Modern selling has made the sales people in movies like Tin Men, Glengarry Glenn Ross and Mad Men look dated, and a lot of people turn their nose up at sales reps that hobnob with customers like Herb Tarlek might have back in the day. But there is still that old saying that people buy from people and while the Internet has had an immense impact on selling in most sectors, there are still many sectors where relationships and face to face sales skills have an enormous impact.
Consider car sales, for instance. While more than 90% of car buyers research purchases online prior to visiting a dealer, the vast majority of buyers will interact with a sales person face to face prior to making a purchase. A study of automobile buyers by Maritz Research indicated that the top influencer on that purchase is the sales person at the dealer. Keep-in-touch calls to customers and gifts for repeat customers are still pretty common, so perhaps the titles of the sales people have changed to consultants and customer advisors, but the tactics that work haven’t changed a lot over the years.
Another sector where the internet hasn’t entirely disrupted selling is high priced products and services. No one is going to buy an SAP project online with their credit card. Sales skills, account strategy, and developing relationships with executive stakeholders is absolutely critical. While the focus may be on business case and cost/benefit, many times it is not the solution with the best business case that is selected for a variety of reasons. Face to face selling plays a huge role and will for the foreseeable future.
Lets look at highly priced competitive sectors, particularly where businesses are selling to businesses. In these sectors, the relationship between the sales rep and the buyer(s) is one of the key differentiators, along with service. Golf tournaments, customer appreciation parties and other entertainment venues are still popular in these sectors.
These are just a few examples that show that while the profession of sales is evolving rapidly, it is still often about people buying from people.
Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
When we say that sales people often do their best selling during interviews, we know that we sound like a broken record, but that doesn’t change the fact that getting past the sales job is a critical challenge in sales hiring. There are many ways to figure out the “real” salesperson during the hiring process, and few tests are more powerful and difficult to fake than a well structured cross-reference strategy. Notice the use of the word strategy rather than reference call?
Typically at some point in the hiring process, a candidate is asked to provide references who are then called and asked to verify employment history. A reference strategy, on the other hand, seeks to cross reference a candidate’s claims and other assumptions the employer has made during the interview process. Rather than simply calling the people provided as references, the right reference strategy involves the following;
asking the candidate to describe themselves using terms that would be used by former co-workers and managers (not impossible to fake, but the threat of follow-up keeps most interviewees honest)
speaking with the most recent former managers of the candidate (these are the most important people to speak with and failure to provide them is a red flag)
using behavioral questions (rather than confirming employment and numbers, ask how the candidate behaved in situations that are relevant to the role for which they are interviewing)
The Cross Reference Strategy works because it brings superior integrity to the sales hiring and assessment process.
Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions. She has over 20 years of sales and management experience, and puts these skills to use by helping clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line. We sat down with her recently to talk about how to turn dysfunctional sales teams into high performance sales teams. Here is a summary of our interview.
Colleen, what do mean when you talk about sales team dysfunction? Colleen: Dysfunction. The word comes up in conversation every day, usually in relation to crazy families, nutty reality show contestants, and all-around gossip. But what happens when the word dysfunction can be applied to your sales team? In particular, when a dysfunctional sales team is preventing you from getting the results your company needs to move forward, how do you identify the root cause of the problem, eliminate it, and transition from dysfunctional to high-impact? Dysfunction on your team may be inherited or may be something you’ve created inadvertently, but the important thing to understand is that it can be identified and fixed.
What are some of the signs of dysfunction? Colleen: As we always hear, the first step to a solution is admitting you have a problem. Keep an eye out for some of these tell-tale signs within your sales team and your company at large that indicate you may face a problem.
The Company Isn’t Focused on Sales. If product management, development, and engineering are the main focus at your company, and the CEO or head of sales has a background in finance, product management, or development—not sales and marketing—the company as a whole may not be sales-focused and that may trickle down to your team.
The Team Isn’t Focusing on Numbers with Visible Reminders. Take a minute to look around. Are sales targets written on the walls, on whiteboards, tacked to cubicles? If not, there’s a lack of focus on those numbers for your team, and that’s a problem.
