The secret to hiring great sales leaders, that no-one told you about

HIRE THE SYSTEM, NOT THE MANAGER

I once worked at a public company with a very smart HR VP. She told me that her greatest frustration with the executive team was their tendency to come out of nearly every sales interview with the exact same feedback: “Great guy!”

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So common was this habit that she concluded something was going seriously wrong with how interviews were being conducted. It turned out she was right.

Of course they were a ‘great guy’ – they are a successful leader in sales! They are confident, charismatic, share your hobbies and communicate with ease and charm. A genuinely great person to hang out with for 60 minutes. When asked later about your time with them, what will be your likely response? “Oh, great guy!”

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And yet 12 months later, our HR VP often found herself processing a separation after the new hire caused friction, was difficult to work with and failed to deliver the expected results. It was time for action.

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First, she introduced a strict ban on using the words ‘great’ and ‘guy’ to describe candidates. Interviewers were forced to find something else to say. It’s harder than you’d think. Try it next time you interview.

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Second was ‘Hire the system, not the manager’.

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A couple of things happened as a result; we suddenly had more female candidates making it through the process (I’m not kidding, the number of females we hired nearly doubled) and the attrition rate fell away to almost zero. Interesting. So, what happened?

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Most veteran sales leaders will have two things in common:

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1) They will be great at selling, especially if the thing they are selling is themselves.

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As an interviewer, once you force yourself to push beyond the candidate’s superficial qualities, the essential qualities start to emerge; cultural fit, humility, decision-making abilities and whether they possess good judgement.

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2) They come with their own way of doing things. A belief system built around what, in their experience, drives success.

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Selling systems are powerful and we should all have them, but like any system it needs to be compatible with the components it runs with. Not all selling systems will suit your buyer, your products or even your company culture.

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Bottom Line: When it comes to hiring great sales leaders the ‘How’ is every bit as important as the ‘Who’.

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An effective way to interview for this is to run a practical exercise called: DAY ONE

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Create a simulation in which the candidate has got the job. Send them in advance a brief that sets out the resources, pipeline, territories and products that will be available to them. At interview, role-play that first meeting they would have with you on their very first day.

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What changes will they make? What sales methods will be deployed? What processes will they implement? How are they going to qualify leads? How will they manage a sales cycle? What is the key to accurate forecasting? What is the best hiring profile for the sales team? How to manage performance? How will they form a partnership with you and other managers?

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Tease out those essential qualities and determine if their system is going to be compatible with your business.

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If not, then you may have made a new friend – but perhaps not one you would want to put in charge of a multi-million-dollar revenue stream. And remember…hire in haste, repent at leisure!

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