A Story of An Unconscious Incompetent Sales Manager Who Recruits Poorly

It’s 5 a.m. and a sales manager, Jason, turns off the alarm as he rolls out of bed, hits the floor, and moves through the darkness for the bathroom.  A typical start to a day.  In the gym by 6:00.  At the office by 7:30. 

It’s the end of the month and the sales team is 85% of quota.  Two open sales positions and lost sales revenue glare out from a sales board located in his office.  Jason’s quarterly bonus money is in jeopardy - perhaps his job.  He looks at yesterday’s sales numbers and then opens a recruiting folder and pulls out one old resume.  It’s poorly written with several misspelled words and shows a working history of five jobs with short tenure - none of them sales-related.  He sighs.

During the day, Jason places an ad in the local newspaper.  He also employs a local recruiting firm and over the next week he begins to receive candidate resumes.  Jason’s assistant screens out some of the resumes and schedules interviews with those that answer their phone.

Jason’s interview questions vary from candidate to candidate.  He relies on his gut and sales instinct with each person.  He looks for someone who seems self confident - and then someone whom he can “sell” on the job and the career. 

In walks John - right smile, right age, right resume, good answers, very attentive - eager.  Jason shifts gears into his best presentation and explanation of the opportunity.  At the right moment honed by years sales experience, he ends the interview and asks John when he is available for employment.  “Within one week,” he replies.  Jason and he agree on his starting day and recruiting for the first position is over.  In the next week, John hires his second new salesperson - one with ten years of experience selling high-end men’s suits for a reputable company in the area.  Both last three months before it becomes evident that neither can sell.

Where does incompetency begin in Jason’s recruiting process? 

Jason does not know what to look for when recruiting a salesperson. He, along with most sales managers and entrepreneurs in America, does not know the competencies for his sales position and does not know the top six (6) personality traits that are necessary for natural sales ability in his industry. As a result, resumes cannot be screened well.  Managers do not use structured questions in their interviews.  Personality profiles are purchased, but sales managers do not trust their validation, do not know where they are used in a process, and no one provides training on their use.  And, no one uses a recruiting system with a process, tools, and skills all focused on uncovering necessary competencies and personality traits of a great salesperson.

Most sales managers are unconscious incompetents at recruiting the best candidates for sales positions.  They do not know what they do poorly when recruiting.  They do not know that they do not follow the standards of a best practice recruiting system.  The result - turnover is high.  Retention is low.  First year sales for new recruits is also low.  Overall sales team production is lower than budget.  Morale is low.  Pressure to hire is high. 

In some companies where turnover is high, upper management controls the pressure for continuous recruitment.  The intensity is kept at such a high level that upper management has even stopped talking about hiring quality candidates.  Hire them - try them - and keep the few that make it.  That’s the poor underlying value placed on retention and a recruiting system.

Other companies have tools - interview forms, profiles, online applications, etc., but no one follows a process, uses the tools, etc.  No one coaches and manages the managers to accountability within a recruiting system - one that truly gets results from best practices - higher retention and production.  More importantly, recruiting does not follow a single-minded process to match candidate competencies and personality traits with those required in the position.  Finally, sales managers do not realize they do not understand or follow a best practice science of selection. They are unconscious of their incompetence at recruiting.

I want to give all the Jasons out there hope.  You CAN identify and recruit for the top competencies and personality traits necessary for your sales position.  You can learn to use a best practice recruiting system with its process, tools, and skills. You can hire great salespeople.  You can get first year production of new reps to reach an excellent standard.  You can improve ramp up time to minimum production.  You can learn to recruit well.  And, when you do all stakeholders will benefit from your improved skills and attitude.  Lance.

13 Reasons for Poor Sales Hires by Hard Working Sales Managers

Imagine this picture. Turnover occurs - sometimes at an excessive rate. Sales managers work hard and struggle to find quality candidates for open sales positions. They place ads in local newspapers and get many responses. Some use Monster. Some use recruiters. However, many of their candidates come from people who cannot find a job anywhere else. Sales managers then sift through dozens of resumes to find only a few candidates worth an interview.

While they sift through resumes, they find themselves stressed to find someone fast - stressed by their bosses and by a decrease in sales team production.

When the candidates arrive, the resumes look better than they do! Even so, sales managers decide to move ahead with the best candidates. They sell themselves - they make themselves see what isn’t really there. This results in hiring people who do not possess the personality traits of high performers.

Eventually, sales managers begin to lower their standards. They shift the focus and blame a difficult career for the inability to recruit high quality people. For every three to seven people they hire, only one seems to start off well. First year production decreases, turnover increases, and overall team production decreases. A negative sales culture forms.

What do these sales managers do wrong in the recruiting process?

Sales managers make poor hiring decisions when exhibiting the following behaviors.
They ...