The Sales Group Doesn’t Know Its Funnel or Projections. Ask your sales team and managers to define their funnel—ask them what they’re working on and what’s closing soon. Question them on their revenue forecasts and margins. If they can’t give you simple, concise answers, they’re not functioning smoothly. In fact, the topic of hitting targets, bonuses, and commissions should be frequently discussed within the team—if it’s not, they’re not focused on selling.
There’s No Sense of Urgency. Get a feel for your sales team at the end of a month or quarter. Activity should be almost frenetic at this point—your team should be on the phones and selling. If reps are taking 90-minute lunches or doing a lot of chatting at the water cooler when hitting their targets is on the line, you’ve got a problem within the team.
Your Sales Room is a High School Cafeteria. Of course, dysfunction comes in the most obvious of forms as well. Much like high school, gossip and rumors on the sales team can lead to nothing but trouble and means that the team is off focus. Playing the blame game is a problem as well: when your team is blaming shipping, support or finance for their losses, you need to root out why they’re not accountable.
Sometimes dysfunction isn’t really a harmful thing for your team—and the only way to know this is to be measuring your results. If your team is hitting its targets and acting legally, morally and ethically, does it necessarily matter if someone’s a bit quirky or has some strange work habits? Perhaps not. But in all other cases, it’s important to root out the source of the problem so your team can focus on its purpose: selling and results.
How does a sales leader go about eliminating dysfunction from the team?
Colleen: Once you have identified the signs of dysfunction on your sales team and determined that it’s a problem that’s inhibiting your ability to generate revenue, it’s important to take action to turn the situation around. This could range from simple steps like clearer communication or the tweaking of goals, to more drastic measures like eliminating problem staff members or making changes to your compensation plan. The following are steps you can take to mitigate dysfunction on the team.
Focus on the Pipeline. Highly functional sales teams focus on the pipeline, build camaraderie and surge forward at month and quarter end. They’re extremely results-oriented and they focus their office work and activities on obtaining those results. If your sales team isn’t getting results, the first step you should take is to manage by walking around the floor. Make sure the room isn’t quiet and listen to the conversations going on to help you determine why your reps are not hitting their targets. Is it because the pipeline isn’t filled, or because they have poor closing skills? Dig deep: if the pipeline’s not full, decide what the root of the issue is. Consider whether the problem is willingness or ability. Are your reps being lazy or ineffective, or are they working with a bad product or problematic sales process? Whatever the issue is that’s preventing your reps from working with a full pipeline and closing deals, identify and eliminate it.
Examine Individuals’ Behavior. It’s a cliché, but it’s true: one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. In many cases, this issue can be one you inherit from a previous sales leader, but a problem employee still needs to be dealt with. Take a look at the individual members of your team and how they’re behaving in professional situations. Are the reps taking their jobs seriously, or are they playing games or enjoying themselves, possibly at the expense of the company’s reputation or relationship with the client? Signs that you’re going to have issues with a particular team member include a resistance to forecasts or measurements—often, they’ll claim they don’t have time to measure because they’re “too busy selling.” If a rep has a heavy reliance on a small number of accounts or they complain about changes to marketing, product or process, they may be part of the issue on your team. In some cases, these issues may be inherent to someone’s personality (as opposed to something you can solve by training and mentoring), and that may mean they’re not going to be a good fit for your team.
Look at the Environment You’ve Developed. In large part, you can create your own dysfunction by putting the wrong compensation plan in place, fostering extreme competition, or leading by the stick, punishing or penalizing without ever rewarding. When it’s time to assess the health of your team, don’t forget to look inward to see what you could do better. In sales, compensation is king. As much as it can motivate employees, it can also create an extremely hostile environment when done poorly. Changing your compensation plan partway through the year or changing rules or territories unexpectedly can create this type of negative environment. It encourages your reps to fight, hoard deals, hide deals or game the system. In the end, your sales team will most likely behave the way you pay them to behave, so pay attention to your compensation plan and ensure you’re paying your employees for the habits and achievements you want to see.
Hiring can make a difference to your team’s environment as well. Hire the right people for the type of sales your company makes. A rep who’s excellent at closing multimillion dollar deals with long sales cycle may fail on a team that needs monthly results with smaller revenues. Fit and skills are important, so keep your sales process in mind when hiring, and don’t get dazzled by impressive numbers that aren’t relevant to your specific business.
