Lee PorterSales Maven

How to Hire Exceptional Sales Talent

What role are you trying to fillAn aggressive outside or

outbound salesperson to drive new business

A nurturing salesperson to attend to the needs of your existing customers

Or both?

The Hunter

Hunters are impatient, action oriented, persistent and focused on goal attainment.

They dislike paperwork, but enjoy being turned loose to operate independently.

Most are highly social risk takers. They are motivated by and respond to rewards.

The Farmer

Farmers like developing and nurturing customer relationships, attending to ongoing customer needs and helping solve problems.

Farmers are great at follow up, most are detail oriented and good at paperwork.

Which do you need?

Most companies need both

Don’t expect Hunters to be great at customer service (although some are), follow up (outside the sales process) or paperwork. Don’t expect Farmers to spend their days cold calling.

Many organizations have successfully teamed Hunters with Farmers.◦Hunters bring home the bacon◦Farmers fry it up in the pan

What salespeople doProspecting

◦Acquire names, contacts, referrals◦Research and prepare for calling◦Make the call

Get through to the decision-maker Assess interest or need Make the appointment for consultation

Consulting◦Conduct an assessment of needs and

analyze situation.◦Gather all needed information.◦Assess and interpret buying signals.◦Move the process forward by

securing a commitment for presentation.

Presentation◦Develop a proposal that matches the

needs revealed by the customer in the consultation.

◦Make the presentation TO THE DECISIONMAKER in a professional, polished and persuasive manner.

◦Answer all questions and objections.◦Secure a commitment for decision.

Closing◦Negotiate program/product mix.◦Secure agreement on terms for

delivery, payment, and other details.◦Get contract signed, paperwork

completed.◦Initiate any internal processes◦Follow up with client, internal

stakeholders, etc.

Your new hire should be good at ALL these

processes

What’s the cost of making a poor hire?Wasted management resources

(time, training effort, etc)Wasted salary and other hiring

costsRisking customer relationshipsDamaging morale on the team

Effect of eliminating low-performers and replacing them with mid-performersAnalysis of team performance--team size=10

Individual Sales Target = $100,000

Number of Salespeople in

Category

Individual Sales

Revenue

Total Sales Revenue for

Team

10% increase across the

board

20% mid-performers only

Replace "No-hopers" with

mid-performers

Over target (130%) 2 $130,000 $260,000 $286,000 $260,000 $260,000

Near Target (85%) 6 $85,000 $510,000 $561,000 $612,000 $680,000Below Target (30%) 2 $30,000 $60,000 $66,000 $60,000 $0

Total $830,000 $913,000 $932,000 $940,000

What’s the candidate’s track record?

◦Success in past sales is the primary indicator of future sales success, with one caveat: motivation.

◦Great sales people are passionate about their product. Is your sales candidate highly motivated, excited about the possibilities and ready to commit wholeheartedly?

•What obstacles has this person overcome in their past experiences? •Attitude is EVERYTHING in a salesperson. How does your candidate manage their attitude on a daily basis?

What’s the candidate’s track record?

Do they have personal goals, how are they managed?

How have they felt about goals set for them in past sales positions?

What is their process to achieve goals?

How goal-oriented is your candidate?

Your expectations

◦How much training will the candidate require to be fully functional in the sales position?

◦Is there a steep learning curve to your products or processes, and if so, is this person a quick study or will they need lots of handholding along the way?

◦Are you prepared to provide the training they will need in order to be successful?

◦Are your expectations realistic as to how long this will take?

How long will it take?

How long will it take?Have you analyzed your own sales cycle

well enough to set appropriate targets and goals?

Is there an existing pipeline for your salesperson to work or will they be starting from scratch?

How does your compensation package

fit?

How does your compensation package fit?

◦Hunters and Farmers have very different perspectives on the risks associated with compensation. Hunters generally have a higher tolerance for risk (and a higher taste for reward). Farmers’ personality usually means they are happier knowing they can perform consistently and get consistently compensated.

◦Many companies have moved away from straight commission sales, and for good reason. Managing behavior is much easier when your plan allows you to compensate for desired outcomes.

The death of commission only sales?

Pay relates directly to performance and results achieved

System is easy to understand and compute

Salespeople are provided with the greatest incentive possible

Company's selling investment is reduced

Emphasis is on volume not profits Little or no loyalty to the company is

generated Wide variances in income between

salespeople Tendency for some salespeople to skim their

territories Service aspect of selling bypassed or ignored Pay is often excessive in boom times and

very low in recession periods Strong tendency for salespeople to sell

themselves rather than the company and to stress short-term rather than long-term

Reluctance on the part of high-paid salespeople to move up to management

Turnover of sales personnel tends to be excessive when business turns bad or as the company searches for sales staff who can deal with the commission only environment both professionally and personally (income ups and downs)

Advantages

Disadvantages

Base + commission modelImproved ability to manage

behaviorBetter security, harmony and

teamworkSliding scales according to

Hunter or Farmer designation◦80-20 for Farmers◦70-30 for Hunters

Additional bonus pool for rewarding specific behaviors or successes

Results?Lower overall turnoverGreater cooperation and intra-

team mentoringUnintended consequence? Loss

of top performers due to ceilings (these folks were probably overpaid)

In summaryHire to fit your company cultureCommit in advance to providing

adequate trainingSet realistic goalsEstablish adequate accountability

measuresManage for success

For additional helpSales Training (classroom and customized)One-on-One Coaching for SalesSales Management CoachingSales Processes/Systems ConsultationLeadership and Executive Coaching

Lee Porterlee@trebuchetgroup.com