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Hiring People that Can Really Sell-Three Things You Need to Know

Guest post by: Stephen Blakesley

Article Overview: Corporate America spends millions on hiring the wrong sales people. If you and your organization have ever made a mistake in hiring sales people you will know the cost. Here are 3 systems that will add real money to your top and bottom line.

Hiring People that Can Really Sell-Three Things You Need to Know

Hiring successful sales people is not like “shooting fish in a barrel.” Unlike engineering where a degree as a civil engineer pretty much guarantees you can do engineering work, a degree in sales (if there was one) does not guarantee a successful sales career. Just because you know the product does not mean you can sell the product. Sales success is different and requires a deep understanding of the sales process and human nature. The latter is where many miss the mark, both in considering a sales career and in seeking people to fulfill sales roles in you company or organization.

Because my business and financial welfare depended upon hiring successful sales people I have spent many years (30) studying what makes successful sales people successful. In the next few minutes, I will share with you X factors that improve the odds of hiring top sales people.

In 1987, we were struggling to hire people that could be successful in the Property and Casualty Insurance Industry. One would think that it should not be too hard to sell something that people had to buy. If you owned a car or a home that was not paid for, the people who loaned you the money to buy the home or car wanted to make sure the asset they owned, jointly with you was protected against unexpected loss and before they loaned you the money they required you to insure it, naming them as a ‘loss payee.”

But, as things often go, what appeared to be a “slam dunk” was harder than most people realized. That being the case, and reeling from several mistakes I had made, I decided to do something about it and developed what we now call the Strategic Hiring System (SHS). The success of the SHS was dependent upon being able to see what you can’t see.

There are three things you must see clearly to make a good sales hire (someone that meets or exceeds your expectation: Job Clarity, Personal Attributes, and Corporate Culture.

Job Clarity

Among other things, a sales job requires a clear understanding, by the people being hired to fill the job, and the people doing the hiring, of what are the unseen attributes necessary to sales success. Taking time to consider the needs of your unique sales job is something most people want to bypass because they think it is simple and the belief that anyone can be successful in sales, if they just want to do be. However, it is a necessity if you are to consistently hire successful sales people.

Understanding that knowing the needs of the sales job are critical to hiring successful sales people to fill that job is the beginning. Needs like; Does this job require a Hunter or a Farmer type of sales person? Or is this an inside or outside sales role? Or does this job have a long or short sales cycle. We could actually go on and on but the point is taking time to understand the needs of the job are absolutely essential to hiring the right person for it.

Personal Attributes

Different sales jobs require different personal attributes or talents but I am going to share with you those attributes that are common to success of all sales jobs. They are:

· Motivation- To be successful in sales there must be motivation and the two most common motivations are: Utilitarian/Economic and Individualistic.

o Someone who has high Utilitarian values is someone who wants and needs money but not just money; they need to see efficiency and reward in the application of their time and efforts.

o Someone who has high Individualistic values is someone who wants to control there future and where can one best control their future if money is important? That’s right, in a commission-base sales job.

· Initiative- Most sales roles require on to be in charge of their talents and abilities and have the ability to skillfully apply them when and where they wish.

· Emotional Intelligence- selling is an emotional event and understanding one’s own emotions and the emotions of others is critical to sale success.

· Self Management- being able to manage every aspect of one’s life effectively is a foundation on which many other skills and talents are applied.

· Empathy- being able to see things through the customer’s eyes provides a distinct advantage to those who possess it.

· Goal Orientation- all successful sales people are goal setters and the most successful are goal getters.

· Results Orientation- the great sales people I have hired and known were all “driven” by their goals and would not give up until they achieved them

Corporate Culture

The most important is saved for last. It is most important because one can possess all others and if the corporate culture is not maintained to encourage success then success will seldom occur. A corporate culture that values sales and sales people, for the right reasons: They are the drivers of revenue. Without growing revenue profits will decline because of inflationary pressures. Additionally, the culture must be one that values and encourages exceptional achievement. Finally, the culture must be such that exceptional performance is rewarded exceptionally.

Everything is first hard then easy, such is the case with hiring and maintain an exceptions sales team. If you or your organization did nothing new other than incorporate the three systems in this article, you sales performance would improve dramatically.

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Article Tags: hiring sales people, initiative, job clarity, motivation, sales



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