There is a
tradition in my house every February that dates back a few decades that
signifies that spring is coming. It’s not Groundhog’s Day, but rather the Westminster
Kennel Club championships from Madison Square Gardens in New York.
The amount
of time spent on training and grooming of these beautiful dogs is enormous, and
the payoff shows when they make the WKC finals in New York. My favorite session
is their grand finale, where the winning dog from each division is brought in
to crown the top dog of the year. Such a wide variety of dogs, from little lap
dogs to hunting and working dogs and one person has to judge the full spectrum
of dog traits to determine the very best. I would think that is a tough job!
Being that
final judge at Westminster has similarities to working with your sales staff.
Each member has their own personality, and to see the very best of each one you
have to know the type of personality they have.
I was having
dinner with a former sales rep, and she had me read an article on SuccessResources titled “The 5 Breeds of Sales Dogs, Which One Are You?” In the article Blair Singer suggests that sales people can be categorized into
five types, which have similar characteristics to dog breeds. Sales people are
either Pitbulls, Golden Retrievers, Poodles, Chihuahuas or Bassett Hounds.
A Pitbull is
aggressive, and the stereotypical sales person. This sales rep is ultra-aggressive
and shows no fear. This type of sales person will make more calls and deal with
the rejection than the other breeds.
Golden
Retriever sales types are the loyal, over the top customer service sales reps.
The success of this sales person comes from understanding the needs of
prospects and current customers. They get lots of customer referrals for being
so responsive to their customer’s needs.
Highly
intelligent and keenly aware of their personal appearance reps are Poodles.
This type looks good and wouldn’t think of getting dirty to get the sale.
Poodles do a good job of networking, and are up on the latest trends.
Sales reps
that are tech savvy are Chihuahuas. They have a keen awareness of product
knowledge and are very process oriented. But as we know, Chihuahuas are high
energy and yappy dogs that can bark and bark and bark!
The final sales
rep type is Bassett Hounds. They are the most faithful dogs, with a very humble
sales approach. They play upon your heart and sympathy, and very willing to beg
and say “please” to get the sale.
Do any of
these hit home and describe you or your sales staff? For me, I found this to be
a very easy way to better understand sales reps. My former employee who
introduced this to me was a cross between a Golden Retriever and Poodle. She provided
extraordinary customer service, was highly intelligent and always wanted to
look good throughout the entire sales process.
Better
understanding the type of sales person you have is something more than just
categorizing them by dog breed. The successful handler at the Westminster
Kennel Club championship handles a Chihuahua much differently than a Pitbull.
Different breeds have different needs, as well as different strengths,
weaknesses and ways to be motivated.
Would you
have a Bassett Hound type be in charge of your new business development
program? Maybe not. That type of sales rep might not have enough sense of urgency
to get things done as quickly as you’d like. You might find that working with
auto dealers could be best suited for the Pitbull on staff, able to handle the
wheeling and dealing that can sometimes be associated with that industry.
By doing
some quick analysis on your team, and the needs of your sales organization, you
can quickly learn a lot. Having a better understanding of your sales rep’s
personality will help you to become a better manager.
In an
article by Susan M. Heathfield titled “Top 10 Reasons Why Employees Quit TheirJob”,
the first reason was an employee’s relationship with their boss. Often times
that relationship is strained due to poor communication. Knowing the strengths
and weaknesses of your team, understanding why they do what they do because of
their underlying personality are key to better communication and better
motivation.
Better
motivations leads to a higher degree of goal achievement and revenue generated.
That makes us all happy!
