4 Top Strategies I’ve Learned From Over 30 Years Recruiting Superstar Sales Talent

“It takes one to know one,” as the old adage goes.?

I started selling formally around age 12, building a local neighborhood business with one of my best friends from St. Louis. My father was a serial entrepreneur, who would take me along on sales calls during the summers to learn the “craft.”?

I sold everything, or close to it, growing up . . . even Kirby vacuum cleaners for a few months in high school. By the time I was 30, I had sold – from cold call to collections – over $700 million (in nominal dollars) of business to some amazing clients across the globe.?

Understanding the sales person’s DNA - what motivated them, what drove them - seemed implicit, and thus RECRUITING sales talent became a natural path for me. Even today, close to 50% of my firm’s executive search engagements have been in the Sales Leadership arena.?

So what tips/insights can I pass on to help YOU entice potential sales superstars? Here are a few that seem to consistently fall within the bell curve.??

We start with one premise - the most important one - IF you want to increase your pipeline of future sales killers:? “People go into Sales to make money!” This is their core KPI, and they want the ability to see huge JUMPS in income quickly.??

Of course, other factors go into it; we’re human beings - industry passion, company culture, a love of people, etc - but income is almost always the number one driver.??

Why? Because it is so hard to handle the inevitable, endless rejection and grind of selling that the payoff has to be there. So how do we get top sales folks get INITIALLY excited over YOUR awesome company??

Simple.?

SHOW THEM A MUCH LARGER POTENTIAL INCOME PLAYING FIELD!??

So how do we do this??

STRATEGY 1:? Talk about company, competitor, industry stats for top quartile performers only. Do this by talking solely in OTE (“on target earnings”) terms at FIRST; never salary, commissions, or equity.?

Set that anchor high before doing anything else. Later, you will discuss how that breaks down into components (including customizing those based on individual preference). But the candidate needs to see a clear leveling up opportunity, ie. an ability to move from, say, a $300k to a $500k playing field.?

That playing field is defined by your own top performers’ W-2 income and or averages from other top competitors in your space. If the top person (hypothetically) selling SaaS products to automotive dealers wants to double his/her income potential, show what the top performers are earning in your space selling financial platforms to large banks and financial institutions.???

STRATEGY 2:? Show them a roadmap for how this is actually achievable, beyond a pie in the sky promise or mythical target.

Break this out by actual accounts, type and size, coverage locale, and any untouched green pastures. Top sales people want the ability to go after great clients. Many folks are currently locked out of the best real estate from fellow co-workers. Provide a roadmap of the territory, the top accounts, or “blue ocean” opportunities available for him/her to quickly meet those high income goals.??

STRATEGY 3:? Give them a leverageable “title.”??

Most top producers want to be viewed as “players” in the public domain. They want their prospective clients to feel that they have organizational power. They want to tell their friends, family, and cohorts that they are more than just an “account exec” or “sales person.”

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And almost all of them will contemplate at some time potentially moving into a full time leadership, mentor, or player-coach role. A title can be leveraged, to some degree, to show a progressive story on the proverbial resume.?

STRATEGY 4:? Provide them an opportunity to call on a higher level of the food chain.

Sales folks have healthy egos, as is needed when stepping into the ring. If you can show someone the value in moving up the food chain - going after larger dollar transactions, calling on higher level executives (CXO/board), or higher profile deals in a hot space, you will quickly see the saliva flowing in anticipation.??

All of us - particularly in our more formidable years - are looking for personal GROWTH. Top producers will ultimately demand that, or they’ll just get bored.

Think in terms of what THEY want:

• How can I help you leapfrog your current income potential??
• How can I help you call on an entirely different level of client???
• How can I help you achieve more work and social status??

Top producers have healthy egos, a bit like great athletes; it’s part of what drives them to push the barriers others cannot. They want to make more than their competition; they want others to know about it (for personal recognition); they want constant growth opportunities; and they appreciate recognition of their accomplishments.??

Focus on these basics, and everything else just becomes “conversation.”