I’ve just finished my cousin, Martin Greenfield’s book “The Measure of a Man.” It is the story of an amazing life. From surviving Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps to becoming suit maker to world leaders. American Presidents including Truman, Eisenhower,  Busch, Clinton and Obama are all dressed by Martin.  Presidential hopefuls  including Bloomberg, Collin Powell and The Donald are among his customers.

As a selling professional, “Salesmanship in Action” would be my subtitle.

Martin is a great story teller — and an amazing salesman.  Written from the most personal perspective, you won’t be able to put it down.
Growing up on Long Island in NY, my Dad would take me to Brooklyn when he had his suits made by Martin.

As a young American boy, I remember the rows of workers in the factory. Many of the workers had numbers tattooed on their arms from the concentration camps.

Martin would stop at the workstations of the hundreds of workers. He’d make small talk in Yiddush and introduce my Dad to them.

Every Passover Seder we would go to Martin and Arlene’s home.

We all knew the story of how Martin, the orphan, had arrived in the US after the Second World War.  And how he had become a master clothier for some of the world’s most successful men. Yet, we were forbidden to ask Martin about the number on his arm.

I was with Martin in Jerusalem two years ago. I saw how Martin, at 83, is still a vigorous and persuasive salesman. We went to the Great Synagogue together on Saturday morning. Within 20 minutes, Martin had met and was invited to a meal with some of Jerusalem’s most successful men. No pressure, just pure charm and warmth — and never having met any of them. Of course, he told me later, some of those men ended up wearing Martin Greenfield suits.

Creating an effective sales hiring system is based on integrity. At the end of the day, your goal is to convey to the applicants that your company is the best place for top sales agents.

Exceptional salesmanship is truly one of the rarest skills. Therefore, if you are going to attract the attention of these top closers, it’s critical at every step that you are upfront. Tell them what you need and be honest if they qualify or not.

A courtesy that has a big impact on your company’s image is a rejection letter sent to candidates who don’t make the cut at different levels of the hiring process. Through this method, you are letting applicants know where they stand. It will also save you the time and trouble of answering emails and phone calls to check about their application status.

We have a recommended format that simply states that their application has been rejected because of better, more qualified candidates: simple and to the point. It further demonstrates that your company has its act together – and is the kind of place that top closers can find a home.

If you do it right, you’re going to get to pick from the best of the best in the end which, to be honest, is an enviable spot to be in. When you exert effort to send a rejection letter, applicants think highly of your company. Moreover, you are not closing doors in the event that these salespeople surpass the learning curve and reach their true potential.

Doing business with integrity is rare these days and your effort to go the extra mile will be noticed in the industry. Word will get around that your company is a place where top performers are provided all the opportunities to shine – and that’s an ideal company image to strive for.

Finding the Most Qualified Sales Applicants With or Without Industry Experience

Can’t get really good sales applicants to apply? Maybe you’re stuck in the great myth that plagues sales managers all over the world:

Applicants need previous industry sales experience.

People Used to Believe the Earth Was Flat

Let’s examine this belief:  Is your top earning rep currently looking to leave?

Ridiculous, right?  If you’re doing a good job as a sales manager, the answer better be a resounding “NO!”  Your top reps should be making way too much to consider leaving.

Top reps have an established base of business and referrals, so they’re happy.  And since life is good for them, they’re not going anywhere.

Any competitor stupid enough to try to recruit them away is going to have to pay a ton.

The myth of successfully hiring a seasoned rep is, well — a myth.

Revolving Door Mediocrity

So what really happens when you recruit for previous industry sales experience?

You’ve seen it firsthand, over and over and over. You get weak salespeople. You get the slugs from your competitor’s team, the people who are not making it.

They’re not bad people. They’re just not cut out for sales. They always think the problem is not them. They figure THE COMPANY is the problem. At THEIR company, all the good accounts have been taken by the top salespeople. They want to work for YOUR company so some of that juiciest fruit will fall to them.

What they don’t realize is, top salespeople go get business. They don’t wait for it to appear on their account list. Mediocre salespeople wait to be told what to do and where to go get it.

And if you hire one of these previous industry sales experience second stringers, you’ll get to be their Daddy or their Mommy.

Full of Piss and Vinegar

Think back to when you were a young first-time salesperson. If you were like me, you were a 23 year old who was looking to make their mark — and you came in early and left late.

My rule was “be in before the boss and leave after he does.”

Being a young, inexperienced rep means you’re coachable. Young people are often two or three years out of school. They’re used to being a student and paying attention to what the instructor says.  They want to make their mark.

Not all young applicants should be considered. We’ve developed a strategy for figuring out which ones to interview and which ones never to call back. Click here and watch the video we’ve prepared that shows you the best way to hire salespeople.

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