Four (4) Distinct Qualities I should look for in hiring a
great Sales Professional in Higher Education....
Good News. If you’re
asking this question, you understand that whatever you call it (Sales, Business
Development, Client Engagement, Business Outreach, etc…), people who sell professionally
are very different from who universities and colleges normally hire. In fact, it is merging two different worlds.
This is not to say that people who sell shouldn’t have the
qualities you look for in every hire – integrity, intelligence, positive
energy, decisiveness, and the ability to execute. It’s just that they need other qualities as
well – four (4) to be exact.
1. Empathy: People
who sell feel for their
customers. They understand their needs
and pressures; they get the challenges of their business. They don’t represent specific college courses,
programs, events, etc... They see every
need through the customer’s eyes. Yes,
they represent the college, and yes they want to be a profit-center for the
college. But they are geniuses at
balancing the interests of the college and the interests of the customer by developing
a targeted solution.
2. Trustworthy:
A salesperson is the primary interface of the customer and must be trusted.
Not surprisingly, then, their word is good; their handshake means
something. They see every customer
contract as a long-term relationship, and customers usually respond in kind.
3. Persistent:
Persistence is the most unique
trait a salesperson has to have in selling, particularly at a college who accept
students through inbound registration and enrollment. Outbound solicitation can be brutal. For example, no one likes making cold calls. But the best salespeople want to grow the
business so badly that they dive into them relentlessly, day after day - they
have the knowledge to be tactful and the inner strength not to take inevitable
rejections personally. When hiring a great salesperson, you need to know they
should have a powerful mixture of drive, courage and self-confidence.
4.
Innovator:
Finally people who sell to businesses do not just want to “deliver the
mail,” they need to have the ability to sell ideas to their college – professional
development, instructors, and marketing.
The biggest complaint from business today is that colleges don’t
understand what they need. A great salesperson
can be a significant player in reducing this gap by bringing ideas to the
college from the business customers they reach, “You know, if we could develop
XYZ, we could capture a whole new market out there.”
Unlike any other business, providing quality education and growing revenue is a balaincing act. Both should be at the top of a college's to-do list, but with the highest integrity and best intentions. This is why hiring the right
salesperson is so important, special – and so valuable.