1. Do not use multiple sources for finding job candidates.
2. Source for candidates just before they need a position filled.
3. Rush through hiring without a multistage process ... interview and then hire (a pipe process instead of a funnel).
4. Have not analyzed and do not know the top 6 personality traits necessary in top performers for industry sales competence.
5. Do shoot-from-the-hip non-structured interviews without questions designed to discover competencies, important personality traits, and character attributes.
6. Recruit personality traits and sales skills over character values like honesty, personal responsibility, and hard work ethic.
7. Do not use a validated personality profile. (go here)
8. Sell their company to candidates during MOST of the interview time. They even sell themselves on the candidate.
9. Talk more than the candidate does during an in-depth interview.
10. Do not involve other employees during final interviews.
11. Save candidates when they struggle with a question - sometimes even giving them the answer.
12. Hire candidates when only their instinct says yes.
13. Hire candidates when their instinct says no.

What’s wonderful when you look at these behaviors? Yes. Wonderful?

People can change. That’s right. They can change. Sales managers who want to get better can get better. Better ways do exist.

Multiple sources can be used for candidate leads. A sales manager can always be recruiting in advance of their needs.

Top traits do exist in high performers and sales managers can discover them. Structured interviews can be written to assess the presence of these traits within people. Character traits like honesty can be made nonnegotiable for winning a sales position. Validated personality profiles can be used as objective and predictive recruiting tools.

Sales managers can learn to develop interviewing skills. They can learn not to save people. They can learn to hush and listen. They can to learn to follow a process. And, they can learn to follow their gut when their gut says, “No,” and to keep following the process when their gut says, “Yes.” Sales managers can learn to recruit well. They can. Now, go do it. You can.  Lance

Five Considerations in Selecting a GREAT Sales Manager

Companies need great sales managers.  To find them, Sales VPs and business owners need to (1) know, in advance, the sales goals their managers will work to achieve.  Sales managers assume responsibility for sales team goal achievement.  And, it’s important to investigate their background for team achievement levels and to set clear expectations for them at the beginning of their employment.  Typical expectations are set for team performance, individual product sales, territory expansion, and retention.

As a coach, sales managers guide salespeople into prospecting and sales activity levels necessary to produce enough quotes and sales for goal achievement.  They create an inspiring environment in which salespeople want to motivate themselves to achieve sales goals. To accomplish the goals of a sales manager’s position, a person must be able to do certain activities.  They must show a competency to handle certain duties.  We will call these duties (2) sales manager competencies.

Know the competency requirements for top sales managers in your industry.  Examples found in a cross section of industries and sales manager positions include:

1. Recruiting salespeople
2. Planning sales goal achievement
3. Coaching and teaching in three areas: sales planning, activity (funnel) management, face-to-face skills
4. Confronting mavericks and poor performers
5. Building teams
6. Inspiring others to motivate themselves
7. Monitoring individual and team performance (sales goal achievement)

(Note:  In some industries, a high ability to sell or close deals is necessary, while in others a moderate ability to sell is required along with greater competency in the areas shown above.  Group presentation skills are required in some industries and not in others.)

As you can see the competencies are the things that great sales managers can do and do well.  To consistently do these tasks over a long period of time, a sales manager usually possesses certain (3) personality traits.  Just as in athletics, certain traits produce speed and an ability to catch a ball.  In sales management, certain personality traits allow sales managers to more naturally do the competencies shown above.  Those personality traits are ....

• High social confidence and ability to ask, tell, present, persuade, and confront
• Lower social drive and need for recognition and thus a greater tendency to praise others
• A moderated goal drive with a respect and knowledge of sales systems: processes, tools, and skills
• A moderated detail-orientation to allow for analysis within a big picture orientation
• A moderated need to nurture - ability to hear an individual’s needs and yet keep time management a priority
• Willingness to understand and adapt communication and coaching to different personality styles
• Out of the box thinker and creative problem solver - personal flexibility

While the goals, competencies, and personality traits combine to show what a sales manager must do, (4) attitudes and beliefs make up the philosophy that drives the system.  They also define the sales team environment and whether it will be an inspiring one.  And, certain attitudes and beliefs must be present to exist comfortably within a company’s values.  The follow list contains attitudes and beliefs most commonly found in great sales managers.  Before recruiting a sales manager, it will be important for you to see which you agree with and what attitudes and beliefs you will add to the list.

- Honest: with money, time, and promises
- Hard work ethic:  the amount of hours doesn’t matter
- Personal responsibility: it’s their ship, their watch, their people, their goals
- Servant hearted:  it’s all about contribution and service
- Positive:  meets challenges with a ‘can do’ attitude

Finally, the (5) cognitive strength of the sales managers is important.  It determines how fast they will learn and how quickly they grasp complex information - the need for which varies from industry to industry.