What are some of the strategies sales leaders can employ to take a team to a place of high impact ?
Colleen: Even if you’re able to get the dysfunction out of your sales team, it doesn’t mean you’ve necessarily created a high-impact team. There are some strategies that will help move your team in the right direction once you’ve solved for dysfunction.
Create excitement around the pipeline: Develop leads at every stage and ensure your team is confident about the pipeline.
Rally around a simple, single concept: Be focused and constant in reinforcing a single concept for a selling period (typically a quarter) so your team knows exactly what they should be aiming for.
Protect your team: Make sure the entire company knows not to bother your team or create non-revenue-generating meetings or activities during the last week of the month or the last week of the quarter, respecting that killer sales time for your team. Rally the entire company around the fact that the sales team is generating revenue.
Coach for opportunity, not discipline: Reward your team verbally or with an email when deals are won or saved, or when reps hit their quota. It’s as important to let the team know when they’re doing well as when things are wrong or need to be corrected. Make progress public within the team and the entire company, and celebrate both big successes and small victories.
Create a two-phase coaching program: Sales VPs should meet with reps one-on-one for about 30 minutes each week to run through deal analysis and talk in confidence around their pipeline. To foster camaraderie, teams should also meet once a week to share ideas.
Separate the manager from selling: If you have your own territory as a sales leader, you’re essentially competing against your reps. Pass off your accounts to your team and coach them on how to improve their performance.
Ridding your sales team of dysfunction can be a difficult process—but making it successful should be energizing and fun. By examining your practices, your people and yourself, you can develop a team that performs and generates revenue for your company.
Start improving your results today with Engage’s online Newsletter Sales Flash and a FREE 7 day intensive sales eCourse: www.EngagingIdeasOnline.com.
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Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
In many circles there still exists the notion that if you get the right skill set in a sales person, they will sell and contribute to the top and bottom lines. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. If you hire people without considering culture fit, you are probably compromising your chances of running a successful team.
Why Does Culture Matter? An organization’s culture is its values, visions, habits, language and beliefs. Culture, more than any other factor including training, policies and leadership, is the glue that keeps everyone focused and working together. Culture affects how staff behave and how they interact with each other and customers.
During my early days as a sales manager, I hired a rep because of his domain knowledge and outgoing personality. My company was a high customer service company and when I hired him I overlooked the fact that he had grown up working in sales environments where customers were not given a ton of respect. We kept butting heads on the importance of transparency with customers and keeping the promises we had made. What I came to realize is that his values were at odds with ours and we eventually parted ways.
Often we are trying to achieve big goals that require a lot of things to go well. Hiring sales team members whose values align with the company vision and culture will make managing them a heck of a lot easier and it will ensure that they work effectively together. Even if a rep is out on the road all the time, they still have to spend some time working with other team members on the sales team and customer service and finance. Hire someone who doesn’t fit your culture and in a best case scenario, they leave wasting your time and money, but in a worst case scenario they stay and frustrate your customer, your efforts to be successful and might become a cancer that is difficult to control.
Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
You’ve hired a great new talent and you’re excited for her to hit the road selling. But before she can be productive, she needs to complete her training program. The training was created by the corporate office and is distributed to all sales managers with specific procedures that need to be followed. It consists of product information, videos, meetings and tests. Her first day is spent filling out paperwork, obtaining a company badge, computer and office supplies. This type of orientation is boring, cumbersome and outdated.
If you’d like your new hire to become productive quickly, and have a lot more fun while learning, invest in a comprehensive onboarding program. Often “training” and “onboarding” are used interchangeably when describing the new hire process. They are not synonymous and you should know the difference. Successful onboarding requires the backing of everyone who has an interest in the new hire’s success. That includes human resources, managers, trainers, and the direct supervisor. The onboarding process takes time and should last more that a few days. In some instances onboarding can last up to a year. Welcome your new hire into your workplace family, inspire the performance you desire, and your effort will be well rewarded.
