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Bill Farquharson

The "it" to Sales
April 11, 2008

It is said that there is a sales gene. That is, the born salesman is not a myth or urban legend, it really does exist. You either have it, or your don’t. Yup, that works for me…but how does one define that “It” thing?

This afternoon I had a very cool conversation with a clinical psychologist. I came into contact with Dr. Chris Croner (www.salesdrive.com) through a friend. He had me take his 108 question sales evaluation form and then we talked afterward. Chris’ test confirmed what many of you already knew: that my best career is in the custodial arts. But more interesting than that, Chris gave me his definition for what makes a great sales rep. Are you ready?

According to Chris, it is all about drive. That’s it. Drive. He believes (after studying the last 80 years’ worth of data, that it comes down to three things:
1.    Need to achieve
2.    Competitiveness
3.    Optimism

The more we talked, the more I realized that Chris had nailed it. He’d stuck the landing. My next question for him was, Where do we find these driven individuals. Our conversation was shortened because I had a conference call to lead, but we are talking again next week. I’ll let you know.

What do YOU think makes up the good sales rep? What's YOUR "it?"

Posted by Bill Farquharson on April 11, 2008 | Comments (2)

April 16, 2008
In response to: The "it" to Sales
Get the Order! commented:

This is perhaps redundant, but a good sales rep gets orders. I see all types of businesses bring in prospective sales reps and as long as they seem willing and appear somewhat competent, they give them a chance. If they don't get the level of orders required, they're gone...end of story. You often can't measure the "drive" factor, but frequently if someone is driven to succeed, they overcome all the obstacles that would otherwise indicate they shouldn't succeed. History is full of such people that succeeded by the force of their will to succeed. Yes, it is drive! Bob Ruzicka Compton & Sons, Inc bob@comptonandsons.com

April 23, 2008
In response to: The "it" to Sales
Bill Farquharson commented:

Two corrections: Chris' web site is www.salesdrive.info and I erred when I referred to him as a Clinical Psychologist. He does have his doctorate, however!