When selecting great sales managers, build a matching sheet of +’s and -’s and keep score during a best practice recruiting system.  Screen, profile, and then do structured interviews.  Focus on deciding if the candidate can accomplish the goals and if they will be competent in the areas shown above.  And, most importantly, for retention and for sales organization health, decide if the candidate will do these things naturally and in a way that will keep both sales team morale and production at high levels.  Now, take the information in this article and do a better job in selecting your new sales manager.  You can.  Lance.

The 13 Best Criteria for Choosing Sales Assessments

The sales assessment chosen for use in a recruiting process should:

1.  Be scientifically validated for the position.  The process and cost of validation, if any, should be included in the RFP.  Validation documentation should be provided to company adminstator.

Explanation:  Many companies and individuals marketing personality profiles have not invested in validation studies to prove the predictive effectiveness of their profiles.  Be sure that this has occurred for those profiles you choose to place in your selection process.

2.  Meet EEOC validity as a selection tool under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978) (29 CFR Part 1607 for EEOC, as amended by 46 FR 63268), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1978.

Explanation:  These federal laws prohibit discrimination in any term or condition of employment (including employment tests) on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age and gender.

3.  Include an accuracy index that catches those who try to leave an unrealistically favorable impression (high, moderate, invalid accuracy), and to reduce applicant faking.

Explanation:  (source: Dr. Larry Craft) There are literally hundreds of personality questionnaires in the marketplace. Psychologists developed the great majority to use in a mental health (not employment) environment where faking was seldom a problem. A host of other personality tests were recently developed by marketing specialists who have very little knowledge of test validity or reliability. The test items are so transparent that any ‘test-wise’ applicant can see-through the questionnaire and respond in a way that generates the highest possible score. Very few of the existing personality tests have the sophistication and research required to reduce and measure applicant faking.

4.  Show a compatibility percentage (0-100%) match to the job position.

Explanation:  This will, at a glance, help recruiting or hiring managers see which applicants are more closely matched in their personality traits to the those normally required for the competencies of the sales position.

5.  Show a high, moderate, and low compatibility ranking to the job position.

Explanation:  A high, moderate, and low compatibility cut for participants will provide the recruiting manager or job manager a quick look when working with large volumes of applicants.  These should correlate with validation studies done on the job position.

6.  Show what personality trait(s) scores cause a variation from a high compatibility match and the amount of difference graphically displayed verses the ideal range for the job position.

Explanation:  Profiles scores derive from personality trait variation for job position norms usually present in high performing salespeople.  These should be shown in the output along with which traits are out of norm.

7.  Display results on a one page summary chart for easy use and interpretation.

Explanation:  A summary chart provides ease-of-use benefits for recruiting or hiring managers with lots of applicants.  The ability to ‘drill down’ into details should be provided in the design of the one page summary chart.

8.  Show the selling style of the person based on the four (4) quadrant personality grid common in psychological literature (example:  persuasive, administrative, authoritative, participative or other similar names). 

Explanation:  This is included to help the sales candidate understand for what prospect of customer personality style(s) the sales candidate will have to “stretch” to improve selling or service rapport.  Coaching tips for the candidate and the sales manager should be provided.

9.  Provide a measurement and prediction of a salesperson’s cognitive learning style.

Explanation:  Sales positions vary in the need to learn complex information and products during the ramp-up period.  Sales managers know to challenge quick learners or to provide more instruction time and communication for candidates with different learning styles.

10.  List the recommended amount of coaching hours per month for each applicant.

Explanation:  The profile output should provide the sales manager with the number of coaching hours predicted per applicant and new hire.  This provide a realistic understanding of the coaching effort expected for each new hire.

11.  Provide coaching instructions to the manager for helping the candidate achieve at a high performance level.

Explanation:  Provided with the number of coaching hours, the specific tips and instructions will help the sales manager get a better start bringing the candidate to minimum performance standards. 

12.  Be provided with profile training for those administering the profile to applicants.  The process and cost for training, if any, should be included in a proposal.

Explanation:  While there are many sales assessment profiles marketed in America, very few sales managers or recruiting managers have been training to understand the results and how to accurately use these during the recruitment and coaching process.

13.  Be administered online and have online access to results provided to the company administrator(s).

Explanation:  In today’s world of Internet connectivity, remote and/or virtual offices, personality profiles that are fully administered online meet important efficiency standards.  Test taking provisions and profiling results should be made available through an internet interface.

Make sure to use a validated profile as part a best practice recruiting system for salespeople.  Craftprofiles meet the 13 criteria in this article.  Place the profile you choose as the second phase of a recruiting funnel prior to screening and before structured interviews.  When you do this, you will be screen out applicants before profiling and better prepare yourself for a candidate’s interview.  Screening, profiling, and interviewing should then contribute to a better selection process and help you improve retention and ramp up time to minimum production standard per recruit.

Recruit the best.  Build a great sales force.  Lance

The Wisdom of an Ant

What can salespeople learn from an ant?  What knowledge can we find in its ways?  Common varieties are only 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch long.  What could we possibly learn from this insignificant creature of the earth?