Traditional Training and Orientation
On Boarding
Operationally driven
Part of strategic process
Pile of paperwork to fill out the first day
Paperwork sent to employee prior to first day
Supply information to the new hire
Create a good impression of the company
Universal to all employees
Tailored specifically to individual employee
Formal socialization – office introductions
Informal socialization – team lunch
Employee Handbook for procedures
Immersion in company culture and procedures
Stress as employee “figures out” the job
Confident sales person that is coached by a mentor
Rep selling immediately
Rep shadowing a senior team member
Productivity after several months
Immediate productivity
Lasts several days
Can last several months to a year
Inexpensive to implement
Requires an investment
High turnover
High retention
Onboarding may be the last step in recruitment, but it is the first step in retention. After you have devoted time, money and energy to compete for the best talent, you don’t want turnover you want success. True winning workplaces know that the onboarding process is never really over. It’s not about supporting the employee for a determined amount of time and then leaving them on his or her own. It’s about sticking with them offering continual help and support.
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Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
You’ve heard it before, when hiring a salesperson make sure you have a clear description of your sales needs and a detailed screening process. Problem is, what you know and what you do, are often two different things. Defining mandatory, versus non-mandatory hiring criteria, allows you to find the best sales fit without wasting time and money on non-qualified candidates.
Required employment categories that you may have for job applicants include: education, years of experience, sales training, communication skills, and proficiency with digital technology. Often it’s difficult to find an applicant that is a perfect match for your job description. Decide which criteria are mandatory (must have) and which are non-mandatory (desirable).
Examine the sales lineup you have in place and review what skills are most critical, and what you can live without. If possible have the team benchmarked by an outside party which can identify which traits are common to your reps who consistently meet quota (see www.peaksalesrecruiting.com if you need help doing this).
Every sales environment is different and a mandatory attribute in pharmaceutical sales, may only be a desirable attribute in the technology field. Look back to the most successful reps you employed and dissect their talents and personalities to find common traits, talents and experience. These common factors are what are necessary for the position; the other qualities would be “nice to have.” Also review where there are “holes” in your sales team and use the criteria to balance out the talent. Do you have many educated, mature reps that could use some sales tech help? Make digital technology mandatory. Have lots of tech-heads and need some more formally educated leaders? Make a Graduate degree mandatory.
Rank your “must-have” and “desirable” attributes. Be mindful when creating the list, as too many filters will result in a restricted pool of candidates. Too few requirements will increase the pool, but can leave you with a load of bad matches. Refer to this list when reviewing resumes and during interviews. This will make the selection process easier. A candidate with all “desirable” factors will not make the cut compared to the applicant with a list of “must-have” attributes.
Knowing that you need a filter, and actually creating one, will not only increase your hiring success, it will also save you time and money by not having to sift through applicants that can’t help you. Identifying what you want (and need) for your team will speed up the hiring process and help you find the perfect candidate.
When hiring a salesperson make sure you have a clear description of your sales needs and a detailed screening process. Problem is, what you know and what you do, are often two different things. Defining mandatory, versus non-mandatory criteria, allows you to find the best sales fit without wasting time and money on non-qualified candidates.
Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
We all want the best talent. But how can we identify the “A” players versus “a player”? The former will make you money, the latter will cost you.
As a sales manager you need to determine if the person sitting across from you in an interview will be an “A” player. Will he or she be sales talent you can rely on? Will he or she be the next top producer? Will quota be met?
All good questions, so how do you identify your rainmaker in an interview?
An “A” player will be confident. They will proudly brandish accomplishments on their resume. And, they will have verifiable accomplishments. Some of their achievements might be hard to believe, but “A”players can do a lot, with little, and make the money roll in regardless of their circumstance which is why their sales history shows mostly positive results.
I recall interviewing one perennial winner who rang off his annual sales numbers and percentage above quote as well as big contract awards in each of his last 7 years. “A” players know their numbers and aren’t afraid to talk about them. They can tell you their quotas, their income and their sales plan. He or she will also be able to tell stories of how they closed deals and how they turned tough customers into long-term clients.
Since they know their numbers so well, they will also know their worth. You can’t pinch pennies with them. Top salespeople make money for the companies that employ them, so competition for them is tough and the investment is worth the return.
Admitting to your limitations is not easy to do, but “A” players can do it and will happily tell you the truth. They know their strengths and limitations, and tell you what you need to know, not what they think you want to hear.
