Developing Nontraditional Salespeople

Some of the most effective sellers I’ve worked alongside never planned to be in sales. They came from engineering, field service, the military, teaching, operations, or the trades. Nontraditional salespeople often bring deep credibility, real-world knowledge, and a natural focus on solving problems. What they usually lack is confidence in the selling part, and a development path that respects what they already know.

My own path started in the U.S. Army before I moved into insurance and later industrial sales, so I have some sympathy for people who arrive in sales by an unexpected route. This post is for leaders who want to recruit and develop that kind of talent well.

Why nontraditional backgrounds are an advantage

In technical B2B markets, buyers want to talk with someone who understands their problem. A former maintenance technician who knows what downtime feels like, or an engineer who can read a specification sheet and ask the right follow-up questions, earns trust quickly.

Nontraditional salespeople often bring:

• Domain credibility that would take a traditional seller years to build
• Problem-solving instincts that translate directly into strong discovery
• Discipline and reliability, especially among veterans and people from operational roles
• Genuine curiosity about how things work, which buyers find refreshing
• A lower tendency to oversell, because they are uncomfortable with hype

These strengths line up well with how complex B2B buying actually works. The challenge is helping people see their background as an asset in a selling role rather than something to hide.

The barriers they face

Nontraditional sellers often struggle with a few predictable things:

1. Identity. Many carry a negative image of salespeople and worry that selling means becoming someone they don’t respect.
2. Fear of rejection. Technical professionals are used to being right. Prospecting involves hearing “no” often, which can feel like failure.
3. Process gaps. They may not know how to manage a pipeline, run a meeting, or ask for a commitment.
4. Over-explaining. Experts sometimes answer every question in full detail when the buyer needed a simple point and a good question back.

None of these is a character flaw. They are gaps in framing and skill, and both can be developed.

It also helps to recognize that many organizations unintentionally make the transition harder. A new seller from a technical background is often handed a territory, a product catalog, and a quota with little explanation of how selling actually works in that company. When they struggle, the conclusion is that they weren’t cut out for sales. More often, the onboarding simply assumed knowledge they never had a chance to acquire.

A development approach that works

The best development for nontraditional salespeople builds on what they already know instead of starting them over.

Reframe selling as helping. Show them that professional selling is structured problem-solving with a customer. Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset is useful here: skill in selling is built, not inherited. I’ve written more on this in a growth mindset for people who hate selling.

Teach process explicitly. People from technical fields often thrive with clear structure. Give them a defined approach to discovery, qualification, and follow-up.

Use deliberate practice. Anders Ericsson’s research on deliberate practice suggests that skill grows through focused repetition with feedback. Role-play difficult conversations, review recorded calls, and practice the parts that feel uncomfortable.

Pair them thoughtfully. A strong mentor who has made the same transition is worth more than any training module.

Measure early progress by behaviors, not just revenue. In long-cycle markets, results lag. Track the quality of discovery conversations and pipeline development while the deals mature.

Where to find nontraditional talent

If you are building a team, look beyond the usual sources. Your own service and applications departments often hold people with sales potential. Veterans transitioning out of the military bring leadership and discipline. Universities with sales programs are also developing students from a wide range of majors. At Schreiner, our Center for Professional Selling & Leadership offers a sales certificate open to any major, which is one way employers can meet students who didn’t start out planning a sales career. For more on assessing this kind of candidate, see hiring for sales potential, not sales polish.

Takeaways for developing nontraditional salespeople

Nontraditional salespeople can become some of your most trusted sellers if you develop them on their own terms.

• Recruit for credibility and curiosity, and treat technical or operational experience as a selling asset rather than a gap.
• Give them explicit structure and deliberate practice, especially on prospecting and asking for commitment.
• Measure early progress by the quality of their conversations, giving long-cycle results time to show up.