Plenty.

Some years for us provide economic strength.  Others do not.  Several years may pass before this planet’s people live with greater prosperity.  What does this mean for a salesperson and activity management.  What does this mean for money management or goal achievement?

Salespeople work to achieve sales goals - personal goals - for income needs.  Some days, weeks, and months are better than others.  Like the ant, the math in our closing rates works out over time if we stay consistent in our work ethic - in our sales activities.  This is where the ant’s story fits in ...

The ant just continues to work.  It really isn’t affected by moods or a lack of caffeine or even bank rates. Ants manage their activities as if their survival was in danger.

A wise man once said, “ Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!  It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

Ants don’t need managers.  They gather food when they need to gather food.  All other activities make way for harvesting the food and storing it as provisions for winter.  What if we worked in that way? What % of a sales team’s weekly work hours would be spent face-to-face with a prospect or fighting to get in front of a prospect - 50 - 60 - 75%?  For many sales teams, it’s 10% or less!

And, what happens when a sales team or salesperson gets ahead of goal?  Many slow down.  Yes.  They slow down.  Very few continue to work just as hard in the time remaining.  Most ease up away from making additional sales and storing their extra commissions in a savings account.

So, consider the ant the next time you see sales declining or inclining ... and keep on keepin on.  If you think about it, with the right salespeople, sales managers are only needed to help them work smart ... not to help them work. Be better.  You can.  Lance.

Personal Responsibility - A Crucial Character Trait

What does it mean to be a ‘good’ salesperson?  How do you find one?  What do you look for?  Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, says that his team’s research found that great companies recruit character first - before skills.

After twenty years of mistakes and successes, and after helping recruit and coach thousands of salespeople, we have discovered personal responsibility to be a crucial character trait to hire for ... along with honesty and hard work ethic.  Doing this improves efficiency and the culture. Salespeople with this character trait require less maintenance and management time.

If we can teach you to recruit someone who behaves in a personally responsible way, then you will find a salesperson who feels an obligation (in life) to act correctly - with or without oversight.  You will find their past to be a mirror of independent and accountable behavior.  When doing sales work, and left to themselves, a personally responsible salesperson remains dutiful and protective of what is expected.  They do their job.

Whatever you are, be a good one.  Abraham Lincoln

‘Personal’ responsibility also means that a salesperson respects and acts on obligations.  It’s kind of like honesty applied to duties. Responsible performance is held close to the heart.  That’s why it’s personal.  A salesperson with a responsible nature highly values commitments.  It’s actually a part of their makeup as a person. 

To employ salespeople, who live out this trait as a part of their core values, impacts the peace of mind of a sales manager.  That’s because, with or without management presence, a salesperson will do their best to do the work that is placed in their care.

Great salespeople work in a reliable and dependable manner.  They keep on keeping on with doing what their role demands of them. Sales managers who recruit for personal responsibility build strength into their culture - strength displayed in customer service, follow up, and promises kept, internally and externally to the company.

How does this trait affect failure and low performance?  How do the best salespeople react to low numbers?  Responsible salespeople accept blame for less that stellar activity, behavior, or sales results. They accept coaching. They may have to be convinced of their culpability, but when persuaded, they take ownership and work hard to correct themselves and the situation.

Here’s a good structured question to ask. “What are the top three things that motivate you in order of priority?” (Award 3 points if people or a person or a personal motivation is somewhere in the top three.  Award 0 points if they do not have any motivation toward helping or benefitting another person.)

Honesty, hard work ethic, and personal responsibility - crucial character traits.  Learn to screen and interview well for these traits.  Pass and do not hire someone when your intuition warns you - even if the skills are present. Your focus on the mature aspects of a person will mean much to the future of your sales organization, your company, and its customers.  Do great.  Recruit and coach well.  Lance.

Honesty - A Crucial Character Trait

When recruiting great salespeople, hire character first.  And, do you know what character trait is more important than all the others?  Honesty. Yes, honesty. The number one character trait to recruit for is honesty followed by hard work and personal responsibility. 

Honesty is nonnegotiable and must be present for you, the coach, to turn your back and leave things unattended.  It is difficult and just about impossible to coach this trait.  Recruit for it.

The degree of honesty impacts reporting accuracy.  A salesperson who embraces the facts, despite the brutality of them, willingly faces the truth.  This person wants to know their progress numbers toward personal goal achievement.  They do not want to kid themselves or their coaches or managers.  They must know where they are relative to where they need to be and they do not mind if others know.

Honesty brings clarity into a salesperson’s goals and progress toward them.  It keeps what’s important ... important.  It increases the emotional attachment to motivating circumstances.  With reality brightly shining on skills, habits, goal achievement progress, and past behaviors, the ease of future adjustments increase.  A person grows stronger - gets better.

Honest words are sometimes painful, but said kindly and with concern, they free a person for greater improvement.  Honest discussions pave the way for sales training and a more peaceful future.

