SALES PLAYBOOK
One BIG Reason You ’ re Not Able To Find And Recruit TOP Sales Professionals
I ’ ve been in sales my entire life and have sold in a wide variety of situations : door to door , face to face , in the boardroom , one to many on a webinar , and from on stage to a group . I ’ ve also counseled , coached , and trained more salespeople than I can count over the last 20 years as a marketing and sales consultant to well over 10,000 VARs , MSPs , and IT services organizations . ( Marketing is the first step in the sales process .)
Prior to starting my own gig , I worked with Tony Robbin ’ s top sales coach delivering sales training to a variety of organizations . Previous to that , I ran a large telemarketing department , albeit for a brief time , setting appointments for in-home sales reps . For the past 10 years , I ’ ve run a small but highly productive sales team of 12 dedicated reps ( and growing ), six sales support staff , and a small army of marketing and business development folks . From all of this , here ’ s what I know : The number of TRUE sales professionals is very , very small . Only 5 % are true-blue , hardcore closers who can chew meat right off the bone and get the job done consistently . Roughly 15 % are “ good ,” and the rest are so bad they should be more accurately labeled as “ sales prevention .”
So , as an entrepreneur trying to grow , the BIG question is this : How do you recruit that top 20 % ( more specifically , that top 5 %) who will consistently drive high-margin , right-fit sales for your organization WITHOUT a ton of babysitting and begging ?
For starters , you have to be actually LOOKING . Far too many MSPs aren ’ t running ads for sales reps or actively recruiting . You won ’ t find something you ’ re NOT looking for . But if you ARE looking and are still unsuccessful at finding a good rep , the primary reason is most likely that you ’ re not making your “ offer ” attractive to top performers .
Look , I ’ m a marketer . I know all about attraction and getting the RIGHT prospect ’ s attention . Recruiting is not all that different .
After all , GREAT salespeople know what they ’ re worth . They also know they are in short supply compared to all the other dummies they ’ ve been forced to work alongside . That means they can pretty much work wherever they want for whoever they want and make $ 150 –$ 200K or more doing it . So , the first big mistake many MSPs make in trying to attract top salespeople is offering a crappy position , then acting insulted and surprised when no one wants to take it .
Here ’ s what I typically see : They have no marketing to consistently generate qualified leads for the rep . They have no list of accounts and no prospects . They have ZERO marketing , ZERO opportunities , no playbook , and no sales support . They expect the sales rep to come in and sell on commission only , without a base or ramp-up bonus and with zero benefits . They have no track record to show that someone CAN earn six figures at their organization , and they give them the two-part training : Good luck and hang in there . Why would anyone want to take that position ? The only ones who will are either stupid ( and do you really want stupid working for you ?) or desperate , which means they don ’ t have any other options ( again , that ’ s not who you want ).
So , if you want to attract top talent , WORK on making the position a good one and design the math so that they have a reasonable chance to make six figures . Get your marketing plan in order so there are leads and opportunities to be worked . If you don ’ t have a sales process , YOU need to go on sales calls and create one . ( You can go online to download my checklist of what you need to include in a good Sales Playbook at MSPSuccessMagazine . com / salesplaybook .)
Next , track your metrics and process and refine and improve it until you ’ re consistently closing sales and can teach your process to a new rep . You might have to offer a much higher base than you would normally while they learn and ramp up . Have a CRM and marketing plan to assist them in generating at LEAST a little awareness and some inbound leads . Pay them a hefty commission up front for bringing in monthly recurring revenue and make YOUR profit on the back end . Essentially , design a position where someone CAN reasonably earn six figures while you also generate a good profit in the long term .
And one more piece of advice if you ’ re SMALL : Really work on having a GREAT culture . This is a big plus when competing against bigger companies for talent . Larger organizations can offer more salary , benefits , resources , marketing , etc . However , big companies are also rife with office politics , infighting , backstabbing , and hidden agendas . If you work hard on ensuring your culture and team are passionate , driven , and happy to work together , you ’ ve got a BIG plus on the larger organizations in recruiting ( and keeping ) top talent . n
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