Risk & Business Magazine Sterling Insurance Fall 2017 | Page 29
RECRUITING FOR SUCCESS
I
hear this question more than any
other: “How do you find good
salespeople?” Yet, when I dig deep, it’s
a rarity when I find someone who is
truly “looking”. It’s more like “I want
to have more good salespeople,” but there
is no plan in place to execute on this most
important function.
In most businesses, if you want to grow
your sales, grow your sales team in
quantity and quality.This article focuses
on the quantity. This much I know for
sure. No matter how terrific a salesperson
is, there are only so many calls one can
make, so many calls one can take, and
so many orders one can write. But if I
recruit five, ten, or more salespeople,
eventually they will bypass the top
performer. As such, we should always be
looking to hire more top salespeople. This
approach differs significantly compared
to the Sales Manager who typically begins
the recruiting process “when there is
an opening”. In truth, there are always
openings for top performers.
The first step is to have a list of candidates,
in writing, which you have designated as
desirables. I believe this list needs to include
at least fifteen candidates. When compiling
your list, don’t overlook people outside your
industry. We have found a greater degree
of success taking a top-quartile performer
from a different industry and teaching
them your business than recruiting an
industry-knowledgeable salesperson who
has performed in the bottom 50 percent.
In fact, several of my clients focus on
college-grad-with-sports-competitiveness
backgrounds and building them “their way”.
Next is to design a courting process, which
we believe is a minimum of two touches per
month for each person on your list. These
can be meals, social activities, industry
events, emails, or telephone calls. The best
sales performers tend to go where they
want, when they want, and they tend to
initially favor those who have been courting
them all along the way.
You can’t find them until you define
them, which translates into the need for
a position profile. I’m not talking about a
job description here, but rather a list of the
personal characteristics and attributes of
what a top sales performer looks like in your
company and industry. Build the profile
based on what you know of your existing
top producers. Also, utilize sales-profiling
tools/instruments that, at a minimum, will
weed out unqualified candidates. answers are salesperson success stories,
you likely have the wrong candidate. What
you are looking for are answers centered
on building a top-notch sales team, not
individual sales success stories.
Upon review of the above, now think about
our concept of “modeling the master”. The
list of tasks above is fairly comparable to
what professional recruiters are paid to do.
One, they are regularly looking for talent,
whether they have a job order or not. Next,
they stay in touch regularly with their list of
prospects. My final advice here is to consider installing
an employee bonus program to help with
getting everyone networking for top
salespeople. The keys here are having
a detailed profile to provide to all and
an attractive bonus amount. What I’ve
discovered is less than a third of companies
have such a bonus program, and those
that do frequently aren’t putting enough
$$ on the table. I see companies readily
invest monies for outside recruiters yet
miss investing similarly with their internal
colleagues. These people know the industry,
know the players, and often have existing
relationships with them. Additionally, the
payout of the bonus can be tied to and
conditioned on the sales production of the
new hire. Structured correctly, we have seen
these plans “self-fund” and add an air of
excitement about the commitment to the
company’s growth.
AS WELL, WORKING
WITH THEIR CLIENTS,
THEY DEVELOP A
PROFILE OF THE
CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE INDIVIDUALS
THEY ARE ASSIGNED
TO RECRUIT.
Next on the recruiting efforts is the
interview process. Our experience is that
too few interviews are being conducted.
That initial interview will typically
show candidates in their best light. Try a
minimum of three by the person to whom
the candidate will report. Additionally, have
three other people in the firm interview
the candidate, for a total of six interviews.
Remember the saying “hire slowly, fire
quickly”. Better to invest the time up front
to improve your chances of long-term
success.
When looking for a salesperson, one of my
favorite questions is “When did you first
get into sales? Share with me one or two
success stories.” The key here is I want the
candidate to go “pre-resume”. People who
are successful have a tendency towards
patterns of success. What we are searching
for here are those patterns and the display
of that all-important competiveness/grit,
also known as the winning attitude. Fifty
percent or more of success is attitude.
Recruit for skills but hire for attitude.
When looking for a Sales Manager, one
of my favorite questions is “Share with
me a couple of your success stories.” If the
This critical activity has to be planned
and committed to by the Sales Manager. It
requires a significant commitment of time
without evidence of an immediate payout.
Build and execute such a recruiting plan,
however, and watch your business reviews
soar. Good Hunting! +
Jack Daly is an experienced and world-
recognized sales speaker and sales training
expert who inspires audiences to take action
in the areas of sales, sales management,
and corporate culture. He brings thirty-
plus years of field-proven experience,
from a starting base of CPA-firm Arthur
Andersen to a Captain in the US Army to
the CEO of several national companies.
Jack is a proven CEO/Entrepreneur, having
built six companies into national firms,
two of which he subsequently sold to the
Wall Street firms of Salomon Brothers
and First Boston. His professional sales-
trainer know-how has turned him into
an accomplished sales coaching authority
and author of books including Hyper Sales
Growth, The Sales Playbook for Hyper
Sales Growth, and Paper Napkin Wisdom,
all Amazon #1 Best Sellers.
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