Talent Acquisition

Sales Recruitment: First Things First

One of the first things I ask a new prospect for our service is that they explain to me how they are planning to compensate their new sales representative. Remarkably, it’s not infrequent that they provide some ideas of what they think they’re going to do. I immediately wonder if they are also unsure of exactly what they want their new hire to do.

Anticipatiom
Photographer: Ariel | Source: Unsplash

Failing to develop a compensation plan that really rewards productivity is likely to doom the organization to high turnover of top performers. If your number one seller doesn’t make a LOT more money than the average, count on her to be open to better offers. Sales should be a true meritocracy where the best producers are clearly rewarded and appreciated.

And don’t think that little perks, like an extra day off, will be the same as being compensated monetarily according to performance. A real seller, making six figures, is going to see an extra day off as a cut to his income. Weekend work is routine for top performers. So how is an “extra day off” going to be of any value?

When thinking of compensation plans, first know what you really want the seller to do. Are they responsible for managing existing clients and growing revenue from them? Or are they responsible for developing new accounts? Focus the upside of the plan on achieving the predetermined goal. And don’t be stingy for exceeding the goal. Look for ways you can include profitability bonuses in the compensation plan. A seller who brings in deals more profitable than expected should be able to share in the extra dough. Talk about a motivator! It will make your top performers feel as though they have equity in the business as they’re sharing profits.

Shower rewards on the top performers. To learn more about compensation strategies and its impact on sales recruitment, click HERE.

Read More
Uncategorized

How To Recruit a Sales Team of Quality Salespeople With This Simple Trick

Recruiting a sales team isn’t easy. I once ran an ad for a week asking companies “Tell Me Your Biggest Sales Hiring Challenge Recruiting a Sales Team.” Nothing to buy, just tell me what doesn’t work for you when you hire salespeople.

Some of the complaints in recruiting a sales team were:

1. Applicants don’t show up for interviews.

The fact that 30-40% of sales applicants don’t show up is a good thing

I didn’t understand that one. And I don’t see that as a problem. I like to know they have no follow-through BEFORE I hire them.

The fact that 30-40% of sales applicants don’t show up is a good thing. I say “The mass of sales applicants are full of bull. They went into sales for all the wrong reasons and your job is to spot them. Get rid of them from your sales hiring system.”

2. Can’t find applicants for commission-only jobs.

Our clients don’t have that problem. If the sales cycle is longer than a couple of weeks, real salespeople need a draw to stay alive. That’s reality.

We prove in our ads that good quality salespeople make a pile of money. One of our clients pays a $50,000 bonus if their sales hire hits certain benchmarks in the first month.

If the sales cycle is longer than a couple of weeks, real salespeople need a draw to stay alive. That’s reality.

Salespeople who lack confidence in their ability to hit these benchmarks are not real salespeople.

3. Applicants who sound good in the interview, but can’t sell once they’re hired.

This was the biggest category. It is an interesting problem and it has two parts to it.

First, who are you letting in your office? What is your system for selecting applicants to invest energy in? Hint: if you’re using LinkedIn Profiles and job experience you are way off the mark.

Second, what are you doing in the interview? Why are you not getting to the heart of the matter when interviewing?

who are you letting in your office? What is your system for selecting applicants to invest energy in? Hint: if you’re using LinkedIn Profiles and job experience you are way off the mark.

People can be divided into many different categories. When it comes to hiring salespeople we divide applicants into two piles. “People who fulfill their potential” and “People who fail at it.”

Dr. Carol Dweck of Harvard University has a foolproof method. She explains people have two distinct worldviews when it comes to accomplishment.

There are those who believe in fixed prior ability and there are those who believe in growth of ability.

Malcolm Gladwell, the author and New Yorker writer, has suggested that as a society we value natural, effortless accomplishment over achievement through effort. We endow our heroes with superhuman abilities that led them inevitably toward their greatness. It’s as if Midori popped out of the womb fiddling, Michael Jordan dribbling, and Picasso doodling. This captures the fixed mindset perfectly. And it’s everywhere.

Malcolm Gladwell, the author and New Yorker writer, has suggested that as a society we value natural, effortless accomplishment over achievement through effort.

People with the growth mindset, however, believe something very different. For them, even geniuses have to work hard for their achievements.

Our clients use an interview that we call the FST Intelligence Interview Sequence. It’s based on this model. We look for learners and growers — and of course those who enjoy the process of influencing others.

The next time you find yourself saying, “He or she handled themselves well in the interview” you might well be on the road to making another bad sales hire

Read More
Talent Acquisition

Recruit Now!

While the recovery of the economy after shutdowns is far from done, we are seeing more activity in hiring for many positions across most industries. Hotels, a segment that has been particularly hard hit, are starting to see some improvement in occupancy and revenue per available room, an important metric in the industry. As this continues, the pool of talent we’ve been discussing for several months is shrinking. If at all possible, recruit now!

Photographer: Jake Stark | Source: Unsplash

We’ve been talking about the huge talent pool available for several weeks, if not more. That pool is starting to shrink as companies that are able to begin hiring are doing so. And the talent most important to recovery, as we have been stressing for weeks as well, is sales talent. Great sellers are going to be the key to pulling your business out of the unprecedented downturn we’ve been through. The number of available sellers is shrinking a bit every day. Every hour. Right now.

Therefore, it is time for us to talk about the first step in filling your pipeline with solid candidates to grow your sales team. We’ll focus first on making sure your recruitment ad will attract the right type of candidates. We focus our client’s efforts on seeking money motivated persuaders. And there are certain words and business characteristics that are more appealing to these people than others. It is important that you know them and use them.

The type of person you’re looking for will not be attracted to your ad touting the family atmosphere in your business. This is not to say that they aren’t nice people. Most are as the personality type generally seeks to get along with and influence people. We have many resources to help you write a job ad that will attract the right candidates. This is indeed the important first step in rebuilding a killer sales team. To learn more about how we can help you recruit top performing sellers, click HERE.

Read More