I also like the library of best practices , which we also successively use to cut turnover . We identify different functions of the sales process or the job , and we actually record it or create scripts to demonstrate the best practice and encourage our people to replicate it .
Once the new hire is armed with a plan and best practices , you can ask , “ Hey , how are you doing on your on-boarding plan ? Can you actually do those things ? Are you doing these things every day to be successful ?” And if they haven ’ t , then you know they ’ re not going to be successful . You don ’ t have to wait six months to a year to figure that out because they haven ’ t done anything that was outlined for them to be successful .
SMM : What top mistakes do recruiters make when they ’ re hiring for the sales department ?
DM : Many times , they haven ’ t been provided with an accurate job profile . Recruiters should make a list of pertinent questions , such as , who will this person be calling on ? What ’ s the average sales cycle ? How are they being paid ? When looking for somebody to call on the C-suite , with a six-month selling cycle , $ 5M and above services , you really shouldn ’ t be hiring somebody who calls on purchasing agents for a transactional $ 50K sale . You need to match the job profile to the individual . You should also follow the SEARCH model : Skills , Experiences , Attitudes , Results , Cognitive skills , and Habits .
If I were a recruiter , I would look at a few major things : Do the skills of this person match up to the job profile ? Do they have the skills necessary to succeed , or will they need to be trained ? Do they have the required experience ? Have they done this somewhere else ? And most importantly , have they produced these same results ? If I ’ m looking for a hunter , I want to know if the majority of their business at their current workplace came from new business ? And they ’ ll need to show it to me because I need to know that this person will fit nicely in the job 5 Strictly that I ’ Marketing m filling . Magazine September / October 2014
What we tend to do is to say , “ This person was 500 percent above quota so therefore they will be a superstar in my business ,” and that ’ s not accurate . You should be looking at an applicant to disqualify them from the position , not to beg them to take the job .
I interview like I conduct a sales call : I don ’ t want to put something through the sales funnel that doesn ’ t fit , and I don ’ t want to do that to an applicant . While I want to make sure he or she is a good fit , I ’ m also looking for the reasons why there wouldn ’ t be a fit - something most people overlook . I believe that the disqualification mindset is a good one . You should make sure that there ’ s a good cultural fit , and production numbers are great indicators , but you have to make sure that the person ’ s not going to be disruptive or will not really blend into the overall dynamics of the team , especially if you are team selling - a bad apple in team selling can destroy the whole team . So look for culture , look for job fit , look for the candidate ’ s fit based on skills and experiences and results , and make sure that they have some sort of plan in place .
SMM : Would it be better if the sales manager did the hiring or does it matter if human resources is involved ?
DM : Here ’ s how I ’ ve seen it most successfully work time and again : HR and Sales create the job profile and the interview questions . HR culls down the field to the top 5 or 6 candidates and then let the sales manager hire from that group . Sales managers will likely tell you they don ’ t have the time for all of those interviews , and that ’ s fine . Then sort it down to a more reasonable number , but let them make the ultimate decision .
SMM : What are some questions that the candidate should be asking during the interview ?
DM : What will I do day-to-day ? How do you judge success ? What would my overall portfolio look like ?
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