How To Identify And Hire A B2B Salesperson Within Your Existing Team
Are you dreaming of hiring a B2B salesperson for your MSP? The person you’re looking for might be hiding in plain sight.
A high-performing salesperson drives revenue, forges client relationships, and accelerates the quote-to-cash cycle.
Identifying this stand-out individual within your current staff could save you time, money, and the risks of a new hire.
Let’s look at how to identify the best B2B salesperson within your existing team.
Understanding the Role of a B2B Salesperson
The role of a B2B salesperson goes beyond selling a product or service. It’s about understanding the customers’ needs, overcoming their objections, and proposing solutions that match their unique business challenges. But what responsibilities and skills characterize a top B2B salesperson?
Let’s dive deeper into the key responsibilities and essential skills that make a successful B2B salesperson.
Key Responsibilities of a B2B Salesperson
Every B2B salesperson has various responsibilities, including dealing with clients and strategizing sales plans.
Their main job is to identify potential prospects. Identifying prospects involves:
- Conducting thorough market research
- Analyzing industry trends
- Defining target customers who would benefit the most from the product or service offered
As Quoter’s Sales Manager Jan Karlo Manuel advises, it’s the salesperson’s job to know the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) inside and out.
“Start by developing a deep understanding of what you’re selling and who it’s for, and then seek out those people who need it,” Jan says. “It’s not about talking to everybody and anybody.”
After identifying potential prospects, a B2B salesperson’s role is to nurture relationships with these prospects. Relationship nurturing includes:
- Building rapport
- Understanding their unique business challenges
- Establishing trust
By doing so, the salesperson can position themselves as a trusted advisor, offering valuable insights and solutions tailored to the client’s specific needs.
Another crucial responsibility is closing deals. Closing requires practical negotiation skills, the ability to address objections, and presenting compelling arguments highlighting the value and benefits of the offered product or service. To close deals faster, it helps to equip salespeople with streamlined quote-to-cash software to make it easy for customers to sign contracts and submit deposit payments from the same link.
Forecasting Sales
In addition to client-facing responsibilities, a B2B salesperson is also responsible for forecasting sales, which includes:
- Analyzing market trends
- Evaluating sales data
- Making accurate predictions about future sales performance
Forecasting sales help B2B businesses anticipate revenue and plan accordingly for growth.
Also, delivering presentations is a primary responsibility of a B2B salesperson. Presentation delivery often involves creating an engaging and informative pitch deck communicating the product’s features, benefits, and value proposition to potential clients.
The most successful B2B salespeople understand the importance of continuous learning. They stay current with industry trends, attend relevant conferences and workshops, and actively seek opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills. Through constant learning, they equip themselves with the latest insights and strategies to excel in sales.
Essential Skills for a Successful B2B Salesperson
While responsibilities outline a job, it’s the skills that make someone successful at it. And in sales, this couldn’t be truer.
A talented B2B salesperson typically has strong communication skills. They can also convey their message effectively and actively listen to their client’s needs and concerns. By understanding the product, and the customer, the salesperson can tailor their approach and propose solutions that directly address the customer’s pain or challenge.
Convincing and negotiating skills are also essential for a successful B2B salesperson. They can articulate the value proposition of the product or service persuasively, addressing any objections that may arise during the sales process. Their negotiation skills enable them to find mutually beneficial agreements that satisfy the client and the business.
Resilience is another underrated skill for a B2B salesperson. They understand that rejection is a part of the sales process and can handle it gracefully. They don’t let setbacks discourage them but motivate them to improve and find new opportunities.
Related: “5 Qualities That Could Make You an MSP Sales Legend”
Leveraging Quote-to-Cash Software & Other Tools
A successful B2B salesperson can also understand and leverage sales tools such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms and quote-to-cash software. These tools help them track and manage client interactions, build and send quotes, analyze sales data, and identify trends that can inform their sales strategies.
They are also skilled at team collaboration, as sales often involve cross-functional collaboration with marketing, customer support, and other departments.
The Value of Hiring Within For B2B Sales
Now that we understand what a B2B salesperson brings to the table, let’s delve into why it’s worthwhile to identify the high-performers within your team.
Nurturing a B2B salesperson from an existing role within your company can significantly impact your business’s success. You get the benefits of having a dedicated salesperson without investing in extensive training or onboarding.
If you’ve been teetering on the edge of a decision to hire a B2B salesperson, read on.
Boosting Sales Performance
High-performing salespeople can drive your business’s revenue. Their ability to close deals, build strong client relationships, and consistently meet or exceed targets makes them invaluable assets to your organization. Identifying people on your team across departments who could fill this role will save you time and money in the race to grow revenue.
