Sales Recruiting - Why Performance-Based Recruiting Produces
Top Sales Performers
by Alan Rigg
Published on this site: December 16th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
Many recruiting ads and job descriptions include "knockout
factors" that can actually screen out qualified sales
candidates. One example is a requirement that candidates have
an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree, or a degree in
a specialized field of study such as Engineering. Another
example is a requirement that candidates have a minimum number
of years of sales experience.
When my customers' recruiting ads and job descriptions include
these types of knockout factors, I like to have a little fun
with them. I say something like:
"(Name), imagine that I have two candidates for your
sales job opening. One of them has both the college degree
and the five years of sales experience that are listed as
minimum requirements in your recruiting ad. The other candidate
doesn't have a college degree, and she only has two years
of sales experience. But, she has relationships with dozens
of C-level executives that are good prospects for your company's
products and services. She could easily book fifteen appointments
during her first week on the job. Which candidate would you
prefer?"
As you might expect, my customers always choose the candidate
with the relationships. That is when I have to deliver the
bad news:
"(Name), unfortunately you will never see this candidate,
because she is being screened out by your knockout factors!"
If you want to improve the overall quality of your sales
candidate pool, shift your focus away from education and experience
and toward performance-based measures. How will you measure
your new salespeople's performance during their first thirty,
sixty, ninety, and 180 days? What activities will you expect
them to perform? What results will you expect these activities
to produce, and in what time frame?
Here is an outline for a recruiting process that focuses
on performance-based factors:
- Write a Performance-Based Recruiting Ad: As you construct
your ad, consider the following questions:
* What kinds of companies or organizations are good
prospects for your company's products and services? Your
ad should state a preference for job candidates that have
existing relationships with these kinds of companies and
organizations.
* Who are the most productive people (job titles)
for your salespeople to call on? Your ad should state a
preference for candidates that have existing relationships
with people that have these titles, and/or a proven ability
to prospect successfully to people at similar levels.
* What specific sales production (such as pipeline
dollar volume, sales dollar volume, etc.) do you expect
your new salespeople to produce during their first 90 days?
Make this expectation crystal clear in your recruiting ad!
- Scrutinize Resumes for Accomplishments: Smart salespeople
know that results sell. When these salespeople prospect,
they talk to potential prospects about the results their
companies have produced for customers. When they write resumes,
they write about the results they have produced and their
other accomplishments (awards, recognition, etc.).
- Conduct Telephone Screening Calls: For candidates that
have interesting resumes, schedule a 20-30 minute telephone
screening call. This will give you an opportunity to ask
performance-based questions related to two critical performance
factors: the candidate's relationships and their prospecting
activities. Here are sample screening call questions:
* Who do you know that might be a prospect for our
company's products and services?
* What relationships do you have that could be leveraged
for appointments during your first few weeks on the job?
* What activities do you typically include in your
prospecting plan?
* What percentage of your time do you spend on each
activity?
* What results have these activities produced for
you in the past?
* How long did it take before you started making
quota consistently in your current job?
- Assess Qualified Candidates: For candidates that pass
the telephone screen, gather objective information about
their talents via specialized sales assessment tests. The
most effective sales assessment tests go beyond personality
and behavioral traits and examine attributes such as Learning
Rate and Reasoning Ability.
- Conduct In-Person Interviews: Now you are prepared to
conduct thorough, performance-based interviews. Why? Look
at the information you have collected! For each candidate
that you are going to interview, you should have in your
hands:
* A resume that lists key Accomplishments
* Performance -Based information collected during
a telephone screening call
* Objective information about talents critical to
sales success
If you ask performance-based questions and clearly outline
your expectations for new hire sales performance, you will
attract fewer poor candidates, as some will de-select themselves.
You will also attract more strong candidates, as they will
no longer be screened out by invalid "knockout factors".
The end result will be a steady improvement in the overall
quality of your sales organization.
Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of
How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople
Don't Perform and What to Do About It. His company, 80/20
Sales Performance, helps business owners, executives, and
managers double sales by implementing The Right Formula™
for building top-performing sales teams. For more information
and more free sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com
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