5 Things to Look for in a New Sales Position

It’s common for sales professionals to move around a lot. In fact, the average tenure of a sales executive is just 18 months.

Brian Burns, host of The Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling, sat down with Chad Sanderson, Managing Partner, Value Prime Solutions, to discuss what salespeople need to look for when taking the next step in their career.

1. LEADERSHIP: Can the person you’re working for teach you something? If not, you may be headed for trouble. Make sure there are people within the organization with a leadership style that is conducive to your self-exploration and growth. Sometimes management personality styles can clash, so get a feel for how well you will fit in.
2. DRIVE: Is the company just trying to get across the finish line, or are they trying to out-lap their competition? Make sure their passion and commitment to sales is the right fit for you. If they don’t understand the role that sales plays, it may not be worth it.
3. RESEARCH: Gather as much information as you can to understand how the company looks three-dimensionally. How are they doing financially? Are they looking to get acquired? Growing? Shrinking? Check out resources like Glassdoor and connect with people within the company to discuss the culture. The reputation of a company is usually pretty accurate.
4. COMPENSATION PLAN: Make sure you really understand the comp plan – that it’s easy to understand and not capped. Be wary if the compensation is over-engineered, and don’t let it become a handicap.
5. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST FOR THE 5TH ELEMENT!

Listen to the entire podcast episode to get more insight into each key element, the things you, as a revenue executive, must be aware of to remain relevant and successful in the new sales landscape.

This post is based on a podcast discussion with Brian Burns, host of The Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling. To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the B2B Revenue Executive Experience.

If you don’t use iTunes, you can listen to every episode here.