Another Post On Hiring Sales People
I just read a post on Selling Is Dead about hiring sales people.
It adds to the conversation I started with THIS POST.
Go by and read the post at Selling Is Dead and read my post again and you’ll be way ahead of the curve.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m not totally against the idea of standardized testing, per se, but it does seem to be a crutch for people who don’t understand sales (or people) to try to hire salespeople. ALMOST everyone who has ever thrown one of these at me has turned out to be an engineer, accountant, or some other sort of highly left-brained person.* On the occasions when I didn’t get the job, I was later glad I didn’t, and on the occasions when I did, I was soon sorry I did.
I prefer, and have had more success in my own hiring, with some variant on the “7 weeks of dinner and golf” technique you mentioned. I don’t have the time or budget for that, but just asking a candidate back for a few interviews, however contrived the reasons, gives me a sense of their personality over a few days, more of a sense of their wardrobe and grooming (anyone can doll up once), and their reliability and tenacity.
The only other “test” I will employ in the future is a basic background check, and that’s not about their sales ability, but rather just an unfortunate requirement in the compliance enviroment I’m in.
* not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I’m with you Mike. Give me a day with a person and let me see whether he or she can persuade to make the hire. I want to see energy, intelligence, and the ego strength that lets me know that this person will get up and go when the world isn’t as passive as a piece paper can be. But then most people I’ve hired swear I’m the harded interview they’ve ever had.
Hey Gary,
I’m with you on all points. I am so glad I left rather than work for an engineer/sales manager. I’m delighted I was in the position of not having to take a job.
Liz,
You’re so right. You can hide yourself for an hour, but you can’t hide for 4 hours of golf and rarely thru 2 hours of a meal. You damn sure can’t hide for a day. Sooner or later the real you will rear it’s ugly or pretty head !
I love tough interviews. I only wish most interviewers were as capable as you are.
Thanks to both of you for coming by…makes me want to write more.
Excellent hiring advice for any sales manager. An all day interview can be tough, but it really does allow you to see the “real” candidate. On a related note, because recruiting, hiring and training is so difficult I think sales managers tend to keep marginal salespeople rather than going through all the tough work needed to replace them. In most companies there is a finite amount of sales positions to be filled. If a large percentage of those positions are filled with “C” players instead of “A” players, it’s costing you and your employer lots of money! I suggest that every sales manager continually assess their existing sales team and not be afraid to replace the mediocre rep with a superior rep. Yes, I am fully aware of the cost of turnover, but let’s not forget the huge cost of mediocrity.
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