BY C. Lee Smith
Every business needs talent to sell its products and services. Without solid sales talent, a business cannot generate revenue and a profit. Sales professionals are often the most highly paid individuals in a business. Yet, businesses struggle when hiring salespeople.
If you need to hire a great salesperson, start by developing a game plan. A logical hiring plan will help you stay on course. Without giving in to emotional decision-making, you can find the talent you need.
Outline Your Business Needs
Your stage in the business and product life cycle can help you understand the kind of sales professional you need. Before you begin recruiting, review your organizational goals and your situation. This review will guide you about which type of sales professional will most benefit your business.
New Business Hunter
If you are expanding through a new product or service line, talk with your team before you begin hiring salespeople. You may want to recruit a new business hunter. Startup businesses in emerging technology industries typically benefit from the talents of a new business hunter.
The best hunters excel at networking and building relationships. They have excellent industry knowledge and connections.
Full-cycle sales professionals
At small and medium-sized businesses, the sales department may consist of two or three people. In these cases, a full-cycle sales professional will handle all phases of the sales cycle. Some analysts note that the full-cycle sales role is becoming more popular because of the need for the sales professional to build a long-term relationship with the prospect or customer.
The B2B purchase process continues to evolve as prospects search online and develop a list of solution providers before reaching out. Once a seller connects with a buyer, they can remain the point of contact to avoid any erosion of trust.
Account Manager
In other cases, you may be hiring a replacement for a star account manager who is no longer with you. You know your customers will not be happy to encounter a new account manager. To keep them happy, you need to find a replacement with all the qualities of the previous employee. To find an individual with similar motivators, work traits and workplace behavior, review the psychometric assessments that the star employee may have taken. This step will help you understand the type of person who will succeed in the role.
Develop a Job Description
Before you post your open position on the job boards, have a solid idea of what the duties are. Remember to revise the duties based on the successes of other employees who have held the position. In many organizations, the human resources department creates the job description based on an industry standard. Unfortunately, standard industry job descriptions typically don’t include the details that matter or the details that will attract quality candidates.
What I’ve noticed in many cases is that the job description doesn't match who the manager is REALLY looking for. And generally, the manager has the best idea of what the new hire will be doing on a daily basis.
Take the time you need to be sure the job description accurately reflects what your new salesperson will do on a daily basis. Making this effort in advance will greatly improve the process of hiring salespeople.
Use Assessments
The right job description and compensation package, along with a solid company reputation, will attract job seekers. At this point, managers may be eager to start interviewing. Before that happens, they should ask candidates to take an assessment.
A well-designed assessment will provide objective data on a candidate’s sales acumen and soft skills. In addition, the report will suggest interview questions to ask based on the candidate’s assessment results.
Sales Acumen
When it comes to selling, candidates who possess sales acumen can be productive from the start of their employment. A psychometric assessment platform like TeamTrait will score a candidate’s traits. These traits range from prospecting to discovery to closing.
Soft Skills
While candidates should understand the mechanics of selling, they also must possess soft skills. Empathy, problem-solving ability and active listening are all indicators of a candidate who will succeed in sales. In addition to displaying these soft skills with clients and prospects, a great salesperson should also be able to interact well with team members and the manager.
Interview Questions
Because each candidate possesses a unique combination of skills and traits, it’s critical to customize interview questions. Asking the right questions allows the hiring manager to understand more about a candidate’s potential fit with the team.
For example, assessment data may indicate a potential sales hire is extremely competitive. In that case, the assessment report will suggest an interview question about how important winning is to them.
Summary
Hiring salespeople is a management task that requires due diligence and objective, not emotional, decision-making. You can increase your chances of finding the right person by using a logical process and employing psychometric assessments.
