Most sales training books are same old crap, different day. Sad but true.

But every so often there is something that puts a whole new spin on what works and what doesn’t.

Just recently the book Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff was recommended to me by my business coach who I meet with weekly. (Yes even I need a coach.) I thought this was going to be a waste of time. (And made a mental note to check our contract to make sure I could cancel the coaching with no penalty.)

But I’ve learned in the years I’ve been in business that it doesn’t hurt to look. So I downloaded the book, stuck it on my phone and went about my business.

That afternoon as I was sitting in the waiting room to see the Orthopedist (and hoping he’d agree to take off this damned cast so that I could go for a run) I started reading Pitch Anything.

Holy crap, this guy is the real thing. Totally new perspective on what happens in a sale – and how in today’s Twitter environment you’d better get to the point quickly and make that point dramatically.

If you read no other business book this month, pick up a copy of Pitch Anything.

Do you ever wonder why most sales hires end up failing?

Here’s a quick true story and then a real client conversation:

When I was a kid growing up in New York, my Dad, who was a monstrous baseball fan, signed me up for Little League.  I was 8 or 9.

Signing up for Little League wasn’t my idea and I was less than enthusiastic about playing baseball.  I also was a lousy hitter and fielder.

But worse than that, in my first two games, I got hit by a pitch in each game when at bat. From then on, I hung back from the plate when the ball was pitched. I was afraid to really get in there and swing the bat for fear of getting hit by another pitch.

I think most sales managers act the same way when it comes to hiring salespeople. They’ve screwed up so many times hiring that they just want to get anybody who’ll stick around.

But it’s a new ballgame and the tools that have been developed to match values and styles to the job are at your disposal. They give you an unfair advantage. You no longer have to hire in fear of failure.

Here’s an email I got from a new client together with my answer:

Alan – I have a question.    As one of your newest customers, I don’t have any experience with you product but the first real candidate to take your test did not proceed to the second level and he called me after our Sales Manager told him he wasn’t a good fit.    Him calling me is not the problem; not having solid answers to “How can we base our decision on a test with only 12 questions?”    Finding salespeople is really hard in this market and I hate to pass on someone that might have worked out.   What advise do you have for me?   B. W

Dear B.W.

Thanks for the note.

First of all, in our Member Area we specifically recommend that you never say to a candidate “you are being rejected because you didn’t pass our profile.” Although our profiles are legal and valid, saying that opens you up to having to explain something that may be beyond your experience. Best to say we’ve found other more qualified candidates. Period.

Now on to the System: the ValuesMatrix™ measures whether an applicant is a high practical. Is Money or Power their highest value. Our experience shows that applicants who fail that profile top out early in their productivity. They may be effective communicators, even persuasive, (which you would determine from the StylesMatrix™). But deep down inside money doesn’t really drive them.

Some clients are content having a bunch of low-dollar producers so they ignore the ValuesMatrix. I can tell you that our client in Green Bay used to ignore ValuesMatrix™. And got your typical small market low dollar producers. One day I convinced him to use the System the way it was designed.

Here’s a quote of his I have stuck on my wall, “OMG, Alan, I have just hired three salespeople who have revamped my sales effort, thanks to deciding to listen to you last year and do it just the way you say, ValuesMatrix™, then StylesMatrix™, then AHS Interview Module™. I am amazed.” — Ed Sterling

Alan

Last week I made a regularly scheduled Advanced Hiring service call to a General Manager of a radio station client. He told me he had fired a candidate he had run through the System.

I wasn’t surprised in the least…

It had been three months ago, when the Business Manager of the station and I were talking. We were reviewing the results of the tests of candidates who had applied for an opening as Traffic Manager. (This is the position that handles all the details of making sure the ads are scheduled properly. It is very detail-oriented. It requires a Style Analysis profile that is nearly the OPPOSITE of a sales profile.)

We had already found some good applicants who were in the interview process. However, a new test had been run on a candidate who was particularly suited for the position of Traffic Manager.

When I asked what was being done about this applicant, the Business Manager said, “Oh the General Manager hired her for sales.”

I was flabbergasted. “What! Please tell me you’re joking,” I said.

“No. Our General Manager is really confident in his ability to train people.”

“Yes.” I said, “But she is the exact opposite of what she needs to be to succeed. Please, this is a joke right?”

She assured me the candidate had, in fact, been hired for sales.

I asked to be transfered.to the GM’s office and got his voice mail. I left a frantic message, “please call me before you waste your time and money.”

Last Friday the General Manager acknowledged that hiring the candidate had been a mistake. He had wasted his time, the hire’s time and of course, thousands of dollars in salary, benefits and training.

Scientific Hiring is not something you can take or leave.

The Validity Study shows when you hire the wrong personality type they will fail 95% of the time.

The Advanced Hiring System is not a nice theory — it is based on Scientifically validated research. As you use the system to hire salespeople, you’ll find your staff will improve. You’ll have less turnover and more productive team members.

We’re looking forward to working with your company to help you improve your sales hiring.