COACHES'CORNER

How Do You Find Great Salespeople?!

•  Ninety-five of 100 applicants will exaggerate to get a job.
•  Two of three new hires will disappoint in the first year.
•  Two of three employees would rather work somewhere else.
•  Turnover costs thousands of dollars for every departing employee.

By Alexander "Sandy" Hamilton

1.  Hire someone who can sell stuff.

This might seem like a no-brainer, but do the diligence. I've seen salespeople who still hang their hats on the fact that they were successful selling technology during the late '90s when fish were jumping into the boat. What have they done over the past five years in a difficult sales environment?

2.  Hire someone who will jump right in.

Someone who isn't afraid to make mistakes and is willing to ask the wrong questions. The guy who needs to learn first, then sell might work out, but nine out of 10 times it's a bad sign.

3.  Hire someone who is "genuine."

Most businesses sell to smart people who can smell a fake. I love it when someone says "I have no idea, but I'll find out."

4.  Hire someone who can build relationships.

If a candidate can charm you without you feeling like he or she is slimy then it's probably a good bet that this person can build relationships with customers, too.

5.  Hire someone with "presence."

You know what I mean: the person you pay attention to immediately even when they don't open their mouth - and when they do it's the icing on the cake. This gives customers a sense of security that they're dealing with a company that will take care of them.

6.  Hire someone who knows what people are thinking.

A great salesperson always speaks to "how a customer is listening." It's not about what they're trying to say or sell, but rather how the prospect is listening.

7.  Hire someone who will "try, try again."

I love salespeople who don't give up, even when faced with a big "NO!" If I get a call from a potential customer who is angry that one of my salespeople "wouldn't let go," I think that's a good thing.

8.  Hire someone who will ask tough questions.

I've been in too many situations where salespeople don't ask tough, direct questions. If you want to gain the advantage, get a piece of knowledge that the competition doesn't have. It puts your relationship with that customer on a different level. They respect that.

9.  Hire someone who can follow a process.

There are sales processes that make you more efficient, that move an opportunity through a pipeline quicker, that make sure you don't get caught flat-footed or blindsided when a deal is "suppose to close."

10.  Hire someone who will talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

The number of qualified opportunities your organization has is a direct correlation to the number of conversations that your sales team is having. Everything happens or gets started in a conversation… everything. More deals are started on a plane or in a bar than we'd like to admit.

These are the 10 most important traits to me after the basics are covered - smart, articulate, etc. I've used a lot of the more commonplace tests to determine if someone will be a great salesperson. I've hired 100 or more salespeople at Qwest Cyber Solutions that way; some were effective, some weren't. In the end, the list above has served me well.
 

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