BY Kathy Crosett
After you’ve invested time and money into hiring the person you hope will be your next sales star, the last thing you want to see is any sign of trouble. Unfortunately, some new sales reps don’t work out because hiring managers didn’t consider the fit with their existing sales culture.
What is Workplace Culture?
All sales managers would like to oversee a high-performance culture. A Korn Ferry study points out that these sales cultures result in higher quota and win rates. But what do these cultures look like?
Generally, the sales reps in a positive sales culture collaborate with each other. They work hard to deliver true benefit to clients. And, reports Korn Ferry, they “feel ownership of, and accountability towards, the pursuit of shared success.”
What Causes Sales Professionals to Leave?
Your employees are paying attention to the team and to the company’s success. And they have a few ideas about how to improve their current situation. Around 29% of sales professionals believe their team would be more successful if they had “co-workers who were more proficient at their jobs,” according to our research.
Our Voice of the Sales Rep survey also shows that 35% of sales reps would consider leaving their current position for a company with a kinder and friendlier work environment. Who exactly is at risk? By age group, around 38% of millennials would appreciate a kinder work environment. However, only 33% of baby boomer sales reps said the same.
If there is significant turnover in your department, if employees have a negative attitude toward you, and if you notice constant bickering, your culture needs improvement. These challenges can be improved with intentional training and coaching.
How to Hire for the Right Fit
Another way to improve your sales culture is to hire the right people. That means seeking candidates who will fit with key aspects of your workplace’s general mindset and behavior.
You need a rep who enjoys being part of a team instead of operating as a lone wolf. Why? Because these individuals will work together to celebrate wins. And they will help other team members stay resilient when the inevitable disappointments happen.
How Can Assessments Help?
With an assessment platform like TeamTrait, hiring managers will see objective data on work traits. Instead of hiring on emotion, they can consider details like collaboration, assisting others and sociability — all indicators of being a team player.
Motivation
To strengthen team loyalty, use assessments to find the candidates who are motivated by the incentives you’re allowed to use. These incentives might range from gift cards to the chance to work on a new account.
Coaching
Your sales culture will improve when you, the manager, train your new reps. This means, during your recruiting process, you should seek individuals who are open to being trained and coached.
Why Should Candidates Take Assessments Before an Interview?
You can improve your hiring efficiency by asking candidates to take a sales assessment before you invite them for an interview. SalesFuel CEO C. Lee Smith remarks, "This step reduces the chances that a candidate can speed through the hiring process based on their charm offensive."
With objective assessment data in hand, you can also focus on interview questions that will reveal the candidate’s likely workplace behavior. And it will be easier to determine fit.
Interview Questions
To clarify sales culture fit, you’ll want to dig deep during the interview. In particular, stay away from questions that focus on how you feel about a specific person. Instead, focus on learning the ways that a candidate will vibe with other team members.
The best candidates likely have an answer that centers on being positive and supportive while trying to solve the problem. This is a far better question to ask than something like, “Tell me what you do for fun.”
Simply put, when considering fit for sales culture during the hiring process, you need to step out of your comfort level. Don’t decide that a candidate is a “social fit” due to them enjoying the same activities as you. It’s far more important to get a sense of how they will support the team mission when challenges arise.
Summary
Hiring to improve sales culture may mean adjusting your current process. It requires using assessment data and guided interview questions. Don’t obsess over whether a candidate is “just like you.” Instead, focus on how well they fit with your team and what characteristics they possess that will improve your team.
