Business Development 2.0
Posts tagged sales recruitment
The Changing Landscape of Sales Teams
Apr 15th
I talk to a lot of sales managers and CEO’s that are still looking for sales candidates that, among other things, are supposed to be good prospectors and hunters – in the hopes of the development of new business. However, prospecting is no longer necessary for sales teams due to Social Media Marketing. Watch this video to find out why.
Prospecting Not Necessary for New Sales Hires
Apr 12th
No more do you need to recruit salespeople who will bring “a book of business,” or “hunt,” or even “smile and dial.”
Due to the proliferation of social media marketing, prospecting is not as necessary.
You may have heard the phrase “cold calling is dead,” and it absolutely is (I know there is a salesperson/business owner/consultant out there rejoicing!). Why call somebody you don’t know* if you could have a bottomless supply of people to talk to who have (technically) filled out the dream form on your website – i.e. full name, all areas of interest, decision maker, what they admit they need help with, etc. We’re talking about leads who are asking for demonstrations and have given all the key indicators for a close. This happens everyday for all types of companies and businesses because, leveraged correctly, Internet technologies available on the market help build a river from many small streams of people you have attracted. Running this kind of marketing and sales system is a fraction of the cost you could pay a salesperson to “hunt”.
Assuming you hire salespeople correctly, if you provide the quality leads available you can scale down your sales team so it consists of nothing but closers (“coffee is for closers!”). These “closers” are people who are good at walking people through to a decision. Somebody patient. A nurturing salesperson. A listener.
Finding the right one is the only thing you have to do now.
* Yes, I did a TON of cold calling in my day Photo by DSC1597
Taking Your Sales Force From “OKAY” To OUTSTANDING
Mar 30th
Last week on Twitter we posted, “How many sales people would you hire if you knew they all would succeed?” We got a great series of responses and retweets about this simple question.
Better sales teams generate more sales, which makes you more money – it’s as simple as that. It seems like most business owners can relate to the experience of having some “dud” sales people, as well as a few really strong performing people. The hiring process can sometimes feel like a gamble; sometimes people that you think will turn out to be excellent performers end up totally and completely tanking. This is related to a few fundamental problems with the strategy and approach that many companies take with recruitment.
Taking your sales team from “okay” to outstanding is easier than you think! Here are a few little ideas that make a big difference when hiring, recruiting, and evaluating:
Raise Your Expectations
Raise Your Expectations
1) Use a system
Often when people perform truly amazing, they don’t know how they did it; everything just came together. Equally, people have a hard time understanding why they did poorly, and this limits the ability to fix the problem. Incorporating a structured hiring system and recruitment methodology that evolves with you and your business will allow you to consistently hire sales stars.
2) It’s okay to outsource
“Why would I pay somebody to do what I can do?” Well, very simply put: your time is valuable. If you look at the amount of time, energy, and (most importantly) money that you spend on hiring, it becomes pretty easy to establish a value to the process. You could just as easily dedicate a fraction of that value to hiring a great company that excels in the process to do it for you; just make sure you critically assess if one of these companies is a good fit for you. Great outsourcing recruitment companies will profile your business, share their systems, provide you with strong feedback about their recommendations, and most importantly confirm that each of their sales hires will be a strong and accurate “fit” for your company (see How to Hire Sales Stars Every Time).
3) Have high expectations
Too often companies “hope for” rather than “expect” great performance. Setting clear and concise expectations while at the beginning of the recruitment process, and then maintaining those throughout the tenure of your salespeople will optimize sales. Expect outstanding from the get-go and watch the quality of your legitimate candidates increase. Setting the bar too low prevents strong goal oriented people from reaching their full potential because they simply are not aiming high enough.
So last week when we posted, “How many sales people would you hire if you knew they all would succeed?” on Twitter; @FourFecta responded, “All of them!” The response was simple, and incredibly true. You can hire top performing sales stars that will succeed, and you should! Taking your sales team from “okay” to outstanding might feel like a challenging undertaking, but it is possible and can be so much less intimidating.
If you are interested in seeing your sales team become outstanding, Smeester and Associates specializes in How to Hire Sales Stars Every Time.
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How To Use Sales Assessments Effectively To Maximize Results
Mar 25th
There are so many good assessments and evaluations available to help business owners and managers successfully generate a quality in-depth view of their sales team and its members; often these can be used inappropriately, which will definitely compromise the validity and integrity of the results.
Personality tests are great to determine how people get along with one another and develop interpersonal relationships. Behavioral styles evaluations can assist in determining ‘best practices’ in managing individuals and their behaviors. The problem with these is not in the assessments themselves, but when using them to determine what actions you should take in the selection and development of salespeople. A leading assessment company at one time even claimed that there is no direct correlation between behavioral styles and successful sales performance. Using the information that these can generate may be a great tool to maximize your sales force as long as the information is kept in context.
