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Sales Orientation:
The goal of this assessment is to identify people who are
socially aggressive, exhibit a take-charge attitude where
they like to influence others, and have the confidence to
deal with others when there is social ambiguity and the possibility
of rejection. They are usually achievement oriented, feel
responsible for their own successes and are often socially
demonstrative about their successes (e.g., display the trappings
of success which is related to ego needs as they seek the
success image). They are not reliant upon others for direction,
support or motivation but are more internally driven. Often
their strong social skills are secondary to their desire to
influence others and sell their product. They are independent
(need little external structure) and have less need to join
organizations (i.e., entrepreneurial) or work on teams.
This is different from CUSTOMER SERVICE where they exhibit
a strong motivation to help others and meet the needs of CUSTOMERS
as they define them. Salespeople drive from their PRODUCT
(opposed to stated customer needs) and assume that a shopper
or client may/may not have an interest in any particular item
(making a purchase at that time) but your goal is to help
identify their unstated needs and make a sale. The assumption
is that if a person is shopping, they are probably interested
in purchasing (rather than just looking) so the goal is to
meet those expectations even if the customer is indecisive.
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SALES ORIENTATION TraitSettm
DEFINITIONS
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- Assertion:
People who are assertive are more willing to stand
up for their views and are not afraid to overtly deal
with conflict. This scale is a continuum that runs
from passive (active avoidance of conflict) to aggressive
(potential ?creator? of conflict). Salespeople do
not want to create conflict but must not be afraid
to deal with objections, indecisiveness or even criticism.
- Confidence:
Those who score high on this scale cannot be shaken
in either their confidence (e.g., by rejection) or
in the product they represent. They feel confident
in their own abilities that they can discern a potential
need, show the product benefits, counter the objections
and close the sale.
- Achievment:
The primary goal in sales is not to develop relationships
but to identify a potential selling opportunity and
either move on or achieve results. Therefore, a good
sales candidate is less driven by relationships (e.g.,
customer service) and more by achieving results, i.e.
making sales and making money.
- Initiative/Risk-taking:
Sales is not where you wait for something to happen
but you take charge of the situation and make it happen.
You must have the initiative to step up to a potential
opportunity and define a positive outcome. Additionally,
since a ?sale? may not be the customer?s stated agenda,
there is an element of risk/rejection that you must
feel at ease dealing with.
- Independence:
Successful salespeople know that sales situations
are unique and there are many types of customers and
situations. You must be capable of providing your
own structure, not be afraid of doing it on your own,
and you must have the fortitude and confidence to
deal with a lack of social structure.
- Egoist Dynamic:
Someone who scores high on this scale is driven by
their confidence because their self-esteem is based
on their ability to do something well. They want to
be the best at whatever they do and take great personal
pride in their success. They are not casual in accepting
a mediocre performance but push to personally excel.
They are competitive and like to be a winner. They
identify with their successes as this often defines
who they are (e.g., a very successful salesperson).
- Leader Dynamic:
This person is very motivated by taking control of
a social situation and not necessarily by helping
others. Their goal is to take charge and achieve their
agenda. This does not suggest they are socially offensive
but the driver is not for the customer to define the
setting but rather to get the customer to make a purchase.
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