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Article #109: Finding Sales Candidates With The Right Talent

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How many times has this scenario played even when they are excelling in it.
out in a company? The candidates resume Their preference is for a position in
indicated that he had extensive success which most of their talents are engaged.
in our market and had progressed in each This desire manifests itself in their
of his positions. When we brought him in activities involving more than simple
for an interview, he was a good selling. They may become interested in
communicator, likeable, well-groomed and marketing plans, product development,
focused on our industry. We hired him customer service and so forth. These
and he was an absolute stiff. He wouldnt broad interests and activities will
call leads, he couldnt qualify prospects dilute their sales effectiveness since
and he never closed a significant deal. they end up spending time on non-sales
We fired him 12 months later. The only activities.
reason why we waited so long was because The mitigating factor here is whether
his forecast was loaded with large there is a skills path for the
opportunities that were perpetually 45 salesperson to follow within the company.
days away from closing. If the salesperson is provided an
This expensive scenario is all-too-common ascending path with a reasonable time
in corporate America today. Yet, window, they will often grow into a
companies continue to follow the same larger position of responsibility within
hiring process when looking for solid the company. Unfortunately, this path is
salespeople. To quote Albert Einstein, not always available within the hiring
Insanity: doing the same thing over and company.
over again and expecting different If the abundantly talented salesperson is
results. not rewarded by the material trappings of
Successful sales hiring requires 3 main success, and the position rewards them
focal points for success work materially, they will seek out a new
experience, objective assessment and opportunity which requires a broader
in-person abilities. I would rank them talent set. Hence, hiring these sales
all at 30% importance and leave 10% to candidates into a misaligned position may
other fit factors (compensation, writing lead to short-term success but is often
ability, travel, etc.). doomed by a short-term tenure.
The focus of this article is the --Right Talent--
objective assessment portion of the The Holy Grail of hiring is finding the
decision and, specifically an item that right talent for the position. Most
is often presumed talent. companies approach this goal with a
Talent is a fuzzy word. What that means belief in hiring the salesperson with
is that you could ask 10 different people extensive experience in their industry
to define it and you would receive 10 and an abundance of talent. Experiential
different answers. In the context of hiring is an entire article unto itself.
this article, lets define talent as a But the right talent is the target and
persons natural aptitude a finding it requires an often overlooked
characteristic feature of their step profiling the sale.
abilities. To be clear, talent is Profiling the sale involves defining the
different than skill. parameters of one typical sale. Some
Our hiring process allows us to measure a criteria to consider:
candidates talents and compare those -How many initial contacts are needed to
talents to the positions requirements. eventually close one sale?
This gap analysis provides insights into -What is the monetary size of an average
a candidates abilities that no order?
interviewer could ascertain even after -How much time is spent selling new
hours of interviews. Talent is deep accounts vs. existing accounts?
seated and in conducting these -How long is one typical sales cycle?
assessments, we consistently encounter 3 These are just a handful of questions
levels of talent. that paint the picture of what talents
--Wrong Talent-- are most effective within the
This sounds simple; the candidate simply requirements of the position. The
does not fit the position since they lack important point is to first understand
specific talents. No, wrong in this what is needed before trying to tackle
context refers to a misalignment between what talent is available. The key point
the talents of the sales candidate and in this process is simple you cannot ask
the requirements of the position. a new salesperson to do something 10, 20
The most frequent example we encounter or 50 times (closed deals) if you cannot
involves a candidates empathy. A sales define for them how to do it once.
position for a quick, 1 or 2 call close The right talent requires strength in the
sale typically requires a candidate with specific areas defined by profiling the
lower empathy aptitudes. The salesperson sale. Yet, there is a follow up piece to
needs to be quick, concise and this information that has to be pursued
dispassionate. The salesperson will have how does the candidate use the talent?
a short window to qualify a prospect An attribute of the right talent is the
before closing them or moving on to the ability to effectively apply that talent.
next prospect. We often state that just because a
Conversely, a relationship sale, with an candidate has a talent, it does not mean
extended sales cycle, requires a that they use it. The application of
candidate with more developed empathy their talent can only be discerned by
aptitudes. This sale requires rapport, asking specific questions during the
even a friendship-building talent that interview portion of the hiring process.
will steadily move the prospect through Selecting a salesperson with the wrong
the sales cycle to a successful talent will lead to the quickest exit of
conclusion. any newly-hired salesperson. This
If you hire the salesperson with less salesperson may attempt to prolong the
empathetic aptitude and place him in the inevitable, but their misaligned talents
relationship sale, you will see him cover will force a separation.
much ground but close few deals. Selecting a salesperson with an abundance
Typically, these salespeople attempt to of talent may work in the long run as
push the prospect faster than their long as the salesperson is challenged in
decision process will allow. This multiple areas. The end result in this
approach has an unsophisticated situation most likely will be the
clumsiness to it when viewed firsthand. salesperson moving on either into a
Salespeople with strong empathy talents greater position within your company or
rarely succeed in the quick-close sales to another company which offers a greater
role. They over-empathize with their challenge.
prospects and tend to draw out the sales Selecting a salesperson with the right
cycle well beyond two calls. This talent requires a detailed profile of
approach has a slow softness to it that your sale. That profile becomes the
leads to few closed deals. blueprint which is then used to define
--Abundant Talent-- the candidates with the right blend of
This level of talent is the most talents for success in the position.
difficult to comprehend. Essentially, an This analysis can only occur with a
abundance of talent will often lead to a combination of objective talent
short tenure for the salesperson. An assessment followed by an interview to
abundance of talent means the salesperson pursue the findings of the assessment.
has many natural aptitudes and is If you define the specific talents your
searching for a position in which to sale requires, your search for the right
apply these many talents. These talent will lead to the strongest sales
salespeople can grow weary of a position candidates.






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