In baseball, it is Strike One, Strike Two, Strike Three and he’s outta there. In sales, its Going, Going, Gone and he/she is outta there!
This is what happens when organizations hire salespeople with little or no sales ability.
In baseball or any other sport, before a player is offered a 10 Million Dollar or more contract, they are vetted in many ways. Why? Well, the success of the team hinges on how every player performs at their respective position.
This same truth rings true for salespeople in an organization. The success of the sales team hinges on the success of each salesperson performing at a high level. Before a salesperson is hired at $80,000 or more a year shouldn’t your organization vet each sales candidate’s sales abilities?
Yes, poor performing salespeople get hired every single day. Why? They get hired because they interview well, they seem to have all the right answers, the sales manager is impressed with how he/she is dressed or emulates the sales manager’s behavior. The list of suspect reasoning goes on and on.
What concrete evidence helped you determine this person has great sales ability? That he/she made a lot of sales at their former employer? Well, did he/she make those sales or did his/her sales manager make those sales? How do you know? You don’t and won’t know for sure. Be careful when hiring your competitor’s losers.
Which book did your sales candidate read to get his/her answers for the interview? The 100 Best Answers to the 100 Toughest Interview Questions or similar books. How about a webinar on How to Win in the Interview?
So, your candidate has prepared well for his/her interview with you. What have done to gain helpful insight into your candidate’s sales abilities?
Most times sales managers tell me they do nothing to gain insight into the candidate’s sales ability and potential. They say they are skilled interviewers and know a good one when they see one. I guess they are right about 50% of the time. What about the other 50% of the time?
Can your organization afford the high cost of a poor producing salesperson?
Let’s assume you have a sales team of 100 and your annual turnover is 20% Let’s also assume you are just as good as the average sales manager and make the right hiring decision 50% of the time. Meaning you will hire 10 failures. 10 failed salespeople on $80,000 annual finance, draw or salary program, plus 25% for additional benefits ($100,000 total x’s 10=$1,000,000), now ad in lost sales and lost customers. What would the cost of 10 failed salespeople be to your organization? Oh, and we haven’t even accounted for all the time the sales manager, sales trainers and others have invested during the salesperson’s failed tenure on the job.
Don’t you think it is time for your organization to identify and hire those potential TOP PERFORMERS who can raise the bar, increase profits, and please more customers?
Use our radar gun (Sales Test) to identify sales candidates with the potential to be in your organization’s TOP 50% BASED ON EARNED COMPENSATION!
Watch our short explainer video to learn more-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O3KV5JGF3M&feature=youtu.be
For your complimentary test drive please call us: 800.416.9570/651.452.8256
Email to: billsr@maximumpotential.com
Leave A Comment