Hiring for Outbound Lead Generation Prospecting: 20 Best Qualities to Target

What qualities make up the ideal outbound prospecting lead qualification, nurturing and generation candidate? Sales and marketing management may find itself with an ample candidate pool for a focused outreach initiative. Here are 20 qualities to keep in mind as you hire lead qualification, nurturing and generation representatives:

1. Strong sales skill set
2. Ability, experience and willingness to outbound prospect
3. Ability to build relationships
4. Customer centric orientation
5. Hunger to succeed
6. Fire in their belly
7. Strategic thinker
8. Focused, disciplined soul
9. Sponge for knowledge
10. Thirst to learn
11. Planning ability
12. Organized individual
13. Strong follow up ability
14. Ability to nurture, develop
15. Ability to serve, help
16. Ability to close
17. Ability to produce and exceed expectations
18. Track record and document outbound prospecting activity
19. Effective usage of a CRM and current tools
20. Process, methodical orientation

Many sales and marketing managers believe that inbound lead qualification, nurturing and generation representatives can easily take on the duties of reaching out to prospects. More often than not, this doesn’t work because the skill set required for an outbound sales and marketing initiative is different than the skill set required for inbound response. Be sure your outbound prospecting lead qualification, nurturing and generation candidate can prospect proactively and take on outreach activities.

Lead qualification, nurturing and  generation representatives must guide a conversation with people they have never spoken with previously.  This is not an easy task.  It is truly an art to make a connection with a potential prospect early on, and to establish a relationship.  This is especially true if the outreach initiative includes engaging with senior level executives.

A consultative approach is crucial to success in working with prospects.  When focusing on targeted, more complex accounts, it’s essential for the representative to understand the account and key players in a strategic, managed, organized fashion during the engagement process.

To connect and engage at high levels, a lead qualification, nurturing and generation outbound prospecting representatives needs a sponge like ability to quickly grasp and retain industry knowledge, key target market and pertinent target audience information.

I am interested to hear what you look for as key traits in successful lead qualification, nurturing  and generation representatives tasked with focused outreach prospecting.