BY C. Lee Smith
Hiring sales representatives continues to be one of the biggest challenges business leaders face. The difference between hiring a sales star and a mediocre performer can impact the bottom line in a big way. How can leaders improve their hiring outcomes? They can start by avoid the common hiring mistakes.
How Common Are Hiring Mistakes?
All managers have hired an employee who hasn’t performed as hoped. In fact, Leadershipiq reports that 46% of new hires wash out before they’ve been on the job for 18 months. It's important to keep a few critical details in mind can help when it comes to hiring sales representatives.
1. Failing to write a proper job description
A vague job description like “maintain customer relationships and upsell when possible” might seem sufficient, but if it doesn’t reflect the actual responsibilities of the role, you're setting your new hire up for failure.
Take the time to learn exactly what other employees in this position do. Every company is unique. The job description should list the exact responsibilities for your open position.
With the right information, potential candidates can understand what they will be doing on a daily basis. In addition, you’ll learn whether the candidate is a good match for the work.
2. Not hiring for fit
Because sales positions are so challenging to fill, hiring managers are eager to consider all candidates who apply. They may be happy to interview and extend an offer to a candidate with the most experience because they figure that individual will be able to handle a variety of situations. Or they might believe an experienced candidate can adapt their ways. This mindset is risky.
One reason that many sales professionals leave their positions is because of a poor fit with their manager. A sales rep may prefer to have weekly coaching sessions from their manager. If their manager doesn’t provide this kind of support, the rep may leave.
You can avoid this negative outcome by asking candidates to take a psychometric assessment. With a platform like TeamTrait, you’ll know which candidate is the best fit for the sales manager and for the position.
3. Hiring candidates with the wrong strengths
A candidate with an outstanding resume and solid interview skills can make a positive impression on hiring managers. That candidate may also possess superior customer problem-solving skills. Managers may lean toward hiring the candidate before thinking through exactly what the team needs. Or they may hire that person because they believe the individual will be able to develop the necessary strengths. This kind of thinking is flawed in two ways.
Team Optimization
If you already have several problem-solvers on the team, you don’t need another one. However, you may need a person who excels at closing deals. In that case, keep looking until you find the candidate who will balance out the team’s strengths.
Similarly, you may need to hire a hunter – someone who excels at making new connections and bringing in new business. Don’t be swayed by a great farmer – a candidate who does extremely well managing existing accounts. You shouldn’t assume that an applicant can easily transition from being a farmer to becoming your star hunter.
An assessment platform like TeamTrait will allow managers to compare strengths and weaknesses to be sure they have the right talent in place.
4. Failing to screen for low performance
Sales cycles can often take several months, especially in the B2B ecosystem. But a long sales cycle shouldn’t devolve into low performance. You can’t afford to hire a sales professional who is comfortable waiting for prospects to get back to them. Your new hire should possess drive. You need for them to consistently engage in meaningful activity.
5. Relying on resumes and interviews
For many hiring managers, resumes and interviews are still the gold standard when evaluating candidates. These resources can provide valuable information. But candidates use resumes and interviews to sell themselves as being exactly what the hiring manager is looking for.
The hiring manager can be easily influenced by the information the candidate wants them to see. When businesses incorporate assessment data into the process, they can make a hiring decision based on all the information available about a candidate.
6. Rushed hiring
Few problems strike as much fear into business leaders as losing a top sales producer. They worry momentum will stall and sales will drop. The panic that ensues following the departure of a sales professional sometimes causes leaders to react emotionally. They’ll launch their search for a replacement and hire the first candidate they find.
Occasionally, an external event drives this kind of decision-making. The company may be set to sponsor a booth or host a panel discussion at an industry event. Or a meeting of potential investors may be coming up — investors who expect evaluate the credentials of existing talent. Without top sales talent, the outcomes at these events won’t be what leaders expected.
Managers should separate their immediate needs from the longer-term implications of hiring sales representatives. If they hire the wrong person, it can take many months to offboard that employee. In the meantime, the company may lose market share as they begin the search all over again.
Summary
Managers tasked with hiring sales representatives should take advantage of the many tools now available for this job, including psychometric assessment platforms. When they use objective data and steer clear of mistakes such as not hiring for fit, they are far more likely to find the staff member they need.
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