The 10 Keys to an Effective Sales Hiring Process

There are many keys to making the sales hiring process work effectively yet most companies fail to get these keys right.  Some of them are obvious, while some are more subtle.  And most of all, the integrity, or in this case, the outcome of the process is only as strong as the weakest link.  Ignore or fail to complete any one step the way it is designed and the entire outcome will be in jeopardy, as in, another salesperson that fails to launch, doesn't meet expectations, or succeeds at being utterly mediocre.

Here are some keys and comments:

1.You must identify what experiences the new salespeople must have in order to succeed at your company, in this position, calling into your market.

2.You have to nail the posting - get it wrong and the wrong people will apply for the position.  When the wrong people apply, you have a pool that's green and unsuitable for diving in.

3.You must use a customized, sales specific, predictive assessment to identify the candidates who will succeed in your positions and roles.  If the assessment isn't predictive and you can't rely on it, you'll end up wasting your time with the wrong candidates.

4.You must be able to determine, in less than 5 minutes by phone, which of the recommended candidates have the desired experience, sound great, and should be interviewed.

5.You must be able to firmly but nicely cross-examine your candidates in a face-to-face interview to determine whether they are the person described on their resume or an imposter, meaning the resume was a work of fiction.

6.You must have realistic expectations on your timeline.  30-60 days to fill an ordinary territory sales position, 90 days or more to fill a niche sales position, and even longer for the proverbial needle in the haystack.

7.You must be patient enough to do it all over again if you don't find the candidate(s) that make you happy.  Once you have reached the interview stage, candidates will come in 12 flavours: 

■ Strong sales skills, perfect background and you like them;

■ Strong sales skills, a background that is close and you like them;

■ Strong sales skills, wrong background and you like them;

■ Strong sales skills, perfect background and you don't like them;

■ Strong sales skills, a background that is close and you don't like them;

■ Strong sales skills, wrong background and you don't like them;

If you compromised on the assessment profile and didn't insist on it recommending only the strongest salespeople, you'll have 6 more flavours like those above, only showing Weak Sales Skills.

You need to select from Strong, perfect or close, and you like them.  Period.  You let the assessment tell you whether they are strong.  You let the interview, not the resume, determine whether they have the right background.  And only then do you decide whether you like them.

If you don't get what you want, you must answer this question:  12 months from now, will you be happy that you took three more months to find the right salesperson, or pissed off that you compromised, wasted a year, and have to begin the process all over again?

8.  After identifying a candidate(s) you wish to hire, you must be able to effectively sell the opportunity to them.

9.  Finally, you must be able to effectively on board the new salesperson(s) so that they go roaring out of the gate

10. You must be willing to coach at least twice per day, while holding the new salesperson accountable to all of the agreed upon startup metrics.

Hiring salespeople is not for the faint of heart, should not be performed without the right tools, and cannot be conducted without the right process.  Most importantly, gut instinct is not a part of this process!

By Dave Kurlan, Objective Management Group

Momentum has a magical effect on salespeople.

When salespeople are doing well, there is pressure on everyone to keep up, carry their fair share, compete, be successful, and contribute.  It causes salespeople to remain focused, be at their best, and put forth the extra effort.  It contributes to happiness, fulfillment, excitement, confidence and success.  That's all pretty good, huh?

On the other hand, when salespeople are struggling, rather than all of that good stuff we just identified, people can justify their struggles ("well, nobody else is selling anything"), rewrite history ("since I've been here we haven't sold those things to those size accounts"), develop self-fulfilling prophecies ("it's impossible to sell this stuff"), talk themselves out of working hard ("nobody is interested in this right now"), and basically cause a mass self-pity party.  It has the opposite effect of positive momentum and contributes to depression, helplessness, inaction and failure.  That's all pretty bad, huh?

When things are going well, praise everyone, don't let them get distracted, share successes, force them to take some well-deserved short vacations, make sure their calendars are full BEFORE they leave, and keep things going!

But what can you do when things aren't going well?  How can you change the momentum from negative to positive?  What can you do when it's a team-wide or entire sales force slump?

Go for easy wins. Let them multiply. Share the good news.  Gradually build on it. Hold short, exciting contests that anyone can win. Don't base it on revenue - anything but!  Most new meetings, most new accounts or orders, first new order, biggest new order or account, most leveragable account, best referral, biggest margin, biggest account increase over last year, etc.  Have multiple winners, create buzz, keep everyone posted every week.

In addition, work with them more, coach them more frequently, harder, deeper and wider.  Get them refocused.  Keep them motivated, hold them more accountable. Help them succeed until you accomplish positive momentum.

What are some of the things you have done to successfully change the momentum on your sales force?

Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert.

Travel Time and productivity

In our modern and busy world travelling has become even more hectic and time consuming  than in the 70's or 80's. Traffic jams and over populated motorways consume a lot of your travelling time and can sometimes even double or triple this.

For sales people who often travel by car over long distances the Power Nap can help quite effectively.

So what is the Power Nap?

A Power Nap is a short sleep which should last not more than 20 minutes. This short sleep will help you restore from fatigue, drowsiness or sleep. It should be taken at a preset time or when you feel that you are becoming sleepy or drowsy. And it works very well for people who travel long distances by car.

What are the steps to an effective Power Nap:

1. Have a warm cup of coffee by hand!
2. Park your car in a parking area on the most quiet part. Put your radio and/or mobile phone on silence. Avoid other distractions.
3. Drink your coffee and set your alarm to go off in 15 minutes. Your question now would be: drinking your coffee? Yes, coffee can take up to 45 minutes to start working. Which means that by the time you wake up the coffee will help give you the extra boost you want or need.
4. After having set your alarm, close your eyes and try to fall asleep. This is something some people need to train themselves to do. If you are quite stressed it can take more practice. You can also consider using music which can bring you into a more relaxing mood.
5. Get up as soon as the alarm goes off. Sleeping longer than 25 minutes will work contra-productive. This will make you tired and sluggish. Get out of the car, take a short walk and then move on with your travelling. 

Last note:

Power Napping captures the first 2 stages of 5 in the sleep cycle. These 2 first stages take place in the first 20 seconds. They make you feel more rested and alert and they make your brain work more faster and accurately. This because they help the electrical signals in your nervous system strengthen the connection between neurons which are involved in muscle memory.

Want to know more about increasing Sales productivity? Click here.

Hewlett Packard goes German

Hewlett Packard was a leading printer developer and producer in the 1980's. Before that, the company had made itself well known with the marketing of high-tech products. It was even the first in introducing a mass produced computer: the 9100A. After different mergers and acquisitions and a troublesome history with appointed CEO's, HP has appointed Mr. Léo Apotheker as the new top executive. Mr. Apotheker originates from SAP and has been with them for over 20 years.

The interesting part about this, is that Mr. Apotheker is not from the US. But this is not a strange choice at all! The German economy is picking up very rapidly at this moment and is showing one of the highest growth rates in Europe. Will he succeed? I think so. From our experience with German companies we have gotten a strong impression that managers have a strong sense of urgency in being the best in what they do. And this combined with a humble behaviour.

This reminds me of the book "Good to Great". Written by James C. Collins.