A very wise man once said, “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.”

Obviously, honesty impacts customer satisfaction during a face-to-face sales call.  Does the customer discover that a salesperson behaves with honest intent?  Is the sale made with truthful evidence and testimony?  Will the salesperson protect a company’s branded image by steering away from fraud or deceit? These are crucial questions and the impact of handling a customer’s trust will have lasting impressions upon corporate profit.

Honesty sewn within a person’s makeup also makes a statement during normal day-to-day coworker interactions.  An honest salesperson shows up for work on time.  Service personnel can count on the promises that the salesperson makes.

With honor present, salespeople trust each other.  Management can count on sincerity being present in exchanges in communication.  Everyone can operate in a well lit operation of straightforward talk. And, of course, all money is accounted for and in the right places.

One question that’s interesting to ask in a structured interview is, “ Which of these traits is the most important one for the type of sales we do?  Persistence, Self-Discipline, Honesty, or Hard Worth Ethic?  (Award 5 points only if the candidate says that Honesty is most important.  Award 0 points for any other answer.)

How would you respond? 

Honesty, hard work ethic, and personal responsibility.  These are important and related character traits.  Recruit for them first and personality traits (goal-orientation, social confidence, etc.) last.  The culture you build by recruiting with this focus will make all the difference.  Now, go and get better.  You can.  Lance.

Hard Work - A Crucial Character Trait

Great salespeople work hard.  And, along with honesty and personal responsibility toward others, hard work is an essential character trait found in top sales performers.  When we recruit well, background checks, resumes, and other screening and interviewing skills focus on the discovery of this trait.

All hard work provides a profit to a salesperson. Why? ... sometimes work doesn’t produce a sale.  Even so, continuing to work hard strengthens approach methods, presentation skills, and other types of sales muscle.  It also keeps people ‘alive’ and connected to hope as the perseverance they show improves their character.

A salesperson who slows down their work over any time period will see decreases in sales and sales strength.  First, the number of prospects and opportunities they find begin to lessen, then the number of appointments decrease.  This decreases the number of presentations and quotes and finally it impacts sales revenue.  This low activity begins to erode their sales skills and instincts as the number of sales opportunities decrease.  Just like a ship that stays at harbor, the barnacles of misuse corrode their skills.  They rust.

When someone slows down or changes into a “slacker,” they often become a brother to someone who tears down a sales team.  Unproductive people look for something to take the place of their idle hands.  When they stop working, one behavior they turn to is gossip.  Slackers talk about how bad things are and about the faults of their leaders.  Their words and their sluggard work demeanor influence those around them.  So, whether they realize it or not, they begin the work of tearing down what’s around them instead of building it up.

We’ve all seen the effects of lazy salespeople - low sales, bad morale, etc.  Recently, a sales team described a lack of hard work as ... misuse of time leading to poor time management, less energy, lack of passion, gossip, excuses, pity parties, and an inability to find or get results out of opportunities.  They actually refuse to work hard.

(Note: There is nothing better than to find satisfaction in your work - to strive against the grain of mediocre production - to enjoy your work and to fight for the benefit of others.  My dad many times while we were growing up said, “I don’t care what you do ... I don’t care if you’re a ditch digger, just be the best ______ditch digger you can be.”)

When screening candidates, look for ‘hard work’ evidence in their background and resumes.

For example, if you looked into the background of my oldest son, you would find that for eight years he got up at four in the morning to develop his swimming abilities.  Or, if you talked with my business partner, you would find that he picked potatoes for years prior to college.  In other words, look for periods of time where the candidate had to sacrifice something for long periods of time in order to provide for or better themselves.  There can also be instances where this trait is learned through the expectations of the candidate’s family growing up.

Here’s one question to ask during a structured interview, “Please tell me about a time in your life when you had to sacrifice in order to achieve something important.  What did you sacrifice?  Why? (Award maximum of 5 points only if candidate mentions something notable, and that time was sacrificed and work effort was expended, and if the candidate explains the motivation as the need to achieve, win, provide for others, or reach a goal.) x no. of pts

Find salespeople who want to work hard - who want to be productive.  If you do, coaching their success becomes easier, and you, as a manager, look smart.  Finally, make sure that they are people who are honest and take personal responsibility for their actions and obligations.  Lance.

Screen for Great Salespeople - Like the NFL

The NFL screens high-profile college athletes for speed, quickness, agility, mental aptitude, and other important traits relative to their positions.  The NFL Combine with its statistical history for vertical jumps, 40 yard dash, bench press, aptitude tests, and interviews greatly increases the chances for excellent player selection.  And, these are just a few of their screening tools.  With a multi-million dollar investment on the line, owners make sure that due diligence occurs in the screening for new NFL players.

In great sales teams, the same situation exists.  Each new recruit represents thousands and perhaps millions of dollars in corporate revenue.  And, one recruit impacts morale, production, and the retention of other salespeople and fellow employees. 

