Order takers versus order makers

I have to admit that hiring excellent sales people is not an easy task.  Any sales person worth his weight can pitch with the best of them, articulate a strong value proposition, and demonstrate a nice track record of success.  I like to look at past experiences on a sale person's resume and a history of overachievement.  All that being said, I have also had plenty of sales managers come in the door with all of the criteria but just flail.  Some have ridden a hot product in a hot market and others for some reason just cannot make the transition from one company to another or one market to another.  One of the fundamental criteria that any startup needs to look for is hunger.  If you are a sales rep at an early stage company with no name, no brand, and an unproven product, you better be hungry, make your calls, schedule your meetings and not take no for an answer.  What this boils down for me is the difference between "order takers" and "order makers."  In one of my portfolio companies we thought we hired the best team with significant industry experience having ramped up a startup to a successful IPO.  What happened, in my mind and the CEO's mind, is that they got fat and happy.  At the peak of their success from the prior company the sales team had performed so well that they transitioned from order making to order taking.  Instead of going out and playing the numbers game-doing the dirty work, making the calls, and having the meetings, they expected resellers and customers to come to them.  They expected the fax machine to ring with orders.  They went elephant hunting in search of the big win which proved to be elusive or too lenghty an endeavor.  So whatever you do when you hire your next group of sales reps, make sure they have the qualifications but more importantly make sure that they have the hunger and desire to win.  Make sure that you have "order makers" and not "order takers."