Hiring Tips | Hiring Salespeople

Hiring the Salesperson, Part Six

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Hiring the Salesperson, Part Six

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In the previous Hiring the Salesperson tips, we covered preparation, motivation, prospecting, sales technique and closing.

In this tip, let’s discuss the salesperson who has sold something very different from what you’re selling.

Your candidate, Frank, has been selling cars for several years now and he’s gotten quite good at it. Does this mean Frank can sell other products besides cars?

Let’s find out.

“Frank, in speaking with your previous employer, it seems you’ve been quite successful at selling cars. As you know, the product we provide here is printed materials. Business cards, stationery, printed newsletters…that type of thing. Do you feel you’ll be able to switch gears and sell our products?”

“Of course,” Frank responds. “Selling is selling. If you can sell one thing, you can sell anything.”

“Well, actually Frank, that’s not what we’ve discovered here. In the last few years, a good number of salespeople have worked for us. Some of them have found it very difficult to sell our products. For one reason, a sale of our printed products does not produce as high of a commission as the sale of a car does.

“In other words, a great deal of printing has to be sold to make the same kind of commission one would get from selling just one car. Our salespeople will have to spend considerable time staying in touch with prospective clients. A lot of follow-up work is needed. It’s a very different operating basis than selling cars.

“What are your thoughts on this, Frank?”

And of course let Frank give you his answer.

“You’ll likely need to learn a completely different selling approach and technique here, Frank. Are you willing to do so?”

Watch Frank closely when he answers these questions.

If Frank winces a bit, then it’s possible he may be resistant to learning a new sales technique and he may also be resistant to having to work longer and harder to secure a sale.

His answers may say one thing, but his demeanor may tell you something different.

One of the key skills to the hiring interview is the ability to “read” your candidate. Is he telling you what you want to hear or is his ever-so-slight frown telling you he’s not so sure.

And maybe it’s not a frown, but a very perceptible pause when answering your question. As if he is considering his response instead of just giving it.

The salesperson who truly has no concerns about selling anything will have no problems with learning a new sales approach. He will not flinch if more work is needed to accomplish a sale.

Granted, your prospective salesperson might need to do “some math” to determine if he’ll make an adequate commission selling your products.

But the math is one thing. His attitude and belief in himself as a salesperson is quite another.

Keep a close eye on his responses and it will serve you well in making your decision.

To see how our employee test can help you bring better people on board watch this three minute video.

If you have ever interviewed someone and later discovered a "different" person is working for you, check out our new book How To Hire The Right People.

Hiring the Salesperson, Part Five

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Hiring the Salesperson, Part Five

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In the first four tips on Hiring the Salesperson, we covered preparation, motivation, prospecting and sales technique.

In this tip, let’s tackle the Holy Grail of sales: closing.

Of course, many sales leaders will tell you that ‘closing’ only occurs when all of the earlier steps of a sale are in place. And there’s more truth there than in a lot of poetry I’ve been reading*.

First and foremost, we want to find out from the prospective salesperson what he/she believes closing is and what it depends on. So let’s ask him:

“Frank, your resume says you’ve been selling for a number of years, so this is good. Tell me what your concept of closing is and what a close depends on?”

Frank gives his answer.

“Okay, Frank, that sounds fine. What actions should be taken at the close and what actions should be taken after the close?”

Frank reports up on this and you then ask, “If you were not getting a healthy number of closes, what steps would you take to rectify this?”

You should also ask Frank about any books on closing techniques he’s read. Which authors and which techniques did he find most valuable?

When Frank is answering, it’s a good idea to take some notes. You may want to compare answers with other prospective salespeople.

In this tip, we just want to establish some of the basic ideas our prospective salesperson has on closing. The next tip (on closing) will get you deeper into what your prospective salesperson’s thinks and we’ll take a look at the area of ethics and closing.

* When I was hitch hiking around the country back in 1979, I got stuck on a small road coming out of Klamath Falls, Oregon. Night came and I had to sleep by the side of the road. Not the end of the world, as that was part of what hitch hiking was all about. However, that night, a hard rain fell for about two hours, completely soaking my sleeping bag and everything in it, which was me! Not long after the rain, the temperature dropped and ice crystals started forming all around my sleeping bag. Then around 3 or 4 AM it began snowing. Two inches of snow later, I was not really sure I was going to make it through the night, but the sun finally did make its way through.

I gathered up all of my soaking wet belongings and managed to get a short ride to a “roadside inn.” I dragged myself inside and what a sight I must have been. Three very stocky guys in plaid shirts were sitting at one end of the bar. I concluded they were “loggers.” I’d heard about this breed. They were sipping coffee, which I translated in my young, traveling mind to be “hot java!” When they saw me barely make my way to a bar stool, one of them asked, “You didn’t sleep outside last night did you?” I offered without delay, “I did. And it sure can get cold in these parts.”

He responded with “There’s more truth there than in a lot of poetry I’ve been reading.”

I had struck the hitch hiker’s mother load! Loggers, hot java, poetry and truth! I hopped on my bar stool as if I belonged and ordered a cup of hot chocolate.

To see how our employee test can help you bring better people on board watch this three minute video.

If you have ever interviewed someone and later discovered a "different" person is working for you, check out our new book How To Hire The Right People.

Hiring the Salesperson, Part Four

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Hiring the Salesperson, Part Four

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In the first three tips on Hiring the Salesperson, we covered preparation, motivation and prospecting.

In this tip let’s take a look at sales techniques.

There are a multitude of different sales approaches and techniques. Some of them may be just right for your business, some may not. Some actually may inhibit sales if used in your business.