The sobering thought ... coaches know that ultimately the best players get the job done on the playing field ... and, they help them keep their jobs.

For these fiscal reasons, great sales managers take their candidates through some initial examination steps (Stage One: Screening).  They screen by resume, by phone, by email, and perhaps face-to-face for 3-6 personality and character traits.  The typical traits they screen for include: goal-orientation, social drive (for prospecting), social confidence (for prospecting, asking hard questions, presenting), and important character attributes: honesty, hard work ethic, and personal responsibility.  This keeps them from spending additional recruiting dollars and interviewing time on candidates who cannot pass initial screening.

Problem ... Resume reviews and reference checking alone are worth less than 4% in making good hiring decision. 

After screening candidates, some candidates make it to Stage Two: Profiling.  In this stage, validated profiles (see craftprofiles) are used to screen for the critical personality traits which contribute to doing important sales tasks.  Also, just as in the NFL, mental aptitude is measured as well.  How fast will they learn product information, paperwork requirements, marketing information, etc. for ramp up to minimum production.  Scientifically validated profiles, especially ones with built in lie detectors, help isolate the traits.  They are worth, in predictive measurement, between 20-50% in making a good hiring decision.

THREE PROBLEMS WITH PROFILES ...

Problem #1:  Many profiles are not validated. 

Problem #2:  Many profiles are hard to understand and very general in their reported measurements.  While true, they are hard to use.  Accurate information is presented in a difficult and hard to apply format.

Problem #3:  Sales managers have very little practical experience with profiles, or have had a negative experience with them.  They are not comfortable with how to use them.

The recruiting funnel, at its finish, narrows into the final stage - Stage 3: Interviewing.  This stage may provide at least 16% of the information necessary to make a good hiring decision - if structured interviews are used. It is also the stage in which we get the participation of other team members in separate discussions and interviews.

INTERVIEW PROBLEM ...

Problem: Most sales managers do interviews that are not structured to screen for the 3-6 critical traits. They also do not ask the same questions to every candidate and then score out their responses.  An unstructured interview is worth less than 4% to a good hiring decision - some experts say less than 2%.

...............
An outstanding RECRUITING SYSTEM finds great salespeople ...

Use multiple sources for an adequate flow of candidates.  Recruit with a three stage funnel in the order outlined above: Screening, Profiling, Interviewing, and do so with critical traits in sharp focus. 

As you become more proficient with the process, its tools, and skills, your selection will improve.  Just like the NFL, you will use proven selection methods to separate the best from the rest - to find salespeople suited for the challenges they will face.

To impact ramp up time, first year production, and retention, recruit the best.  Learn the skills.  Use the tools.  Follow the process. 

What’s next?  After hiring, the ramp up period and coaching process become important.  And, that’s a message for another time.  For now, Recruit the Best ... and later we’ll discuss Coaching the Best.  Do Great.  Lance.

A Best Practice Recruiting System for Salespeople

“Yes, we’ll meet our numbers, It’s my job.“

That’s what Jack Plating, a President with Verizon, once told me in response to my end-of-the-year question,

“Are you going to meet your numbers?”

Sales executives want to meet their numbers.  However ... very few companies train their managers to recruit well USING present day selection methods. For example, many do not know that validated personality profiles (craftprofiles.com), as a part of a recruiting system, will help them:

- Decrease new salesperson ramp up time
- Increase first year production
- Increase retention

A best practice recruiting system contains a process that uses state-of-the-art selection tools at three (3) stages of a recruiting funnel - Above the funnel, great managers learn to use several sourcing methods to bring candidates into Stage One - Screening.

1. Trait Screening
2. Validated Profiling
3. Structured Interviewing

There are three problems above the funnel.

Problem #1 ...
Most sales managers cannot tell someone the top 3-6 personality and character traits important for their sales position - natural and learned traits necessary for sales success.  So, how can they screen for them?

Problem #2 ...
Sales managers rush too few candidates into unstructured interviews and make quick hiring decisions under pressure.

Problem #3 ... 
Sales managers do not employ several sourcing methods to bring enough candidates into the recruitment process. So, they panic and act with haste as they look at a candidate through rose-colored glasses - making quick decisions because of cash flow needs.

Here a solution to problem #1…
Ask yourself three questions, “What changes has your company and industry experienced in the last 1-3 years.  Then, “What challenges, in order of priority, face the sales organization as a result of those changes.  Now, your ready for the final question. ”What will be the traits of high performers for your company and industry - to handle the changes and meet the challenges.“ This final question should bring out a lot of excellent traits required for your sales job.  Prioritize these into the top 5 traits for success.

Solutions do exist for problems #2 and #3.  A best practice recruiting system contains specific tools and skills, that when used in the process outlined above, impact the quality of new recruits - their 1st year production and retention.  Lance.

How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck …

... if they were on straight commission without incentives, goals, or directions?

