I think they were trying to get at something (not very successfully). I'd put it like this.
Want to find the best mathematician, the best engineer? Easy: just give them a hard test. Or more generally follow the metrics. The one with the highest score is the best, generally speaking. In that sense it's uncomplicated: administer the test, the highest scorer is your guy/girl.
For sales there is no equivalent. There is no "test" (crude sell me a pen type exercises notwithstanding). There often is a mysterious hard-to-quantify quality to the best sellers.
Of course with a track record it's much easier - the one w/the highest sales in the district, say - but without that it's quite difficult.
In that sense it's very different from other fields.
Want to find the best mathematician, the best engineer? Easy: just give them a hard test. Or more generally follow the metrics. The one with the highest score is the best, generally speaking. In that sense it's uncomplicated: administer the test, the highest scorer is your guy/girl.
For sales there is no equivalent. There is no "test" (crude sell me a pen type exercises notwithstanding). There often is a mysterious hard-to-quantify quality to the best sellers.
Of course with a track record it's much easier - the one w/the highest sales in the district, say - but without that it's quite difficult.
In that sense it's very different from other fields.