Managing Your High-Drive Salespeople

A client of ours once referred to his high-Drive salespeople as his “Porsches.”  He said they were high maintenance but when they were tuned up, they could race like h***.   You probably recognize his description … high-Drive salespeople do require a lot of support and attention, usually because they are operating at such a high velocity… which is a good thing. This is a big topic so let’s just cover a couple of tips here. 

First of all, remember that high-Drive salespeople are ultra-competitive. Anytime you can set up a type of competition, which ultimately leads to the fulfillment of your mutual goals and objectives, it can add to the salesperson’s satisfaction and fulfillment. This does not have to be a huge deal, just a few bets here and there. For example, dinner and tickets to the ball game for the first salesperson to close the next five deals. Things like that. It’s not about the money… it’s about the competitive exchange.

Second, high-Drive salespeople are high in optimism.  They bounce back quickly from rejection, but that doesn’t mean they cannot use a little pat on the back occasionally. It won’t take much… a drink after work or a cup of coffee together to remind them how good they are will be hyper-leveraged with these types of folks. A great return on a seemingly small gesture.

Lastly, remember, high-Drive salespeople love to be loved.  Make sure you are showing it to them because your competitors know they are out there and would love to have them.

Want to know if a person is a high-Drive salesperson prior to hiring them? The DriveTest can help you identify individuals who are high in Drive. Click here for more information.

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Dr. Christopher Croner and Richard Abraham are authors of Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again and developers of the proprietary and patented sales test, The DriveTest™, for sales candidates. For more information, click here.