Product knowledge is crucial for a successful sales department, but it’s only part of the puzzle when training new hires. Vanderloop Equipment salesmen Larry Schamberger and Brian Neuman agree that the list of traits that cannot be taught is significantly longer than those that can. It’s important to hire a salesperson with the attributes best suited for success, such as punctuality, urgency, professionalism, honesty and accountability.

“You can teach them about the product line. You can teach them the differences between the products. But they have to be able to show up, they have to be able to interact, they have to be able to follow through,” says Schamberger.

Punctuality. Being on time is a personal trait that is often ingrained, yet is fundamental to other important salesperson traits like professionalism and urgency.

Urgency. While you can push someone to be faster, a natural sense of urgency—understanding what's important and acting on it promptly—is difficult to teach. Neuman says that in certain regions, like the Midwest, there’s a cultural sense of urgency and accountability that some new hires from other areas might lack, despite being polite.

Professionalism. How a person conducts themselves in business is fundamental to trust and respect, whether with coworkers or with customers. It’s about being polite, earnest and forthcoming.

Honesty. Schamberger says being upfront and honest is crucial in sales. “Don’t start a lie, because once you start a lie it just snowballs and it never ends well.” This also translates to a salesperson’s ability to deliver bad news to a customer when necessary. Relationships are built through transparency.

Accountability. Making excuses or shifting blame is detrimental to success as a salesperson and as a sales team, and it leaves room for repeated mistakes to occur and team dynamics to suffer. Owning mistakes and learning from them, on the other hand, allows you to all move forward. It’s important to find someone who won’t pass the buck.

Technical sales training fundamentally boils down to teaching product lines, the differences between products, and where each fits best for the customer. With proper instruction, new hires can learn to assess client needs and match them to the right product offerings. However, this information is only as effective as the person carrying it out. Ultimately, it’s the combination of these teachable and intrinsic traits that make or break a successful salesperson.

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