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Gut Feel Sales Hiring – How Not to Get Fooled

You know what it’s like. You meet them and after less than 10 minutes you know it – they’re the killer you are looking for.

So what happened to them after you brought them on board? Why did they fail so bad at doing what you told them would work to sell your product or service?

I am a sales guy, sales manager, company owner and entrepreneur. And for 20 years I’ve studied the sales hiring process because that is where the money in any business is.

Do you want to know why your “super pick” – destined for sales greatness, screw up so bad?

It’s not your fault, but your process for hiring salespeople is no process at all. It’s one step above the fog the mirror method of sales hiring. Gut feel ends up too often to be a pain in the gut.

Because in truth all people have so much going on beneath the surface. And if you don’t get a way of figuring out who your sales applicants REALLY are, you will hire too many duds.

And what’s worse is today, finding out who they really are, is so easy that not doing it is just dumb.

I discovered this fact 20 years ago and back then it was hard. There was no internet, there were very few computers. But I had 200 salespeople and the losers were costing me a fortune.

To find out how easy it is click here. We’ve created a free online tool that you can use. My CFO says we should lock this tool away in our Member Area, so do it today before he has his way.

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Why the Average Age of a Top Performing Financial Advisor is Too High

If the data is correct, the average age of a top-performing Financial Advisor is 62. For those of you who’ve taken a statistics course, that is about as bad as things get. The insurance industry is going to find its back against the wall within two years.

Every week I personally make a series of client service calls. My team thinks I’m crazy for doing it because it takes time. But I’ve been doing it for 16 years now and every week I learn something. (Besides, deep down, I’m a sales guys who likes talking with my clients.)

I was talking with a General Agent client, Harry, last week. He was telling me that the average age of a top-performing Financial Advisor at his agency is 32. He’s got two agents who’ve won his company’s top performer awards.

Harry is MDRT and he told me that at least 4 of his agents will end up MDRT.

I asked him why his agents are so young compared to the industry average. Without a pause, he said, “Your Advanced Hiring System is the key. It helps me spot the best talent without any prejudice. Before we used Advanced Hiring we did what every other insurance agency does. Their standardized testing sucks compared to AHS. Plus they start out looking for the wrong things.”

If you’re an insurance agency looking for talented applicants for the key Financial Advisor role, click here

Insurance companies have whole teams of analysts who know better than anyone why an aging sales team spells trouble. The key to recruiting younger team members is to start with a proposition that interests them.

Take a look here for some fast answers

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The Most Qualified Sales Applicants With or Without Industry Experience

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.

Start Hiring Great Salespeople
Watch Videos To See How You Can Start Now

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