, you’ll not wait for development opportunities. You’ll go out there and actively find them. Another question that I ask people is “What did you learn last week?” – it gives me an idea if they’re serious about their own development and if they have given themselves the headspace to reflect on what they’ve achieved.

Purpose

“Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another.”

Purpose is the most challenging aspect of Motivation 3.0 – it relies on having a leader who can help link everyone’s objectives to the overall company purpose. A good example of this is the story of President Kennedy touring NASA Space Centre in 1962. President Kennedy noticed a janitor carrying a broom. He interrupted his tour, walked over to the man and said:

“Hi, I’m Jack Kennedy, what are you doing?”

The janitor responded: “I’m helping put a man on the moon, Mr President.”

The janitor understands the importance of his contribution. He truly felt he was a valuable part of something bigger than himself, and his attitude created a feeling of self-confidence in his mission. He wasn’t merely a janitor; he was a member of the 1962 NASA Space Team.

Pink’s model, Motivation 3.0, focuses on helping people to become intrinsically motivated – that is, using internal drivers for motivation. He calls this behaviour “Type I.” It contrasts with the traditional model of extrinsic motivation or “Type X” behaviour, which focuses on motivating people through reward and punishment, aka “the carrot and stick approach.”

Although Inner Drive tends to be formed in our childhoods, the right working environment can influence and encourage drive and motivation significantly. For it to be really successful, it requires ensuring you have the right people in the right seats and there is a clear vision & purpose for the organisation.

Written by Michael Hewitt.

I try to be a good employee. I care if my work is meeting expectations and I care that I am making an impact. And to be honest, I think that I do ok at it. I am by no means the best, and I still have a lot of learning to do, but I think for a gal who started working straight after her A-levels, I have done alright in my nearly decade-long career. 

I will admit, I am lucky and have always worked for companies that provided me with opportunities to grow. Even back in my first job, 18 and on the phones in a contact centre, I ended up managing a team of inbound sales advisors. Please don’t mistake this as some sort of not-so-subtle brag, because I was absolutely awful at this job. But it definitely taught me something about leadership – maybe even more now when I reflect as a slightly more grown-up version of myself. 

Even more lucky than that, I don’t think I have ever had a bad manager. I have worked with really great people. People who not only invested time in my development but brought me along with them and provided the space to really learn how to do the job well. Did we disagree at times? Of course. Maybe even p**s each other off a bit? I’d say almost certainly. But all in all, their support has been invaluable to my growth and I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am without them.  

So, across all these managers, what shared traits did they have? What did they do that made them so great? What about them helped keep me motivated and driven to do well? 

Trusting

This is probably one of the biggest things for me. Just trust people to get stuff done, and deal with those who aren’t. And when I say deal with, I do not mean reprimand – you need to support these people and get them to a place where they have the confidence to own their role. 

Trust goes both ways, so trusting them will help them trust you. And when your team have faith in you as a leader, you will get a hell of a lot more out of them. They will be more open with their ideas, collaborate with you to find solutions that work for everyone, and be motivated to work toward an overall goal. It also means they will be more open about their mistakes or challenges, helping you to solve these problems before they become a real threat to your business. 

Honest

Being honest is quite closely tied to trust, but I think it deserves its own section. Let’s be real – we can all tell when someone isn’t being 100% truthful. So trust me, you may think you’re being subtle, but there are raised eyebrows throughout your team when you say something a bit off. I know that sometimes certain topics can’t be discussed however, if you have established an honest and open relationship with your team, they will 100% understand that. It’s about saying what you mean (and doing what you say), admitting when you don’t know something or if you were wrong, giving honest feedback (good or bad), and sometimes just sympathising when things are a bit rubbish. 

Humble 

You are just a person – like every single one of your team. You may have a fantastic education or a stellar work history, but when push comes to shove, we are all just here to do a job. 

The best leaders are the ones who are ready and willing to help. The ones who acknowledge their teams’ contribution and don’t treat them like their underlings. It’s worth remembering that every cog has a place in the machine, and no matter how great you are, you would not be much of a leader without a team to follow you. 

Some people are quick to blame their teams when things go wrong, and even quicker to take the credit when they go right. Treat people how you expect to be treated – and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty now and again!

While there may not be a one-size-fits-all approach to great leadership, these qualities form (in my opinion) the bedrock of strong leadership, regardless of the sector or industry. As you continue to grow and lead, embrace these qualities, stay open to learning, and cultivate a supportive and empowering environment for your team. By doing this, you will undoubtedly inspire and impact others, just as my managers have done for me throughout my career.

