In this issue:

Process-Driven Hiring

The most lucrative return on investment a sales manager will ever realize is hiring superstar salespeople.  Superstars provide a shorter ramp to revenue, consistent performance and higher margin deals.  They will require less management attention while simultaneously pushing the organization to new levels.  Simply put, they are an invaluable asset to any business in any market.  However, the real question is - how do you identify a true sales superstar?

Our 6-part newsletter series will provide an overview of our unique selection process along with information that you can use in your next sales-hiring cycle.  Let’s start by addressing the most common form of hiring we see today.  Most corporate strategies we encounter involve collecting resumes and filtering applicants based on the information contained in those documents.  Recently, an article on the National Federation of Independent Businesses website stated that 40% of all resumes contain inappropriate exaggeration and misrepresentation.  One in ten applicants claim to have a college degree without ever earning one.  The point is that resumes are filled with exaggerations and therefore cannot be relied upon as the sole filter criteria.

Simply judging applicants on their experience defined by an embellished resume is a high-risk tactic.  Process driven hiring incorporates a preset pattern to objectively identify top-level talent that fits your specific position.  The first step in the process is to define the parameters of your typical, or better yet, ideal sale.

Step 1 - Profile the Sale

A successful hiring process builds upon the previous step.  By definition, the first step is the most important.  As simple as it sounds, we often see companies waltz right past this first step - Profile the Sale.  Most unsuccessful sales hires are a direct result of the company not clearly defining their sale.  Few companies will enter into a new market without first measuring the opportunity and researching the product or service needed to compete in that market.  The same principle applies to hiring salespeople.

Every position has specific, key accountabilities required for success.  Culling the list down to the 3-4 most important ones will bring clarity to your requirements.  Here is a partial list of questions we use when profiling a sale with our customers:

-How is your company positioned against the competition?

  The skills needed at a market leader are far different than at a “niche” company.

-What is your target prospect’s position within their company?

  Selling to a VP requires different skills and styles as opposed to a manager.

-What motivations does the job reward?

  A salesperson with the right “motor” for the job will consistently excel in the role.

-What comfort levels must the candidate possess in the role?

  Some aptitudes need to be highly developed while others need to be absent.

Another piece of information that defines the sale is the following exercise:

This flow chart, when combined with the entire definition of the sale, provides the backbone for a precise template.  A higher connect-to-close ratio is better suited to a high energy prospector with little fear of rejection.  A lower connect-to-close ratio fits closely to a relationship-oriented developer with strong attention to detail.  For more information about Profiling the Sale, please see the Application in Action article in this issue.

Real World Example

During the 2002 recession, we worked with a customer that had a sales team comprised of fast-paced, aggressive sale personalities.  Their sale, albeit large sums, was mainly viewed as a transactional sale.  Their sales numbers had steadily declined and attrition had shortened their bench.  The management team believed that expanding their existing aggressive team was the solution to their revenue shortfalls.

The management team had a distinct urgency to clone their top salesperson and expect similar results.  However, when we profiled the sale, we discovered that the sale and the position would be better suited to a relationship-style salesperson.  The strongest sales were not built on large, one-time transactional customers.  Instead, their best customers were all large companies that started with small sales that steadily grew over the first year of the relationship.  Building trust and reliability over time defined the ideal sale.

We ran our process and found three relationship salespeople.  After much convincing, they hired two of them and watched their business grow through the recessed economy.  Their aggressive, quick-turn salespeople voluntarily (and involuntarily) exited the business due to their own declining sales.  The relationship salespeople powered the company back to its pre-recession revenue level and set a new record level in 2004.

Summary

The first step is usually the most difficult in any process, including sales hiring.  The rewards for investing the time to profile your sale are tantamount to success.  A good example is the process of painting a room.  A professional paint crew will spend the majority of their time preparing the room – taping, tarps, ladders, etc.  The actual time spent painting is minimal compared to the prep work.  Granted, there are painters who are able to walk in, start painting and not make a mistake.  Those painters are few and far between.  The same is true for successful sales hiring.  There are an extremely small number of managers that have an uncanny ability to read candidates and many times that approach works for them.  For the rest of us, a process-driven approach will provide consistent hiring successes.

Next edition – How to Attract the Right Candidates

Click here for the next article - Profile the Sale

©2005 Select Metrix LLC. All Rights Reserved.