If you’ve noticed that your current sales team is lagging, or worse, stagnant, it could be that you don’t have enough leaders on your team. Sales leaders are the driving force behind your business and they can make all the difference when it comes to meeting and exceeding your company goals.

Adding sales leaders to your sales force will require a little extra time during the hiring process, but this investment of your time will pay off handsomely, both now and in the future. There are specific traits you need to be looking for during your interviewing process to ensure that you are finding the right people for your team.

Natural Leadership Qualities

First, you’ll want to look for people who display natural leadership qualities. You can help identify potential sales leaders with this trait by incorporating personality testing into your hiring process. These tests will often help make a candidates natural traits more clear and ensure that what you’re hearing and what is fact are the same. These personality tests are inexpensive and can also be useful with your existing sales force to make sure you’ve got the right people on your team.

You’ll also want to look for other qualities that sales leaders share, such as the ability to self-motivate and those who practice self-accountability. Even if you have a sales team manager, chances are they’ve already got their hands full and they don’t have the time to micromanage your sales team. Sales leaders know what they need to do each day and they’re going to do what it takes to meet their own goals as well as the ones you set for them.

Common Traits of Sales Leaders

Other common traits shared by sales leaders include the ability to instantly build rapport with their leads and prospects. These are the people who excel at relationship building, which is a vital part of today’s sales process. Look for candidates who seem at ease and start an actual conversation with you during their interview, instead of looking nervous and only speaking when spoken to.

Another great technique you can use to separate the sales leaders from the rest of the pack is to ask open ended, scenario based questions that require the candidate to come with a strategy on the spot. Those who are capable will breeze through this exercise without a problem. However, those who do not have leadership abilities will be lost and will really struggle to come with the answers you want to hear.

Sales leaders have the potential to completely re-shape your company and ensure a solid future and the chance to grow and be competitive. You owe it to yourself to take the time to discover these people during your hiring process. Once you turn them loose into your sales force, you’ll be glad you targeted the right kind of person for the job.