What you need is great tool that will help you learn what makes a successful salesperson, if and how a salesperson can improve, where improvements are necessary to your sales team, and more. You need a tool that determines what obstacles may be preventing successful sales, how much realistic improvement you can expect, action plans for improvement. Do you want to predict which candidates will succeed in your sales position with 95% certainty? This can be done, and it is through approaching sales positions and sales with a direct and objective view on the science of sales. Use a sales assessment that effectively profiles your company and the potential candidates, critically evaluates potential talent, and maximizes the results for your company consistently. Smeester and Associates specializes in using tools like what’s been described above to help maximize sales for companies. If you want assistance in finding a tool for you that can effectively increase the performance of your sales team, then contact us;
Hiring Sales People – Why Place SO Much Value On Industry Experience?
Mar 23rd
Companies looking to expand their sales force often consider “industry experience” as a must-have for their candidates; a smart business would quickly eliminate this practice, and place more value on the quality of the salesperson and their history in selling.
A great salesperson is great regardless of the industry! Any savvy professional in sales should agree that performance history, adaptability, comfort, confidence, and passion are infinitely more valuable qualities and skills than years of experience in any particular niche. Making sure that your next sales hire can demonstrate sales core competencies leaves them open and available to focus their energy on learning about your company, business, and products. A person who already understands the science of sales and the ability to relate with your potential clients will definitely be trainable in your particular market, and educating that person will be incalculably less expensive than hiring another sales dud who already has spent 10 years in your field.
Industry Experience is not nearly as valuable as salesmanship and a proven history of sales.
In the ever-changing world that we live in, it would be wise to focus on those that already know today’s sales/marketing scene, and have the know-how to continuously evolve with the market around them. Finding sales stars can make any business grow tremendously, and a real sales all-star will always shine no matter what they are selling. Next time you are looking to grow your sales force, don’t limit yourself to people who have been in your field of business.
Ultimately, it should be infinitely more cost effective and fun to train somebody in your market, products, and services, than teaching them about selling. You absolutely can hire great salespeople, and the first step is changing your approach. The science of sales is proven to work, so leave the selling to the sales force and make yourself more available to continue making the best business you can.
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Why Most Sales Recruiters SUCK!
Mar 18th
You might be paying somebody far too much money to do little more than a career-centric website could do. Here are a few reasons why most sales recruiters are bad for you and worse for your wallet.
Sales recruiters can be a gamble
Every business owner has felt the sting of a bad hire; it hurts business, costs you money, and damages morale. But, you usually dust off the frustration, hire somebody new, and move forward. You might even investigate hiring (or purchasing) somebody to help manage the hiring recruitment process for you, so that you can focus on continuing to move your business forward. However, be aware that many sales recruiters are terrible… at best.
1) Most sales recruiters ARE simply resume filters.
If all you need is a stack of resumes, then most sales recruiters will do a great job gathering as many resumes as possible and filtering for “experience.” But, you may want to do a little shopping around to some automated systems first; you’ll probably get a lower price for the same questionable results. Most sales Recruiters are only paid based on placing a salesperson in your company, but there is very little evidence up front that this person will fit, perform, or even excel. The typical Sales Recruitment process focuses on experience – and rightly so, but any sales guru will tell you that “industry experience” is completely unimportant.
2) Many Sales Recruiters don’t properly profile your position.
Finding the right salespeople requires so much more than experience and past performance. Many sales recruiters won’t even try to grasp the full and complete picture of your company; instead, they will only look at the product you are selling and match “professionals” with that product. Profiling evaluates and assesses the potential salesperson’s lifestyle and sales abilities. For example, proper assessment considers a candidates comfort with differing sales cycles, how they interact with different prospects and understand their potential clients, and much more. Profiling confirms that your potential new salesperson and your company are a mutual match. Many Sales Recruiters don’t consider things like this in their recruitment process because they focus too closely on simply filling the position.
3) The process can not maximize results.
Any business owner should be able to agree that their sales force has not performed as hoped for, and that 20% or less of their sales force has met and surpassed the goals established when they were hired. This is often due to a rushed and poorly developed recruitment and hiring process. When sales recruiters fail to fully develop a solid process that appropriately and adequately sorts through the thousands of applicants, you will be left with too many possible candidates that likely won’t perform how you NEED them to.
To combat poor sales recruitment programs, all you need to do is remember that this situation (like so many others) IS sales, not gambling. You wouldn’t gamble on a lemon of a car in hopes that it doesn’t break down as soon as you drive it off the lot, so why would you hire salespeople in hopes that they might generate an appropriate stream of revenue for your company?
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