Written by Natasha Agnew

Belfast-based consultancy firm, Corvus People, has launched a new HR for Growth service aimed at helping their clients harness the power of people to drive business growth. The focus of this service, along with others offered by Corvus People, is to support businesses to recruit, develop, and retain the market’s top talent. Northern Ireland has skilled talent across various industries, but businesses are finding it hard to engage and keep their teams. Corvus People believes that now, more than ever, business leaders need to take stock of what their top talent requires to thrive.

According to recent research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Northern Ireland workers are least likely to say that their job offers good opportunities to develop their skills (31% v 25% UK average) or would help develop their careers (46% v UK average of 41%). Today’s talent is looking for more than just a salary, and the company’s culture is becoming increasingly important, including its approach to professional development.

Announcing the new HR for Growth service, Ian Weatherup, MD of Corvus People, said, “Our approach, since we started in 2011, has always been about people – they are the greatest asset to any business. Placing people at the centre of any business strategy is not only essential to business growth but is key to their success. Our collaborative approach with our clients means we become their people strategy partners. We work alongside them to deliver solutions across the entire employee lifecycle to support their teams and help them thrive.”

Ian added, “This is an exciting time for Corvus People as we prepare to work with businesses as they take that next big step toward growth and success.”

The new offering, HR for Growth, bolsters Corvus People’s existing solutions, which provide 360 support and integrate seamlessly into their clients’ existing processes. It costs more to recruit than retain, with some studies, such as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), predicting that it costs on average 6-9 months’ salary to replace a salaried employee, which is why all Corvus People services are geared toward long-term retention.

Corvus Assured, the Executive Search methodology launched at the beginning of the pandemic, uses market-leading behavioural analysis tools to assess cultural fit as well as the skills match. This service creates long-lasting retention, with 97% of candidates still in position after 12 months and is already achieving notable success for a range of Northern Ireland and international clients.

Corvus People has built its reputation on helping businesses to manage change, reduce risk and improve their people strategies, and this new offering is no different.

Corvus People has extensive experience in working with clients across a range of industries, including manufacturing, technology, construction, and financial services. The company is committed to helping businesses of all sizes to develop and grow, and the HR for Growth service is just one example of this.

Businesses looking to improve their people strategies and drive growth can benefit from Corvus People’s solutions. The service offering provides a comprehensive range of solutions to support businesses in recruiting, developing, and retaining top talent. With one of Northern Ireland’s most experienced team of consultants and a focus on long-term retention, Corvus People is the perfect partner for any business looking to take that next big step towards success.

On 1st December 2022, OpenAI (co-founded by Elon Musk and backed by Microsoft) launched ChatGPT, a general-purpose chatbot that creates AI-generated content in a human-like response.

It brings AI to the masses as it offers non-technical people direct access to AI as you simply type your question, and it will reply to you in a few seconds.  This is the major step forward – predecessors didn’t have a user-friendly interface which makes it accessible to virtually anyone. Unlike previous AI, ChatGPT will admit to its mistakes, understand context, ask follow-up questions, and correct your false assumptions.

There are endless potential applications – students writing end-of-term papers and assignments (it has already been banned by the NY City Department of Education), poetry, emails, answering philosophical questions and even writing limericks.

Today ChatGPT has the potential to significantly change how companies recruit by automating and streamlining activities to include CV/Resume screening, conducting initial interviews, Candidate matching and HR assistance (answering candidate queries).

In the future, it will be able to assess soft skills and ask behavioural interview questions, but these will require interpretation by a professional recruiter or hiring manager.

Currently, ChatGPT cannot search and find job-specific candidates and it is not a replacement for human decision-making and judgement in the final hiring process.

The launch of ChatGPT has been described as a watershed moment and poses more questions on the ethics of AI.  How should it be regulated and what barriers and restrictions will be applied to searches?

Some sectors, such as traditional search engines are likely to be disrupted and the stakes are high.  Google launched Bard, their AI enabled chatbot, but an error in its first answer cost $100bn being wiped off their share price.  Microsoft also announced in that they are enhancing their Bing search engine with similar technology that ChatGPT is built on, which led to a 4.2% increase in share value.

Every industry should be keenly watching to see what impact, both positive and negative conversational AI solutions could have on them.

Companies, Hiring Managers, and recruitment companies should have AI chatbots on their Threats and Opportunities radar for 2023 to consider how it can be used to automate certain tasks in the recruiting process such as initial candidate screening, answering frequently asked questions, and scheduling interviews.

Footnote – thus far I have written this blog myself.  Below is ChatGPT’s reply to my query “What is the future of recruitment and technology”.

The future of recruitment and technology is likely to be marked by continued automation and digitization of various aspects of the recruitment process, from sourcing and screening candidates to scheduling interviews and onboarding new hires. This will likely result in increased efficiency and speed, as well as data-driven insights into the talent acquisition process.