Three Answers
1. “As much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.” 

2. “A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”
3. “A woodchuck would chuck all the wood, if a woodchuck only could.” 



This means that a woodchuck salesperson would chuck all the wood available to chuck. He’ll do it to survive. In the present, that will be the incentive. 

And, he’ll look for the wood. Most woodchucks are solitary independent critters. They do not rely on other woodchucks except for alerts to danger. They take care of themselves. That’s their character and personality. 

Of course with incentives (wood) and direction (location), woodchucks would chuck as much as they could chuck - perhaps even all of it.

from another perspective ...


“As much wood as a woodchuck would ...”

We need to make sure that we’ve got the right woodchucks - ones that ‘would’ chuck wood.

Some woodchucks are lazy while others are unreliable or without a sense of personal responsibility. Some of them might sleep all day or just sit by the hole, and when you ask them about it, they’ll just act like they couldn’t find any wood. 

"If they only could” might refer to their upbringing and the leadership they get - especially from older and wiser woodchucks. I know some woodchucks who often wander away from the hole in any ole direction. With direction and an internal motivation to provide for themselves and their family, OUR woodchuck(s) can receive what they need, knowledge, direction, and skills, to develop into industrious and dependable producers and providers. 

So, in summary, let’s strive to find the right woodchucks, ones that want to learn and and then let’s give them direction, coaching, and a reason to do what it takes.  Lance.

Goal-Orientation in GREAT Salespeople

Goal-Orientation: Personality Trait #1 in High-Activity Salespeople (for sales cycles less than 90 days)

Is your team motivated to achieve timely results or to steadily pass the day?

TARGETS • OBJECTIVES • SALES
When salespeople achieve their numbers, CASH FLOWS .......
and, businesses thrive.  Owners hear the streaming sound of profits reach the bottom of a healthy income statement.  They love that sound!

Driven salespeople (racehorses) who consistently achieve their numbers are naturally goal-oriented.  They find enough prospects in the time required.  They set and hold the right amount or appointments.  They present a high enough number of quotes to reach their sales goals, and then start the cycle again.

Goal-Orientation combined with Social Drive (Trait #2) leads to more prospecting.  A person networks and attends social events for the purpose of lead generation.  They make things happen with networking activity and by attending events for prospecting reasons.  They keep their sales funnel FULL.

What if a salesperson has a low goal-orientation?  What if they do not look at their progress - and just work at a steady pace?  Do you think this would affect sales?  Of course, it would.  It’s common sense.

What if a salesperson does not like to socialize (low social drive) and prefers working alone?  Have you ever noticed that office parking lots do not contain cars belonging to great salespeople? 

Top performers, with short sales cycles, do not sit in offices.  They RACE for the tape.

They get out of the office and into the lives of potential customers. 

Excellent personality profiles show levels of Goal-Orientation, Social Drive, Social Confidence, and a Need to Control.  These four traits, anchored by Goal-Orientation, produce top performers with drive and energy.  Salespeople with high levels of these personality traits NATURALLY produce more.

Imagine this.  You hire a salesperson who keeps track of their progress during the month.  They always know how much they’ve sold and how much they need to sell.  They realize that it takes ‘x’ number of quotes and ‘y’ number of appointments to get enough sales each and EVERY month.  And, they love this kind of activity.  They love it.  They love being in the race.  And, you’re the sales manager.  What would that feel like?

Recruit them and use a personality profile to help you spot them. (see craftprofiles)
We’d love to help you.  Lance

A Talent Fit for Your Organization

Most companies do not know how to do find a “talent fit.” And, here are reasons why:

1. They do not know the top six traits in order of priority necessary for a good “fit.”
2. They do not look for the important character AND personality traits of a top performer.
3. They have not been trained to use a best practice recruiting system: funnel process, skills, and tools.
4. They do not think about how fast people need to ramp up - and the aptitude necessary for success.

How do we find the traits we require for a high-activity salesperson (as opposed to a major accounts sales team)?
1st ... Identify the top character traits: - Honesty - Personal Responsibility - Hard Work Ethic Next, know the top personality traits that align with prospecting, closing, presentation, and high activity.  They are: Goal-Orientation, Social Confidence, Social Drive

[For free, here’s a brainstorming process for determining the character and personality traits required for your sales position 1. Ask current managers, “What are the major changes in the last 1-2 years affecting sales (flip chart)?” 2.  “What are the challenges of the job position as a result of these changes (flip chart)?” 3.  “What actions need to be done to meet the challenges (flip chart)?” 4. “What will be the traits of high performance salespeople who can meet today’s challenges? in this position?] ”

