The answer is usually one of the following or a combination of the following
1. They all interview well, that’s their superpower
To hire well you need to be prepared to test and question, and for that you need to use some science. Many recruiters will use psychometric testing but this often misses the mark with salespeople. You need to know about their behavioral preferences and their mindsets and that’s what you need to test for.
The interview then becomes much more straight forward as you ask questions directly related to the profile you have analyzed. In this way you can see through the façade and quickly be able to tell if what they’re saying is likely to accurate or not. Without profiling you are flying in the dark.
2. Your own bias of what salesperson is supposed to be like
Close your eyes and think ‘salesperson’. The image you had just then will be the type of person you’ll most likely hire. The problem is, are they right for the role you want them to do?
Your bias here can be unhelpful here because if you’re making a hiring decision based on fit with that image, you’ll likely make a mistake. What you need to know is will they do what’s expected of them day in and day out, without endless excuses…which are common.
3. The role isn’t clearly defined
“I just need a salesperson. They’ll know what to do’. But statistically they don’t. Average tenure of salespeople in Australia in SME’s is 12 months, which is painful because they should be useful by then.
The issue arises when business owners and senior managers hire with only a vague idea of what the salesperson will do all day. ‘Bring in new customers’ is a good line item, but what does it mean? How has that been successful before? What successful sales activities have already been done that proves that it’s possible, the way you want them to do it?
Most salespeople have such a confused job description that they usually just default to account management because existing customers are easy to talk to. Before you advertise you need to know exactly what they need to do, to be successful, and it should be proven before your interview.
4. There’s no sales system to support them (USP, UVP, Sales processes, CRM, regular sales meetings)
Being an effective salesperson isn’t easy and it takes a minimum of 40 hrs a week, especially if the employers marketing is lacking. That means salespeople need to be not only effective but efficient.
Most of the business owners that complain to me about their salespeople’s performance, have no or little sales system to support them. There are no documented sales processes, nothing written down on how to help a customer buy, nor any CRM, regular sales meetings, or meaningful and accountable kpi’s.
These are some of things that a salesperson needs to be in place, ideally before they’re hired. Good performers leave because these things are missing and bad performers stay because they’re getting away with it.
So, whilst getting a good salesperson can be a challenge, it’s much easier if you’re prepared with:
- A 5 pillar sales system – strategy, process, CRM, activity and accountability
- A clearly defined role that describes how they will do sequences of proven successful activity
- An interview process that includes behavioral and mindset testing, so you can see through the façade.