In addition, there may be increased use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other advanced technologies in the recruitment process to make it more personalized and effective. This could include personalized job recommendations, candidate sentiment analysis, and predictive hiring analytics.

There may also be a greater focus on virtual and remote hiring, driven in part by the ongoing pandemic and the increasing trend towards remote work. This could lead to the development of new virtual recruitment tools and technologies that enable employers to reach and engage with a wider pool of candidates from around the world.

Overall, the future of recruitment and technology is likely to be shaped by a combination of factors, including advances in technology, changing workforce demographics, and evolving employer and candidate expectations.

Written by Ian Weatherup

Natasha Agnew

 

 

Regardless of whether you invest any time into it or not, we all have a personal ‘brand’. Simply put, a personal brand is how you are perceived by the people you engage with. It comes through in your conversations, the stories told about you, and even what you wear, so anyone you interact with will have some opinion of who you are and what you stand for. Because you are curating this brand all the time, either consciously or unconsciously, it is worth taking a step back to ensure that how you present yourself is truly aligned with your values and beliefs – and a good place to start is where you work.

Any brand, personal or business, should be created from the inside out. It isn’t about having the best logo, or the biggest following on social media – it goes much deeper. Values and purpose should be the foundation of any strong brand and informs everything from how teams work together internally, right through to the external initiatives the business supports.

While this is easy (or at least easier) to do on a personal level, it’s much harder as a company, but why? Businesses are an accumulation of people, all with their own values and beliefs, and sometimes these are misaligned from the start. Values are set by the senior team and when there is little buy-in from the wider business, these are diluted over time. This impacts the organisation as a whole and could also lead to damage to the brand from an external perspective.

As an example, a business can say that ‘openness’ is a value. This will form part of their external messaging and be promoted in their marketing materials. However, if the staff in the business conceal information from clients or are known to tell half-truths, the brand will be perceived as the opposite. This is why the values in your business must be representative of the values you hold, as ultimately, it is the staff that showcase them to the market.

Having an alignment between your business and personal brand matters – you spend a lot of time there, and the association alone will have an impact on how you are perceived. Let’s say, for example, you are a long-serving senior manager in a business with a poor reputation. How does this look to the outside world? People may assume that you, at least to some degree, align with the brand of the business. You have been there a long time, you have led the team, and you have had significant input into the business itself. As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words – and what you do, or in this case, where you work, will have an impact on your personal brand.

We have covered the bad, but what are the positives of having alignment between brands? As cliched as it is – synergy. Synergy is working together to create a combined effect that is greater than the sum of their separate effects. When you align with your workplace, you become an advocate for them. You fit into the organisation, you feel connected and engaged with the values, and you support them wholeheartedly in their purpose. You work to create success, and this is shared together. Your personal and business brands will complement one another, and you can start to leverage their content to promote your own brand. It increases the reach of the business and, if you work for a strong brand name, you have an opportunity to utilise its status to enhance your own visibility.

So, what can you do to align your brand with the brand of your business?

Firstly, you should try to work with a brand that you believe in. You should hold similar values and feel confident that the way you do business is the right way. Of course, this is no mean feat if you are already in an organisation that you don’t align with, but it is worth considering the longer-term impact of working for a brand that you don’t believe in. When looking for a new role, it’s important to ask questions about culture and values to ensure that it is a fit for you. You should do your research into the company, look at the initiatives they support, and the messaging that comes from senior leaders in the business. At the end of the day, you can’t align your brand to a business if you don’t agree with anything that they stand for.

Secondly, you should tailor your message to suit your businesses brand. It’s unlikely that you will be an identical match to where you work – even if your values are the same, your priorities will be different. However, they will be similar and easily adapted to your style and brand. You should keep to the business’s tone of voice while adding your personality and views. Because your personal brand is just that, personal, it should always feel authentic to you. If you move to a new role, you will carry this with you, so you don’t want to appear like a carbon copy of the company LinkedIn profile. This might seem challenging, but if you are bought in to the organisation’s values and purpose, it will happen almost naturally.

Finally, be an advocate for your business. When you are proud of where you work, it is much easier to shout about it. It makes up a huge part of our lives, so we should be glad to share this with others. You can be an advocate for people to join your team, or for customers to buy your product. Either way, when everyone is working together and toward the same goal, success will be shared with all. Opportunities will also arise within your business that will benefit you in the long run. It could be to create new content, be the face of a campaign, or maybe lead a project. Regardless of what these opportunities look like for you, they will help you advance your career and bolster your experience.

Having a strong personal brand has its benefits – it can help you develop your career, get in front of potential clients and customers, and will give you more control over how you are perceived in the market. When this aligns with your business and is utilised for shared success, it can open up even more opportunities – not just for you, but for the wider organisation as well. And remember, your brand already exists, so make sure it’s true to you.