With unlimited seats on all plans with Quoter, you can include everyone, from your field technicians to account executives, in the effort of B2B sales. Smart, reusable templates empower people of all levels of technical know-how to build, send, and follow up on quotes.
[Editor’s note: Reporting and analytics from Quoter make it easy to track sales performance and incentivize your team.]
Key Traits of a High-Performing B2B Salesperson
How can you identify a potential B2B salesperson? By understanding the key traits of a successful one.
When it comes to excelling in the world of B2B sales, there are certain qualities that set apart the best from the rest. These traits contribute to their success and make them valuable assets to any organization. Let’s delve deeper into these core traits so you’ll know what to look for.
Excellent Communication Skills
Excellent communication skills are essential for any salesperson but are especially valuable in B2B.
A high-performing B2B salesperson can convey complex ideas concisely. They understand the importance of effective communication and how it can make or break a deal. Like a chameleon, they have a knack for adapting their communication style to match the needs and preferences of their audience. Whether explaining intricate product features or addressing customer concerns, their communication skills shine through.
Your team’s future B2B salesperson knows listening is as relevant to connecting with clients as speaking. They actively listen to their clients, paying attention to their needs, pain points, and goals. By truly understanding their clients’ challenges, they can craft tailored solutions that meet their requirements.
You can observe this trait in your staff members to identify those who are exceptionally affable with customers and other team members. Pay attention to who on your team is writing the most straightforward, concise emails. Your future B2B salesperson might be “the life of the pizza party.”
Strong Relationship-Building Abilities
Building and nurturing relationships is at the heart of successful B2B sales.
A high-performing B2B salesperson excels in establishing and maintaining healthy relationships with their clients. They go beyond the transactional nature of the business and focus on building trust and rapport. They take the time to understand their clients personally, forging connections beyond the professional realm.
These salespeople understand that each client is unique, with their own set of preferences and needs. They invest time and effort in understanding these nuances, tailoring their approach and solutions accordingly. By demonstrating a genuine interest in their client’s success, they become trusted advisors, guiding them toward the best possible outcomes.
As Jan says:
“I approach every sale with more curiosity than I do a mentality of, ‘I’m going to close this deal.'”
Who within your existing team brings curiosity to the work that they do? No matter what department they are working in today, curiosity and interest in building relationships are traits that transfer beautifully to B2B sales.
Proven Track Record in Performance
While traits and skills are important, results speak volumes. A noticeable indicator of a high-performing B2B salesperson is a proven track record in performance. Look for staff members who consistently meet or exceed their targets. These individuals not only possess the necessary skills but also have the drive and determination to achieve success.
Additionally, a high-performing B2B salesperson demonstrates expert forecast accuracy. They can analyze market trends, understand customer behavior, and accurately predict future sales. This foresight allows them to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition.
Identifying a high-performing B2B salesperson requires a deep understanding of the key traits that contribute to their success.
Excellent communication skills, strong relationship-building abilities, and a proven track record in sales are some qualities that set them apart. By recognizing and nurturing these traits, you can pivot an existing staff member into a new role as a B2B salesperson who consistently delivers exceptional results.
Evaluating Your Current Team
Now that we know the traits to look for in a top salesperson, how do you evaluate your current team to identify them?
Conducting Performance Reviews
Periodic performance reviews can be a great way to identify your existing staff’s particular skills, aptitude, attitude, and drive. With consistent assessment, you can maintain a pulse on your team’s personal and professional goals and anticipate who and when to pivot into sales.
Developing Your Top B2B Salesperson
Identifying a salesperson is only half the battle. Equally important is their development and retention within your team in their new role (should they accept it).
Providing Continuous Training and Support
Continuous training and support will help your salesperson succeed right out of the gate.
Encourage them to learn new sales methodologies, understand the competitive landscape, and improve their product knowledge.
Equip them with quote-to-cash software that is easy to learn so they can quickly build and send sales quotes all from one dashboard.
Setting Clear Goals and Expectations
Now that you know what to look for in identifying a B2B salesperson within your existing team, the next step is to propose the position change to the individual.
Setting clear goals and expectations is crucial to managing a salesperson. Goals and expectations give them something to strive for, while clear expectations ensure they confidently know what is required to succeed.
By understanding the role and characteristics of a B2B salesperson, evaluating your current team appropriately, and providing ample support, you can foster an environment of sales excellence within your organization.
Remember, success in B2B sales isn’t about a one-time deal – it’s about building relationships and delivering value over the long term. And that begins with identifying and developing your best salesperson.
See how easy it is to build and send quotes with Quoter. Book a demo today.
