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The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

How to Spot Sales Talent Without Asking Questions

How to Spot Sales Talent Without Asking Questions

Have you ever met a kid and know what kind of career they were made for?

I bet the answer is YES if you really think about it. 

Talent Starts at an Early Age

2023 Talent Magazine Now Available Download NowMy son and two of his friends are great examples of this.

I was recently out with a couple of my friends, and we were discussing how our kids showed their talents at early ages. We remembered one soccer game when the boys were about four years old; two of the boys were seriously into the game. Not my son, he was on the other side of the field negotiating with the opposing team coach to get them to stop scoring on us. 

“Coach, I’ll give all the boys on your team a t-shirt if they will stop kicking the ball into the goal”  seriously, a four-year-old negotiating with the opposing team! We all laughed and said he will someday be a lawyer or politician.

One of the other boys was organized and structured in everything he did, he was captain of his High School football team and an A+ student. He was quiet and thoughtful and always wanted to get whatever was in front of him done in the best way possible.

The other friend was curious all the time. Asking questions about “why this was done” and “why didn’t we do it another way”.  He was always curious about people and what makes them do what they do. 

All three boys are now 20 years old. My son is in college, not sure what career he will settle on but still negotiating with me and his teachers on how he can come out ahead. The other friend is in school to be an Orthopedic Surgeon and the curious one is studying to be an Anthropologist. 

We all have a certain set of innate talents, the strengths that define who we are.  As parents, it’s often easy to recognize those talents in our children. They may have a talent for singing, sports, dancing….even arguing!

Talent is Not Always Easy to Spot

Using a scientific talent assessment to measure the intensity of a candidate’s innate talents, you can determine whether a candidate's talent makeup is the right fit for the position you are currently hiring for. You can and should supplement a formal assessment with your own detective work; before ever ordering an assessment (good ones are not inexpensive), you can look for talent by observing specific behaviors and listening for it in what people say to you.

As you interview sales candidates, notice if they try to take control of the interview. Do they sell themselves well? Do they ask when and how your decision will be made? Do they try and close you to get the job?

These are signs of Command. If you don’t see them, what makes you think this person will suddenly demonstrate these talents with prospects?

More Tips for Coaching Problem Solver

Listen for evidence of strategic and creative thinking, understanding client needs, and offering unique solutions. Are they good at thinking on their feet? Do they ask really good questions and want to know about training opportunities?

This is good evidence of Problem Solver. Do you want to put a salesperson out there who doesn’t have these traits at a fairly intense (frequent) level?

Command and Problem Solver are two of the innate characteristics that our research shows separate the best salespeople from the rest. There are six other talents that we measure that could also be spotted by a parent or close friend.

Bottom line,  we can’t always know what someone was like with they were four but we can assess the innate Talent they have had all their lives. The STA (Sales Talent Assessment) is a proven tool to predict sales success. Reach out to CSS if you are interested to learn more.

Coaching Sales Talent eBook

*Editor's Note: this blog was originally written in 2014 and has since been updated.

Topics: sales talent assessment sales talent