Hiring sales talent? Role fit matters more than you think

Would you recruit a back-end developer for a front-end developer?

Do you have a team of developers? If so, I assume you're familiar with the concept of front end and back end. And if you're recruiting a developer, I assume you're not recruiting the same skills for a front-end developer or a back-end developer. Correct? It would be a big mistake?

And yet it's a big mistake that leaders of sales teams make every day...

Differentiate between the surface problem - poor performance - and the real problem - skills misalignment

When sales teams fail to meet their targets, managers often turn to the usual suspects: lack of effort, poor training or a complicated market. But what if the real problem isn't performance-related at all?

What if the root cause is a misalignment of roles- putting the wrong sales people in the wrong roles?

Think about it. A people-oriented salesperson who excels at managing high-value accounts is suddenly thrust into a high-pressure new business development role. Or a structured, consultative sales representative, who thrives on in-depth discussions and long sales cycles, is expected to work in a fast-paced transactional sales environment.

In both cases, their natural strengths don't match the demands of the role. The result? Unmet targets, frustrated customers and, ultimately, lost revenue. 

The cost of hiring the wrong sales person (or the right sales person in the wrong place)

The consequences of misalignment go far beyond a few missed contracts.

• 50% of salespeople recruited fail within 18 months because they were not right for the job (Harvard Business Review).

• The cost of hiring the wrong sales person can exceed $100,000 per recruitment, taking into account lost contracts, recruitment costs and unnecessary training (CSO Insights).

• Companies that match sales roles with the right skills experience a 30% increase in sales performance (Objective Management Group).

Despite these figures, many hiring decisions are still based on instinct, personality or past experience in a completely different sales environment.

Common recruitment mistakes

• Confusing personality with sales skills It's easy to be impressed by a confident, charismatic salesperson. But does self-confidence mean they can handle objections, ask the right questions and guide a prospect through a complex sales cycle? Many sales teams recruit based on appearance rather than proven ability to sell in their specific sales environment.

• One-size-fits-all recruitment Many companies use generic job descriptions that do not differentiate between a hunter (new business developer) and a grower (account manager), leading to inappropriate recruitment for critical positions.

• Lack of sales-specific assessments Traditional personality or behavioural assessments do not predict sales success. Sales-specific assessments, such as the OMG Sales Skills Assessment, are designed to measure real sales ability, not just soft skills.

• Ignoring role-specific training Training is often general and unfocused. A sales team made up of different sales styles needs targeted coaching that aligns with the individual strengths and functions of each role.

• Promoting the wrong people Many companies promise management positions to their best salespeople, on the assumption that good salespeople make good managers. But leadership requires coaching skills, strategic thinking and team management, which are very different from sales skills. Without proper leadership development, these promotions can backfire.

Correcting role mismatches: a smarter approach to recruitment and development

1. Define role fit clearly: Start by defining the exact skills required for each role. Do you need a fast salesperson, a long-term relationship builder or a technical consultant? Different sales roles require different strengths.

2. Use sales-specific assessments: Avoid getting caught up in your decision-making biases and take advantage of tools such as theOMG Sales Skills Assessment, which has a predictive accuracy of 72% to identify the right person for a sales role. (example below and some samples downloadable here)

3. Match sales training and coaching to job suitability: Depending on the size of your team, you can also tailor the training of your sales people. A transactional sales person needs different skills to a corporate sales consultant**.** Training should reinforce what each role needs to succeed.

4. Rethink sales career paths: Instead of promoting high-performing salespeople to management positions (where they are likely to fail), create alternative career paths that allow them to progress without being forced into roles that don't match their strengths. And train your leaders in this key skill of sales leadership.

5. Establish a culture of role clarity: Ensure that each sales person understands their unique strengths, their role in the organisation and how their specific skills contribute to success. To do this, use the onboarding tool that emerges from pre-employment assessments to develop a robust coaching plan, have a data-centric dialogue and implement long-term coaching. When people know they're in the right place, their performance soars