What Kind Of Rep Are You?

When trying to recruit newbie sales people this week, I visited a firm that purports to offer something different in the way of graduate sellers.  I feel their prices are at least 30% too high (especially considering you can recruit such resource at zero cost via milkround type initiatives and a touch of psychometric testing).  Anyhow, I did pick up one lovely insight from them.

They believe they succeed because they find people with exactly the right attitude.  They find what they call “strivers”.  And they use their own spin on the classic Boston Box to illustrate (the famous grid plotting market share of products with sales growth to give you categories like ‘problem child or question mark’, ‘dogs’, ‘cash cows’ and ‘stars’).  What’s interesting, is that it helps any person heading up sales teams to see their charges in a new light…. Where are you on this scale?

Attitude	High	Strivers	Stars
	Low	Deadbeats	Journeymen
	Ability	Low	High