Don't Hire That Salesperson Just Yet

Don't Hire That Salesperson Just Yet

If you do, it could make matters much worse! Let's walk through the process.

You place the ad and get hundreds of emails and sometimes thousands and yet most don't seem like they are a fit. You spend endless hours narrowing your list so you can put them through your qualifying process. From there you set up phone interviews and in-person interviews until you have a few you believe may be a good fit. 

Finally, after much time and money you have decided on "the one". They start and get off to a slower than expected beginning. Soon, you start seeing red flags and after a year or so you realize you have the wrong person. "How did I miss this", you think to yourself?"

Related: Join our LinkedIn Group - Mastery of Selling B2B for The Small Business

Been there done that and I've learned a few things along the way. As a matter of fact, 75% of the sales reps I hired are still there crushing it after 9 years. BTW - They were all stay-at-home moms! Think out of the box! FYI - I wasn't looking for stay-at-home moms, but guess who avoided them like the plaque? Everyone else! Guess who is constantly looking to replace their sales reps? Everyone else!

Break the mold! Have your applicants send you a 60-second personal video on why they are a great fit for your organization. A picture may be worth a 1000 words, but a personal video will give you clarity about your candidates.

What gave me a 75% success rate?

1. When interviewing sales reps. There were 5 areas I scored on a scale of 1 to 5. Tenacity, cognitive ability to learn, mindset, commitment, and coach-ability. (If they scored below a 4 in any of these categories they weren't a fit. I ran a thorough assessment of all as a guideline which helped me prepare good open-ended questions for the interviews.

2. In addition, my interview process revolved around the four main areas sales reps fall into for the most part. (We knew specifically what the role required and we looked for that person)

Four Categories for B2B Sales People

1. Unique Value Sales 

Companies that sell from the Unique Value Sales Quadrant make their sale in a relatively short time period. The average sales cycle is complete in less than 5 calls or in 4-6 months. Their salespeople will sell to their clients once and new business accounts for 70% or more of their sales quota. They are creating a demand for their product/service or they are creating a demand to change from an existing supplier. While creating this demand, they are able to distinguish their product/service from the competition which keeps their prospect from focusing on price. Highly effective Unique Value salespeople have exceptional Ambition & Drive and Control & Close skills. They also possess a moderate to high degree of Problem Solving. 

2. Consultative Sales

Companies that sell from the Consultative Sales Quadrant have a sales cycle longer than 6 months or greater than 4 calls. This long cycle can be because of the product they sell or the client they sell to or both. Typically products/services are a highly custom solution or ones that can be customized. A simple product would also be sold from the Consultative Sales Quadrant if the typical prospect has multiple decision makers and therefore, a long buying process (National Accounts, Government Accounts, etc…). Prospecting for new business, including penetrating additional divisions of existing is 65% or more of their sales quota. As with Unique Value Sales, Consultative Salespeople must create a demand for their product/service or they create a demand to change from an existing supplier. While creating this demand, they are able to distinguish their product/service from the competition which keeps their prospect from focusing on price. Highly effective Consultative Sales People have exceptional Ambition & Drive and Process Orientation skills. They also possess a moderate to high degree of Problem Solving.

3. Account Sales

Companies that sell from the Account Sales Quadrant are selling to the same accounts repeatedly. These salespeople are frequently fulfilling an already established need with a secure client. While repeat selling, cross-selling, and up-selling existing clients is the majority of their sales quota, there could be a small new business requirement of these Account Salespeople. Customer Service, follow-up and task completion skills are required to effectively manage a territory or group of accounts. Highly effective Account Salespeople have an average to moderate Ambition & Drive and high Process Orientation skills. They also require moderate to high Relationship Effectiveness.

4. Commodity Sales

Companies that sell from the Commodity Quadrant are more interested in volume than profit. The sales cycle is typically 1-3 calls and the salesperson is not responsible for any customer service. They need to quickly bond with their prospects and endure a great deal of rejection. Typically products/services are sold from this quadrant because the company wants to quickly penetrate a new market and will sacrifice profit short term. Highly effective Commodity Salespeople have exceptional Ambition & Drive and Control & Close skills. They also possess a moderate to high degree of Relationship Effectiveness.

Very Important! Don't hire a salesperson until you have a proven sales and marketing process in place. This is one of the Biggest mistakes B2B Small Businesses make! They think the salesperson will solve their sales woes, but if they don't have a proven yet practical process for the salesperson to plug into it's going to cost you much money and both of you a tremendous amount of frustration.  Check out our Podcast on the 5 Pillars To Scale Your Business On LinkedIn.

VERY IMPORTANT!!! Hiring the right salesperson should be the second step and making sure they have the right training based on a proven sales and marketing process should be the first step. Click to view a replay of our Podcast - 5 Pillars To Scale Your Business On LinkedIn which addresses problems resulting from a lack of a sales pipeline, an impractical sales process, and a sales cycle that's too long. We provide the process to fill your sales pipeline with people interested in what you have to offer by spending less than an hour a day without a single cold call. In addition, we provide the 5 Shifts which reduces the sales cycle 29 to 183 days, increase sales 7 figures in 12 months, and shows you how to build Rock-Solid Customer Relationships which naturally lead to upsells and cross-sells.

Patience is essential and making sure your sales & marketing is proven will keep you from more problems than you could shake a stick at. If you missed this step, send me a PM and let's talk. It's not too late.

#hiretherightsalesperson #increasesales #closingthesale #shortenthesalescycle #closethesale #topsalesreps

Parts of Four categories for B2B Salespeople taken from The Devine Group and Sandler Training.