How can you ensure that you’re hiring the right people to join your sales team?
Many sales leaders have been asking me how to hire new sales reps and build a profitable team.
I often suggest taking a step back before conducting interviews and hiring a new team member. There are a few things you need to do before you proceed with interviews in order to ensure that you hire the right person and create the best team possible.
1) Gain Clarity
You want to be clear about what you’re looking for in a salesperson. It’s a mistake to simply collect resumes and pick the “best” of the bunch. Sit down and work with your team to carve out your ideal candidate for hire.
Here are a few questions you should be asking yourself about the candidate you wish to join your organization:
- What kinds of characteristics do they possess?
- What experience do they have?
- What are their skills and qualifications?
- What kinds of results have they previously produced?
Get clear on what YOU want. Far too many sales leaders enter the hiring process without a solid idea of what they’re looking for.
[bctt tweet=”Avoid doing this or you may end up hiring the wrong person for the job!” username=”EngageColleen”]
2) Have Support In Place
If you hire the right personality, most new hires can be molded and taught the skills and lessons they need to succeed. So, you must consider putting appropriate support systems into place so you’re not throwing new salespeople to the wolves and scaring them away.
- What kinds of challenges will your new hire likely face?
- Who on your current team is best suited to train them?
- How long will you need to train the new recruit?
- What kinds of resources will be available for the new hire?
You know your business. As a sales leader, you must be able to think ahead and use what you know to anticipate possible obstacles for your new hires. By being able to think ahead, you can eliminate those barriers before they show up and fast track your new team member to success.
3) Gain Perspective
Gain perspective from your current team members who are already working in similar roles. Ask the exact people the recruit will be working with for their perspective and what they look for in a teammate. You will get first-hand knowledge on the type of person who will most likely succeed on the team and your current sales roster will be more likely to welcome their new colleague.
Involve your current workforce as much as possible to best ensure a positive working environment for all parties.
Sales leaders, do not simply collect resumes and begin conducting interviews! Knowledge is power! The more you know about your ideal candidate, the better the chances that you will find them and that they will succeed!
What’s one thing you do to ensure you’re hiring the right salespeople?
What do I do to ensure I’m hiring the right salespeople? I always dig in candidate’s personality looking for adaptation skills. In our fast-changing world, the ability to unlearn and relearn the same thing differently is a key factor for success.
You need to ask for examples of past success and failure.Ask them “how” they accomplished something and ask them “why” sales were lost. Make sure they are not blaming others for their losses and make sure they can communicate the steps they took to be successfullk.