When looking for salespeople, don’t disregard the people right under your nose. You may have potential salespeople working for you right now; it’s just that neither of you know it. Lots of people, me included, got into sales quite by accident. I knew the company was looking for a salesperson, but it never occurred to…
Tag-Team Interviews
Having another set of eyes and ears during the interview process can help uncover missed information. While one person is focussing on asking the questions and assessing the answers, the second person can act as a fly on the wall and note expressions, body language and other subtle nuances that the first person may miss….
Don’t Settle for Second Best
It’s hard to find good salespeople and sometimes you give up and go with someone who your instincts tell you is second best. Bad news! Yes, your second choice may fill the vacant position but at what cost? While there is always the possibility that the person will turn out okay, the odds aren’t in…
Don’t Delay… Hire Today
I’ve never been a big advocate of hiring someone too quickly but sometimes you need to move fast to get the best candidate. When you have a bird in your hand, you shouldn’t wait to see if there are two in a bush somewhere else. If you get good vibes from a candidate, so will…
Can They Close?
One of the main reasons why B2B salespeople don’t get an order is they either don’t know how to, or won’t, ask for the business. A candidate’s inability to close sales is something you want to find out before you hire him, not after. Here’s an easy test. Ask the candidate to give you an…
Prove It!
It’s far too easy for a candidate to tell you that he’s comfortable using software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. And then, after you’ve hired him, you find that the person can’t do what you want done. Sure you can train him… maybe. Some older candidates just can’t seem to get their mind around…
Look Right Under Your Nose
When looking for brand-new, right-out-of-the-box, untrained-but-trainable salespeople don’t look on the horizon. Depending upon the size of your company, you could have a number of people who might be suitable for sales but who simply never considered it. These are people who would never apply for a sales job. They would run in the opposite…
Beware of Salespeople Bearing Gifts
I’ve seen senior sales managers who, during a hiring interview, get quite excited about a sales candidate when that candidate says that he will be bringing a book of business with him, or all his customers, etc. I can almost hear the mental cash registers ringing in all those sales that will result from this…
Don’t Rely on Just One Interview/Interviewer
Unless you have a greater than 50% success rate at hiring salespeople, don’t rely on just one interview or one interviewer when making this critical hiring decision. I’ve already mentioned the fact that job candidates, particularly sales candidates, have no problem presenting the picture you want to see. Having more than one interview and more…
You Snooze…You Lose
Once you find someone whom you think will do the job, get an offer to him quickly, even if it’s the first person you interview. It’s not necessary to wait until you have someone to compare the candidate with. The right person is the right person. Move on your instincts. You want to get this…