2nd ... Sourcing Methods ... Find best sources for candidates most likely to fit the character and personality traits targeted.
3rd ... Recruiting Funnel Process Stage One: Screening (resumes, by phone: 5-12 minutes, by email, references) Stage Two: Personality Profiling (with EEO validated CraftProfile see http://www.craftprofiles.com) Also, Oxford Learning Inventory for learning style (also see http://www.craftprofiles.com) Stage Three: Structured Interviewing (a interviewer-scored 100 point questionnaire structured to look for the character and personality traits)
4th ... Recruiting Process Tools and Skills (all of which should work toward identifying the necessary character and recruiting skills)
- Phone screening scripts
- Resume screening skills
- Profile analysis
- Interviewing skills
- Matching sheets showing +’s and -’s with regards to character and personality traits desired

... Recently, we installed this type of recruiting system in a company whose industry is showing a 22% drop year-to-date in sales.  This company is presently 18% up year-to-date in sales, primarily due to recruiting more effectively right “talent fits” for their company. So, work at using the ideas you find helpful in the post.  And ... Do GREAT.  Lance.

Sales Performance in Retail Financial or Wireless Services?

After twenty+ years of working with sales teams in banking, financial services, and other BtoB companies, I’ve discovered a foundational problem to exist in Retail Financial and Wireless Services ... And, it’s the word “Retail.”

While the banking industry has transformed itself in many ways, especially with terms like “sales,” it still has a “wait at home” mentality - or, “Build enough branches and they will come.” The people chosen for sales roles often have low social drive and and personalities that comfortably wait for business to walk in the door.  And, most though they talk the sales talk, would rather focus on operational or product issues than face an aggressive campaign for new customers.  Therefore, sales performance improvements in Retail Financial Services will need to start by installing a new system of attitudes and processes that will also include:  a better common sales language, best coaching or sales management practices, and an outside sales-focused selection process.

The Wireless Industry started out differently - with an aggressive outside sales force.  Today, it’s hard to find an outside salesperson in wireless worth much of anything.  The industry has moved toward retail.  And, even though inside reps have many opportunities for outside sales - they typically sit still and wait. (with some exceptions: like Verizon’s independent distributor: Cellular Sales).  The whole outside sales thing has slowly cooked itself into warm soup.  Meanwhile, many small businesses wish for a wireless rep they could trust - one that would keep up with their changing data and connection needs.

To improve their cultures, the selection process for both these industries must recruit salespeople suited for outside prospecting, goal achievement, and an ability to control the sales process - all within a consultancy approach. Increased sales performance will take a major step forward with GREAT recruits and GREAT “outside sales” coaching.

Sales manager coaching will center around basic sales processes like: sales planning, an activity management process, and a face-to-face sales process.  These processes, installed in retail financial and wireless organizations (reinstalled here), along with high-performance sales meetings will establish a new sales paradigm within a best practice sales system - one that progressively improves itself in incremental steps. This also means that great sales coaches will emerge as the champions of this movement - meaning that THEIR selection (the coaches) as well as the salespeople will be of upmost importance to the retail financial or wireless organization that wants increased sales performance.. Now, go and make things better.  Lance

Game Changing Recruiting Technologies for Great Salespeople

When researching all the subject experts in recruiting, a best practice recruitment funnel emerges. After sourcing well to develop five or more recruiting channels, the three stages of recruiting are: - Screening - Profiling - Interviewing.  (Note: This recruiting funnel also presumes that you have analyzed the sales position well enough to isolate the top five (5) personality characteristics of a great salesperson.)

Stage One:  There are several ways to screen a candidate for your top traits.  They are by: resume, phone (5-7 min), face-to-face, references, email, etc.  An interesting way to screen by email is to ask the candidate to email you how they plan to approach their first ninety days as a new rep. 

Stage Two:  After screening each candidate, a few make it to the personality profiling stage which increases predictability by as much as thirty percent (30%).  A profile also provides an objective look at your candidate.  We use Craftsystems CPQ (Craft Personality Questionnaire) with 30+ years of sales recruiting research and 2 million+ administered tests (see craftprofiles.com).  From the profile, you will receive a high, moderate, or low job match and the personality trait scores within or outside of the acceptable range.  You will also know the type and amount of coaching that each rep will require.  Biodata information and learning style testing can continue to add strength and predictability points to the profiling stage.

Stage Three:  A “Structured and Scored Interview” continues to up the odds of a great hire (16%), as well as involving others in the interview process. It will contain customized questions that you will ask of every candidate.  The questions will be structured to discover fits and mismatches with your top five required traits.  (Note: traditional methods of reference checking, unstructured interviews, and resume checking are worth less than 6% in predictability for making a great hire.)

For those heavy in recruiting, an online recruitment funnel is helpful as well - kinda like a CRM of recruiting or a sales funnel of recruits. With this tool you can work candidate through your recruitment funnel with an interview to recruit goal of at least 3:1 ... ratio of new recruits vs. those making it to the interview stage.

If your rigorous recruitment system is successful, the technologies you use will improve retention and productivity of new reps - provided your sales managers also provide a healthy working environment.  Now, go and make things better.  We believe you can do it.  Lance