Hiring Salespeople is Like Baseball Expansion
Hiring Salespeople is Like Baseball Expansion
Earlier today I was interviewed by Hank Walshak for a white paper on Sales Process, Sales Production and Sales Performance. As we discussed sales production - the concept that more salespeople equals more revenue, I explained dilution as it related to Baseball.
First, if you have a complex, expensive product or service and a very limited market to sell to, scaling is inappropriate. You can do with 1 what you can do with 100.
However, if you have a product or service that everyone needs and it is not limited in geographic scope, then it is scalable - but only to the dilution point.
10 should get you double 5
20 should get you double 10
40 should get you double 20
80 should get you double 40
The CEO hires the first 10 - excellent hires.
The Sales VP hires the next 10 - good hires.
The National Sales Manager hires the next 20 - decent hires.
The Regional Sales Managers hire the next 40 - so-so hires.
The Branch Managers hire the next 80 - awful hires.
The more you hire, the worse they get. That's when it's important to develop an effective hiring process that uses accurate, predictive sales assessments.
Hiring Salespeople is Like Baseball Expansion - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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Hiring salespeople is scalable until you get to a dilution point - very similar to the expansion that took place in baseball. When I was growing up in the 1960's, there were 16 teams and expansion made it 20. Today, there are 30 teams and despite integrating more African American players, then Latin players and now Asian players, there isn't enough pitching or depth on most teams. Pitchers with ERA's above 5.00, who never would have made it to a major league team 40 years ago, make 40-50 appearances a year. And hitters that can't run, throw or catch, but hit home runs from the cleanup spot as designated hitters, would never have risen beyond the minor leagues back then.
Earlier today I was interviewed by Hank Walshak for a white paper on Sales Process, Sales Production and Sales Performance. As we discussed sales production - the concept that more salespeople equals more revenue, I explained dilution as it related to Baseball.
First, if you have a complex, expensive product or service and a very limited market to sell to, scaling is inappropriate. You can do with 1 what you can do with 100.
However, if you have a product or service that everyone needs and it is not limited in geographic scope, then it is scalable - but only to the dilution point.
10 should get you double 5
20 should get you double 10
40 should get you double 20
80 should get you double 40
The CEO hires the first 10 - excellent hires.
The Sales VP hires the next 10 - good hires.
The National Sales Manager hires the next 20 - decent hires.
The Regional Sales Managers hire the next 40 - so-so hires.
The Branch Managers hire the next 80 - awful hires.
The more you hire, the worse they get. That's when it's important to develop an effective hiring process that uses accurate, predictive sales assessments.
Hiring Salespeople is Like Baseball Expansion - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Understanding the Sales Force - Objective Management Group, Inc. is the pioneer and industry leader in sales force evaluations and sales candidate screening. Spearheaded by leading sales industry expert, Dave Kurlan, Objective Management Group, Inc. can help you measure sales effectiveness, execution and potential.
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