We need to find out what your sales candidate knows and what he is comfortable using. Again it’s a good idea to take some notes here.

“Frank, what are the different sales techniques you are familiar with?”

After he answers, continue with, “Of those, which are you the most comfortable using?”

And then, “Okay, I understand that. How would you apply that sales approach to selling our widgets?”

Some salespeople are very committed to a particular sales approach. If that is the case and you determine that that approach is not a good fit for your product (or services), then you should probably keep looking.

Yes, you could ask Frank, “Are you willing to learn a completely new sales technique for selling our widgets?” and if Frank is willing, then that could work.

However, before you embark on a training program that has its own costs, be sure Frank is truly willing to learn your new approach.

How could you determine that? You could ask him if he’s been put through other sales training programs and how he performed as a result. If he comes back to his “tried and true” sales approach, he may not be willing to learn yours.

One interesting thing to consider here. If Frank has a singular approach to sales and has an impressive (and ideally verifiable) sales history using this approach, then maybe you might consider Frank on a pilot basis. He may get in there and sell up a storm for you. If so, then perhaps your other salespeople might take a look at what Frank can teach them.

To see how our employee test can help you bring better people on board watch this three minute video.

If you have ever interviewed someone and later discovered a "different" person is working for you, check out our new book How To Hire The Right People.

Hiring the Salesperson, Part Three

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Hiring the Salesperson, Part Three

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This is the third in a series of Hiring Tips on the subject of hiring salespeople.

Preparation being a major element in sales, the first tip discussed how prepared the prospect was for the hiring interview.

In the second tip, we addressed the subject of motivation and purpose.

In this tip, we’ll look at what has become a somewhat controversial subject in the sales world: prospecting.

There are some sales leaders who believe the days of cold-calling or direct marketing are over. They will tell you all prospecting should be accomplished on the Internet and, if properly done, you’ll have an abundance of people buying your products and services.

On the other side of that coin are sales professionals who believe you should never throw the baby out with the bath water. By all means, build a strong presence on the web and use the various tools of email marketing, social media, videos, etc. to create reaches to your business. But continue your reach out to brand new people directly through the mail and the phone.

I realize every business is different and some of you would never use cold calling.

The point in this hiring tip, however, is what does your prospect think about all of this?

Therefore, ask him point blank:

“Frank, what are your views on prospecting? If you were selling my widgets, and you didn’t have any prospects in front of you, what prospecting tools would you use?”

Listen carefully and consider taking some notes.

Some of the younger salespeople out there are not even familiar with the CONCEPT of prospecting. They believe ALL leads should be created elsewhere (through on and offline marketing) and their job is to convert those leads into sales for you.

Frankly, that’s a shame. The competition on the Internet heats up every day while your competitors are trying to capture the attention of your would-be customers. In fact, they are also going after your CURRENT customers! So the Internet may be working wonders for you now, but it might not be months down the road.

In the “old” days, the best salespeople never depended on the marketing department. They knew they were 100% responsible for their sales quotas being met and if they had to roll up their sleeves and do some cold-calling, so be it. They also knew a great source of new business was prospecting happy clients and were willing to do so.

So, let’s find out what your sales candidate thinks about this. If he’s very thin on the subject of prospecting, it’s likely he’ll be depending a great deal, if not entirely, on your efforts to provide him with prospects.

If, however, he’s experienced in this key aspect of selling and AND is willing to spend quality time prospecting, then I do believe this chap has a leg up on his competition. This person may even come up with some creative ways to find you new business.

This person may just believe he’s completely responsible for meeting his sales quotas. And from your hiring perspective, that is one seriously positive quality.

To see how our employee test can help you bring better people on board watch this three minute video.

If you have ever interviewed someone and later discovered a "different" person is working for you, check out our new book How To Hire The Right People.

Hiring the Salesperson, Part Two

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Hiring the Salesperson, Part Two

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In Part One, we discussed how prepared the salesperson was for the interview with you.

In this part, we’re going to take a different look at our salesperson’s qualifications.

There are many components to a sale: qualifying the prospect, creating interest in the product, handling objections, closing the sale. And, if you’ve read any sales books lately, you’ll see that quite a few other parts of a sale have been identified. Some of these parts overlap, some apply to only specific types of products being sold. And frankly, some are a bit of a stretch.

But I digress.

In this tip, I want to cover a very basic element to sales.

To set the table, let’s ask our sales prospect the following:

“Frank, tell me about the different products and services you’ve sold over the years.”

Frank tells you he’s sold cars and software.

“Great, Frank. When you were selling cars or software, was your purpose stronger to get your prospect the product he needed and wanted or was it stronger to earn your commission?”

Now, that is not a question a salesperson is often asked in a hiring interview. But the answer should be somewhat revealing. Also, see if the question and its answer make Frank at all uncomfortable. We’re not trying to make Frank uncomfortable, but some questions are so unexpected that only the fully honest answer will be delivered without any discomfort.

Frank may even answer the question with, “Well, I’d say my purpose was equally strong to get the person the car he needed and to earn my commission.”

Fair enough.

And Frank may say, “Oh, my purpose is always 100% to help the customer get what he needs. I have no attention whatsoever on the commission.”

Now that’s one seriously altruistic person. And it may be true, but again, keep a close eye on how calmly he delivers his answer.

There are some amazing salespeople out there. These tips will help you find them.

To see how our employee test can help you bring better people on board watch this three minute video.

If you have ever interviewed someone and later discovered a "different" person is working for you, check out our new book How To Hire The Right People.