Hello, I am Steve Suggs, sales recruiting expert and author of the book, Can They Sell.
Welcome to my sales recruitment video blog, 5 minutes of learning to hire the best salespeople.
Recently my wife asked me, “Why is it so difficult to understand why people don’t
get along?”
I told her that this is a similar question that sales managers ask me all the time.
Everyone wants to know why people do the things they do.
Why are people so different?
Why are my kids, who are only 3 years apart in age, and who experienced basically the
same childhood, so completely opposite?
Why do candidates interview well, and when they get on the job, behave differently?
Why can some people who perform well in sales not manage salespeople.
Answering these questions may be easy for a trained psychologist, but what if I’m
a parent or a manager, and all I want is enough information to raise my children or hire and
coach my salespeople?
I wish the answers to these questions were simple, but they’re not.
One thing I’ve learned in life is if something like recruiting salespeople or getting along
with your spouse is hard to figure out, then there’s no simple answer.
And gaining the knowledge you need to fix complex issues is not easy.
In other words, there’s no magic formula for understanding human behavior.
There is however some basic human behavior knowledge that, if you learn it, will help
everyone get along better and will help you become a better recruiter and coach of salespeople.
I only have time in this short blog to give you a bit of encouragement and the highlights
of basic human behavior.
There are 5 dimensions of human behavior.
If you learn and gain understanding of these 5 dimensions, it will help you diagnose why
people do the things they do.
The first dimension is “Attitudes”.
Under this dimension are two basic attitudes.
One is a positive or negative image of one’s self as a person.
The degree to which we think positively of ourselves comes out in our actions toward
others.
The things that come out of our mouth are the things that are in our hearts.
So, change your inside, and the way you speak to and treat people will change.
The second attitude is our passion for solving the problems around us using our natural talents.
If we use our natural talents to help others at home and at work, we have high levels of
success in both places.
The second dimension is “Motivations”.
How driven are we to bring about change in our lives?
Are we driven to change our situation financially, physically (our health, appearance), spiritually,
and relationally?
Are we driven to leave our community and world better than it was than when we came into
it?
The third dimension of human behavior is “Character”.
We are all products of our environment.
Character is formed, in varying degrees, in our environment from teaching from parents
and mentors, our educational experiences, our job experience and life experiences.
We come into this world as needy and selfish human beings.
Aristotle said it best, “A baby would strangle his mother for his milk if his arms were not
so short and uncoordinated.”
The right combination of teaching, praise and approval, discipline and disapproval will
bond us to these four character traits: honesty, work ethic, concern for others and accepting
responsibility for the outcomes of our actions.
The fourth dimension of human behavior is “Personality”.
Where character is formed in our environment, personality is genetic and changes very little
over time.
Our personality largely determines how we react and perform in our environment.
Personality determines the pace, intensity, and confidence with which we approach our
work and circumstances.
Job duties and tasks outside of our job which are in line with our personality require less
energy to perform.
Conversely, if job duties or life situations require a different personality trait than
we possess, it takes a lot of energy to perform the task or overcome the challenge.
We tire easily while performing duties which are outside of our natural personality tendencies.
The fifth dimension of human behavior is competencies or skills.
When we study and learn a skill or gain knowledge in specific areas, these competencies improve
our self-image and cause us to approach tasks with a greater level of energy.
These competencies increase our productivity.
Productivity is not only tied to knowledge or a specific skill because the degree to
which a person possesses high levels of the other four traits of attitudes, motivations,
character traits and personality traits will have a greater impact on productivity than
knowledge and skill development.
In addition to these 5 dimensions of human behavior, here are a few other principals
that I’ve found to be extremely helpful in getting along with others and developing
deep lasting relationships.
The degree to which you love others is the same degree to which you will be loved by
others.
Listen more than you talk.
Avoid the extremes - Avoid too much work or too much play, too much exercise or too much
rest.
Don’t eat or drink too much.
Avoid the extreme of becoming too emotionally involved with others or caring too little.
For every hour of TV you watch, read for an hour.
Focus on growing spiritually.
This helps us keep all things in perspective.
Learn that it takes less emotional energy to loose an argument than to try to win it.
Remember, to an observer of two people arguing, it’s hard to tell who’s the greater fool.
Spend time thinking about this statement, “Selfishness impoverishes.”
Thank you for joining me.
See you next time on the Can They Sell video blog for more sales job recruitment training.
As always, please leave your comments below and forward this video to anyone who will
benefit.
Now go enjoy recruiting the best, and have fun in the sales interview.