They will also ask a ton of questions. Many times I have interviewed top reps who wanted to know things like how many of the reps on the team are making quota, how did the person previously do in this territory and why, or how is the company helping the reps sell more.
Her income and career are at stake and she wants to make sure she’ll be set up to succeed. Be prepared for a top performer to ask a lot of questions about the job, the future of the job, and the company.
A true “A” player is an expert in his field and has perfected the craft. Her experience has armed her with an abundance of best practices, and ways to sell better, faster and more efficiently.
Look for this sales gem at your next interview. Give her the job, the goal, support them and then get out of the way.
Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
Social selling; it’s not asking about your client’s weekend or their kids. It’s about utilizing social media to increase sales. Do you know how it works and should your sales reps even care?
Sales has always been about doing business with people you know. Networking and leveraging relationships through meetings, conferences, organizations, etc., has been the traditional path to create connections. The advent of social media has changed this model. Gone are the days of sitting at your desk “working the phones.” With Sales 2.0 technology, customers can obtain company and product data long before they meet with you. Considering the majority of prospects never (or almost never) take a meeting from a cold call or e-mail, progressive salespeople need to know how to go from click to closed.
Whole books are written on the subject of selling via social media, but the basics are pretty straightforward. To begin social selling, you need to understand it. Social Selling leverages social media in order for you to identify with your customers and their influences. Traditional techniques are time consuming and limit the exposure a rep can achieve with their client base. Social selling enables salespeople to expand their reach exponentially simply by using technology that allows them to socialize on a grander scale.
Three Easy Steps to Social Selling for Salespeople
1. Find out where your customers “hang out” on-line.
Be present in places that are relevant to them, not you! Visit their cyber haunts (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, You Tube, Pinterest, etc.) and read their posts, comments and blogs. Add social profiles to your CRM tools. You’ll be able to learn more from that content than you can from some face-to-face meetings!
2. Listen, listen and listen!
One of the toughest tasks for a salesperson is to know when to be quiet and let the customer have the floor. Those silent times allow the client to think and speak, and share info that we desperately seek. The same principle applies to Social Selling. Don’t immediately jump on a site and start your sales pitch. Listen to find out what your customer is saying about themselves, their company, their problems and competition. Gather even more information by creating Google Alerts for customers and their competitors. Prospects and customers will voluntarily, and publicly, scatter sales clues if you listen actively.
3. Reach out and make contact.
Leave a message on a wall or share a tweet. Introduce your customer to other professionals that could be an asset, or share a great link. When you see that they have a problem you can help with, reach out. Make yourself available in any medium where they are comfortable; on- line, on the phone or in person.
With Social Sales, intelligence is key. Social media is changing the way people shop, and your salespeople need to know how to engage them. This is the new reality of sales.
Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
Are your best producers sales people or order takers? Which one do you need and can you tell the difference? Would you call the person at the coffee shop a sales person or an order taker? They manage a business exchange between customers and the store (sales), and yet they primarily take orders. Is the clerk who up sells a sales person, or still an order taker? This type of sales confusion can make it difficult to seek and hire the appropriate sales professional. It’s often challenging for an employer to differentiate the roles, and also challenging for reps to properly label themselves. Know what you need – sales vs order taking, (and what you’re getting), before you hire.
Order Taker
The order taker waits for contact from the buyer and the buyer dictates the sale. They respond to RFP’s and react to requests. The order taker is controlled by the customer, and sells in the now. He is adept at describing product features and how the purchase can benefit the buyer. They are advocates for the customer and what the customer demands. The order taker doesn’t actually have to sell; instead they survive on “low hanging fruit.” Their goal is to close the deal and move on to the next call. Marketing a well-known brand in a healthy economy can result in a large income for the order taker.
Salesperson
A salesperson hunts for prospects. He is focused on his customers needs and develops a relationship. The customer is engaged in the sales process and the rep influences the buy. A salesperson has a sales strategy, often selling 6 -12 months in advance. He plans for the future of the customer and the company, looking beyond the here and now. Low-hanging fruit is not perceived as the main course, but rather sales “gravy”. It’s appreciated as an easy win, not a sustainable way to make goal. The salesperson is constantly prospecting, and a top performer will earn a large income in any economy.
