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Before you can fight a war, you need troops. Before you can build a winning sales force, you need sales reps — and not just any reps, but people who are skilled, effective and able to win in a market that moves faster every quarter.
Every sales organization is fighting two wars at once. The visible one is against competitors for prospects, customers and market share. The quieter one is the battle for talent — and it tops sales leaders' list of challenges. Great salespeople are scarce. When one walks through your door, you cannot afford to let them walk out again.
As a sales manager, your troops are your salespeople. You want those troops to be as battle-worthy as possible.
— Nikolaus Kimla, Leading from the War Room, 2014
What a modern sales rep really needs
Selling has always demanded intelligence, a genuine interest in people, the courage to speak to anyone at their level, and the power to convince. Those basics still matter. But they are no longer enough.
1. The capacity to listen. Buyers today complete most of their decision journey before they ever speak to a salesperson. They research online, compare vendors, read reviews, ask peers — and increasingly ask AI assistants. By the time they reach your rep, they don't need a pitch. They need someone sharp enough to understand their situation and help them decide. Listening is the core skill of insight selling.
2. Speed of observation. The best reps size up an opportunity quickly and make the most of it. The old job — contact, pitch, push to close — has been replaced by diagnosis, guidance and value.
3. The ability to be a team member. Every sales floor once had its "lone wolf": the star who ignored the rules, listened to no one and was impossible to manage. That character belongs in Glengarry Glen Ross, not in a modern sales organization. Today's speed requires a team that works together and accepts direction, guidance and mentoring.
Two hiring strategies — and why many companies use both
Sooner or later, every sales leader faces a strategic choice.
Strategy 1: Hire basic talent and train it
Bring in young talent — often straight out of college — with the core qualities you need, then invest the time and resources to develop them.
- Advantages: lower salaries, no bad habits to unlearn, and reps who learn your methods from day one.
- Disadvantages: a long runway before they are productive, and the risk that some will not make it after significant investment.
Some companies hire in larger cohorts and part ways early with those who clearly won't succeed. Run intelligently, such a program pays for itself. But your company must be able to carry that training runway.
Strategy 2: Hire proven experts
Recruit experienced sellers who can contribute almost immediately.
- Advantages: minimal ramp-up and a faster payoff.
- Disadvantages: experts are rare, cost more in salary and commission, and often bring "baggage" — habits that don't fit your market or method.
Because qualified talent is so scarce, many organizations now run both strategies in tandem: a structured program for new recruits, plus opportunistic hiring of experts whenever the right one appears.
Don't outsource the hiring bar to HR
HR is a partner, not a proxy. Sales managers should define a complete, written list of qualifications for every sales role, make sure HR understands it — and then personally interview candidates to confirm those qualifications are really there.
Why be so strict? Count the true cost of a bad hire:
- The time and money invested in training.
- The opportunities lost while an underperforming rep holds territory.
- The open deals left behind when they leave — which other reps must absorb.
- The compounding damage when this cycle repeats again and again.
- And, frankly, the impact on the sales manager's own credibility and career.
Hold the line on your standards. A vacant seat is expensive; the wrong person in that seat is far more expensive.
Start it off right. Grab great talent when it comes through the door, keep your standards firm, and you will always stand ready to fight the best fight possible.
Next in the series: Withstanding the Heat of Battle — why your reps need far more than a pitch.
This article is adapted from the Coevera e-book Leading from the War Room: Building a Battle-Ready Sales Force by Nikolaus Kimla. Download the full e-book at coevera.com.
