I’m going to push the limits of
my remit this week and discuss an issue that is close to the heart of anyone
running a small to medium sized business.
From the lively discussions I’ve
been having on Linked-In this week, I know that there are a great many of us
who would give a great deal of money for the answer to one question: What’s
really important when it comes to hiring successful sales people.
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I’ve been hiring recently.
Business has been good and we’ve been growing; as a result I need a new sales
person to take our services to a wider market. All sounds great right? The sort
of stunningly simple business positivity you only see in adverts for Fed-Ex. (But Mr Fed-Ex I’ve grown my business 2000%
in the last three hours, where can I put all the money? Here you are son, have
a box.) In the real world, the answer to ‘good problems’ is not that
simple.
The trouble is
that sales people are so notoriously difficult to hire. It’s not just the
obvious things – yes, these people are very competent in persuasion and
ingratiation, and yes, they are generally very confident alpha types, making
the interview process deceiving. But the truth is that even if you were assured
of a completely accurate impression of the candidate you are meeting, you still
have to make some tough decisions about what it is that you’re really looking
for.
Feeling like I wanted to bounce some ideas around, I went to
one of my regular LinkedIn groups last week and laid my problem out. The
response surprised me; not just the number of people who had an opinion, or how
much though they had clearly given the issue over time, but more the varying
nature of the things they each considered to be the most important in hiring
good sales people.
I proposed 5 cena list of my top five things I thought were
important and asked people to rank them in order. Here they are for you in no
particular order:
- Years of Experience
- Education
- Industry Knowledge
- Proven track record
- Cultural fit
There were many different views as to what the most
important thing really was and I wanted to share some of that feedback here.
Some thought industry knowledge was everything. Bogdan
highlighted “type of products/services, clients, competitors, macro-environment
influence and changes in clients’ preferences due to recession [and the] type
of selling”
Others thought it was almost irrelevant:
“Give me track record, adaptability, intelligence
(determined in interview not by education), and if it is an added bonus about
industry experience, I'll take it. While industries fluctuate, successful
people do not. I could take a high tech sales person and plug them into medical
devices, or healthcare, or financial services- it doesn't matter,” wrote Craig.
‘Affordability’ and ‘Hunter Mindset’ were immediate
additions to my list made by readers. I like affordability, because aside from
being a make or break factor, there’s also the link to a candidates own sense
of self worth.
“I look for problem solvers,” wrote Bob. “The only reason a
customer buys is to solve a problem important to him. He doesn't really care
about the bits and bytes as much as how it will make his company more money,
become more efficient and more competitive in their industry. Too many
salespeople are wrapped up solely on the specifications. Look for problems to
solve first.”
I also liked Pete’s input: “Hire a good sales athlete. Any
decent sales person can learn any new product in about 45 days if they have
something going on above the neck. You can't teach smarts and you can't teach
work ethic. Everything else is coachable.”
In many ways, we’re just getting started, and you can read
the full discussion on Linked-In. And please make a
contribution if you have an opinion.
This grew out of a real exercise and there’s nothing
academic about it; I’m still hiring, and I’m looking for real advice.