Know the difference between an order taker and an order maker. Determine the type of calls and leads you are receiving before you decide on which type of professional to hire. Many order takers pose as salespeople, so make sure you have
a thorough vetting process. A good salesperson can change the course of your business while an order taker chooses the path of least resistance. There is a place and a role for both professions in the sales field, but hiring the wrong talent can
prove disappointing and costly.
Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
Sales people always face objections. Selling for a start up means facing objections and a tremendous amount of resistance. The customer is unfamiliar with the business and has no reason to trust you. You have few (if any) references, no proven merchandise, reputation, or extended track record. The product is usually more expensive and buyers perceive working with you as a risk. In the beginning customers don’t want to speak to a sales person who may not be intimately familiar with the product or service or have the authority to make commitments, so the founder tackles this sales challenge. As the company grows and develops so does the sales department.
Very few early stage companies are started by salespeople, which means very few early stage founders understand sales. Start up sales is evangelical sales. Your reps need to educate the customer about something new and different, and convince them there is a need for the product. Your seller needs to be able to have your clients take a leap of faith.
Tips for hiring start-up sales reps:
This specialized selling requires a specialized rep. Your sales recruiting process must be top notch, should include the use of sales candidate assessments and interview scripts. Startups can’t afford to waste money or make hiring mistakes. Top sales producers from brand name employers are often romanced for the job. The thought is that experienced sales reps will bring in sales quickly and easily. That decision is often costly. Superstars from marquee employees don’t encounter the type of resistance that start ups face. In this environment they will fail. They are accustomed to selling mature products with strong reputations (not to mention they are used to healthy marketing budgets and support staff that a start up is unlikely to have). I learned this the hard way, early in my career when I hired a seasoned rep into one of my startups. One evening, shortly after hiring him, we met in the hallway and he asked me if the office manager had gone home because he needed her to fax a proposal to a prospect. He didn’t know how to use the fax. I knew right then, that I had made a mistake and that he wouldn’t survive in our company.
When you have market share and a proven product, look for your superstar. To get it all started you need a maverick.
The maverick is a breed of salesperson that views challenges as opportunities. They function with little internal help and support. They aren’t sensitive to risk and they can inspire customers. They are fearless! They will expand your pipeline of leads, handle customer relations and create sales proposals while the founder focuses on building the product and running the company.
When hiring a maverick, sell the journey, but don’t pretend it will be easy. It won’t. Finding someone who has already succeeded with an early stage company increases your chance for success. Get the whole team involved with the hiring, because you will all be working closely together. And be very clear about your expectations up front. You are not hiring a business developer that will be an ambassador for your business. You are hiring someone who will generate sales and you will be tracking their activity, funnel and opportunities closely and you will be holding them accountable to a quota even though there is no precedent for sales in your company.
Startup sales people are evangelists, hustlers and relationship builders all in one. Find them and don’t let them get away.
Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
Modern selling has made the sales people in movies like Tin Men, Glengarry Glenn Ross and Mad Men look dated, and a lot of people turn their nose up at sales reps that hobnob with customers like Herb Tarlek might have back in the day. But there is still that old saying that people buy from people and while the Internet has had an immense impact on selling in most sectors, there are still many sectors where relationships and face to face sales skills have an enormous impact.
You’ve heard it before, when hiring a salesperson make sure you have a clear description of your sales needs and a detailed screening process. Problem is, what you know and what you do, are often two different things. Defining mandatory, versus non-mandatory hiring criteria, allows you to find the best sales fit without wasting time and money on non-qualified candidates.
We all want the best talent. But how can we identify the “A” players versus “a player”? The former will make you money, the latter will cost you.
Social selling; it’s not asking about your client’s weekend or their kids. It’s about utilizing social media to increase sales. Do you know how it works and should your sales reps even care?
Sales people always face objections. Selling for a start up means facing objections and a tremendous amount of resistance. The customer is unfamiliar with the business and has no reason to trust you. You have few (if any) references, no proven merchandise, reputation, or extended track record. The product is usually more expensive and buyers perceive working with you as a risk. In the beginning customers don’t want to speak to a sales person who may not be intimately familiar with the product or service or have the authority to make commitments, so the founder tackles this sales challenge. As the company grows and develops so does the sales department.