I recently had a conversation with a recruiting manager at a small company. His CEO had asked him to look into an assessment tool to help him better hire sales candidates since they tend to hire and fire a lot of their salespeople in a short amount of time. As I'm having a conversation with him about expectations, sales process, sales cycle, management, metrics, culture, etc...not only did I find out that they don't have any of these in place, but I also found out that the criteria that they are looking for is completely wrong.
Three Common Hiring Mistakes
The discovery call with the recruiting manager revealed that they are looking for a salesperson who can do a one-call close, yet they are hiring people who have previously sold in a year plus sales cycle. So there was the first disconnect.
Second, they are looking for people to sell a service that costs hundreds of dollars, yet they are hiring salespeople who sold products or services in the thousands of dollars. Another disconnect.
Third, they are looking for people who are high-energy, upbeat, friendly, and who have had experience in their field and in sales...and that's exactly what they are finding. Yet, the person who they are interviewing and hiring is completely different than the salesperson who comes into work. Total disconnect.
The lesson is this: In addition to a lack of processes, accountability, training, expectations, etc., the reason why companies make bad sales hires is because of the criteria that they use to hire these people. You have to profile what it takes for a good salesperson to succeed at your company, with your prospects, with your sales cycle, with your price point, etc. if you would like them to succeed. Otherwise, you can hire someone who is high-energy, upbeat, friendly, and who has selling experience...but it does not mean they can sell your product or service effectively.
If you're interested in finding out more on what hiring criteria, processes, and culture your sales organization should have to succeed, click here for On Demand access to Hire the Best, Upgrade the Rest.
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Editors note: This post was originally published 06/19/2017 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
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