The job of training channel sales people is a never-ending task.
But the real challenge for dealers comes in hiring the right people to represent your organization, your products and you.
The difference between the right and wrong choice is more than the few thousand dollars it will cost to hire and train new people. The real cost is the impact on your operation's image and sales.
At the store level, it takes at least three months to hire and evaluate someone. At the sales territory level, it can take six to nine months. Meanwhile, you can lose a year's worth of sales.
Although you can never be assured that every person you hire will be right for a particular job, you can increase your probability of success by following a few simple rules. First, you need to know exactly what kind of person you want. Then follow a series of logical steps in your search. And finally, measure the individual against your needs.
The Job Description Before you start the hiring process, write a detailed description of the job. Make a list as detailed as necessary to ensure that you and the people you interview understand the position and what will be expected of them.
Determine the level you want your salesperson to work at:
senior management; technical management; Fortune 1000
organizations; small businesses; or walk-in traffic.
Decide how you want them to sell: work closely with a small number of customers; train sales people; set up promotional efforts; handle item selling; use phone extensively; make many calls to produce few sales; or perform missionary work.
As you already realize, there's more to sales than simply selling your wide range of systems and solutions. You may be expecting people to handle these functions without ever really spelling them out. But if all the parties involved understand the company's needs from the beginning, you can interview people more effectively and make a better selection.
The Person Now that you've defined the job to be done, make a mental and written description of the person you want. Weigh the attributes that you are looking for.
What to Look for in a Person 1. Ability to spot essentials 16. Imagination
2. Adaptability 17. Knowledge of market
3. Aggressiveness 18. Knowledge of competition
4. Ambition 19. Maturity
5. Appearance 20. Motivation
6. Community standing 21. Planning ability
7. Cooperation 22. Poise
8. Detailed product knowledge 23. Quick learner
9. Energy 24. Quick thinker
10. Enthusiasm 25. Self-confidence
11. Experience with intangibles 26. Self-starter
12. Flexible 27. Speaking experience
13. Good diction 28. Stability
14. Gregariousness 29. Technical experience
15. Personality Compare the qualities of the job with the qualities of the individual. Certain attributes and needs will appear more frequently. These are the aspects of the job and the individual you should focus on during the hiring cycle.
At this point, you will have a weighted sheet for the sales job and the individual. Now focus on your particular needs:
* A fully seasoned individual with years of experience * A person with a strong sales background * A very technical-oriented individual * A person who already knows your product(s)/solutions * A person who is active and enthusiastic * A person with a college degree * A high powered, high-income-oriented individual * An individual with a following * A bright, young individual with potential The Search By analyzing the job, the person and your needs, you should be able to determine if you must look locally, regionally, or nationally.
There are several options open to you to help find the individual ... some formal, others informal. You can:
* Hire a search firm. By supplying your guidelines, they should present only those people who meet your requirements.
* Talk to your customers and manufacturers representatives about your needs.
Since they contact others, they may be able to direct the right person to you.
* Talk to manufacturer representatives. They're good sources of people and know their availability.
* Advertise in local papers, regional magazines and trade press.
* Post job openings on the numerous available position sites on the Web.
In each instance, put the description of the job and the individual in writing so everyone fully understands (especially you) what and who you are seeking.
The Hiring Process Now you're ready to bring the hiring process to a successful conclusion.
You've been analytical so far, so don't blow it now. Set up a new selection guide and use it for all of the people you interview. It will become a yardstick to measure and evaluate each job candidate.
List the desired qualities in the order of priority that you feel is most desirable for success. The list may include maturity, detailed product knowledge, tact, etc.
You will find that you have three or four lists of qualities ... qualities the successful candidate must have, qualities that are highly desirable, and other considerations.
With these lists you can give a weighted value to every person you interview, giving each attribute or quality a 1, 2, or 3 rating.
Don't use your evaluation sheets during the interview.
Following the interview, mark down your weighted evaluations.
The result will be a hiring quotient for each individual.
The quotient will be based on qualities you have selected as a key to job performance.
A Joint Decision It is best not to make the total evaluation yourself, even though the final decision lies completely on your shoulders.
Have the individual interview with one or more members of your organization.
Compare the evaluation sheets. One individual should rise above the others.
By having the person talk with others, you can determine if:
* They rate the individual's attributes the same way you do.
* They see any shortcomings you may have overlooked. They feel that the company "chemistry" is right.
* They pick attributes or traits which will round out or strengthen your total organization.
Ultimately, the hiring decision will be yours and yours alone.
Interviewing Tips Put the person you are interviewing at ease. Establish a rapport with him or her and spend a little time getting acquainted.
During the early stages of the interview, concentrate on the individual's personality. Certain attributes that will qualify or disqualify the person will emerge immediately. Be alert for these attributes.
Use your selection guide as a mental road map to make certain you have covered all of the bases.
Examine their past experience closely. What has their income growth been ... their ability to turn situations around ... their ability to recover from negative situations?
There are a lot of these types of questions you can't ask directly today. But you can tailor your questions to make the potential employee reveal their past, present and plans for the future. This will give you the information you need.
Don't ask a series of questions. Instead, use indirect questions, skip back and forth over areas, and don't follow any specific chronological order.
List the areas you want to cover and spell out specific questions in each area. Then, during the course of the interview, cover these areas in a random manner.
While you're not trying to trick the interviewee, you also don't want rote answers. You want to be able to evaluate the individual as quickly and effectively as possible as to his or her total personality and capabilities.
This random approach will also permit you to cross1 correlate answers so that a true evaluation will emerge.
The Final Decision You may feel that the hiring situation is critical, but keep in mind you don't want to be in a similar situation three to six months from now.
After you've been as thorough and as analytical as possible, it boils down to one item--the gut-level feeling--that something inside you that says this person is going to be right for your organization.
There's nothing that can be written that will quantify or qualify that deciding factor.
That's what makes hiring people such a challenge.
HIRING THE RIGHT SALES PEOPLE - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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