We are in an industry where we rely on sales people and their qualities. In USA , nearly 12.3% of all the jobs in the U.S. are full time sales positions. Over one trillion usd is spent annually on sales forces. 18,682 sales posts were advertised on Adzuna* last month in UK. Sales is the 10th most sought after job in Britain. An exclusive study reveals, the salesperson in a B2B environment, is the most important factor influencing prospect decisions. This happens to be the case on both sides of the ocean.

20% of the sales force delivers 80% of the revenue in many companies. This means hiring talented sales people is basically a random event.
If you happen to have one, top sales producers outperform average producers; by 2:1, and low producers by 10:1.
Caliper Corp** reports that 55% of the people making their living in sales should be doing something else. A UK based report states that, 60 per cent of UK sales people not happy in their jobs.

Qualities of a sales person:
Sales is a talent-based profession and the sales training will improve the performance of an individual on average by 20%.
By replacing your bottom 20% of salespeople with only average performers, you would improve sales productivity by nearly 20%.
Over 50% of sales managers are too busy to train and develop their sales teams. Right decisions in recruiting and creating real sales talents bring amazing outcomes.
We should also check the qualities of a good sales person. The best sales professionals do not focus purely on making a sale. They try to build long-term relationships. They not only know their own product inside out, they also know everything about their competitors.

* “Adzuna” is a search engine for job ads that lists every job, everywhere.
** Caliper Corporation is the Leading Provider of the Hiring Assessments for Professional Placement, Talent Management, and Leadership Development