“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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post comment