Making the right hiring decisions is critical to your business. But is it more important to find someone who comes to you with natural talent and experience or is it better to hire a trainable hard worker?

Work ethic cannot be trained for. Hire someone with a strong work ethic and you can count on them to always go beyond expectations. If you offer them the training they need to succeed on the job, their determination means that they will devote the same attention to their training as they do to their work. You end up with a well-trained, dedicated employee who is likely to stay on the job in the long term.

What can you expect from an employee with a strong work ethic?

• Reliably show up on time and prepared to work
• Spend some of their off-the-clock time learning about the industry
• Set positive examples for their co-workers
• Eager to take on additional work

Talent is potential. It means little until it is applied. When you hire someone who is naturally talented, you could be taking a risk. Closely examine their work history to see if they have leveraged their talent for maximum success or just did the minimum to slide by.

What characteristics indicate natural sales talent?

• Effortless achievement of goals
• Charming and outgoing personality
• Ability to persuade
• Focus on uncovering needs and addressing objections

Ideally, your team will be made up of a blend of hard workers and naturally talented people. They can learn from and compete with each other so that you will get the most out of both kinds of employees.

Sales positions are goal driven. Those with a strong work ethic will go out of their way to overachieve any goal you set and search for ways to help others reach their goals. Because of the competitive nature of sales, people who are driven will encourage the rest of the team to work harder. In a well-constructed sales environment, everyone wants to be the best, so the bar is continually raised.

At SMR Group Ltd, our experienced recruiters specialize in finding candidates who are talented, experienced and hardworking. Contact us today with your candidate wish list and we will identify, attract and present the salespeople and marketing talent you need to succeed.