Hiring Great Salespeople:How to unearth a diamond

Are you managing an inside sales team? Are they failing to jump on the phone and make

the calls? If yes, what does the phone mean

to them?

The world of outbound salesSales people tend to exude 20% more confidence than the rest of us

They are extremely dedicated, and live formeeting and exceeding sales targets

But sometimes they exaggerate. Even Hubspot claim that some salespeople are unwilling to be transparent.

So how do you separate the good from the bad? How do you know whether you’re hiring the real thing, or

an expensive counterfeit?

Are you managing anWhat makes a good salesperson?The interview is a good place to start. More often than not, good salespeople don’t hesitate in the answers they give, so we’ve come up with 10 key questions to ask during the interview to distinguish the good from the not so good!

1. How many sales people are in your team and your company?2. How did you rank against your peers last year?3. Who sets your targets and what are they?4. How often are they set?5. How many calls do you make every day?6. How do you plan your day?7. How do you end a call with a customer?8. What information do you send to the customer after the call?9. What happens when a customer says no, they don’t want the service or product?10. How do you find your sales leads?

Are you managing an inside sales team? Are they failing to jump on the phone and make

the calls? If yes, what does the phone mean

to them?

Lominger competenciesUsing this system, sales managers can identify the type of

competencies that good salespeople will excel in:

• Planning• Customer Focus• Results Driven• Negotiation• Persistent

Are you managing an inside sales team? Are they failing to jump on the phone and make

the calls? If yes, what does the phone mean

to them?

PlanningThey will book all calls into their schedule, and aim to do a minimum of 50-60 outbound calls a day; this assumes no outbound dialler. They will have pre-read the customer website and other information before making the call, and complete any follow up emails either early in the morning or the evening before to keep their day free to contact customers.

Customer focusThey will be focused on solving the customer’s problem, rather than bragging about the product features. They will also be good listeners and observe the 80/20 rule of listening verses talking.

Are you managing an inside sales team? Are they failing to jump on the phone and make

the calls? If yes, what does the phone mean

to them?

Results driven

They will know their targets inside out and can forecast within 20% accuracy if they are going to hit those targets. They also try to end every call with an agreed time for a follow up and they know what actions need to be completed. A poor salesperson will just partake in a rambling catch up call that may not go anywhere, whereas the good salesperson will accurately forecast a close date.

AreNegotiation They will have no objection to discussing price. They will have reviewed the customer’s business in advance, reviewed the competition, and can pre-empt the big objections. If the customer decides not to buy the product, a good salesperson will ask why. But if they merely accept the customer’s refusal without further enquiry, perhaps you need to relocate them to customer service!

Are you managing an inside sales team? Are they failing to jump on the phone and make

the calls? If yes, what does the phone mean

to them?

Persistent

The worst offence occurs when a salesperson makes multiple calls but then disregards the lead. Persistence in sales is king, resistance is futile! The salesperson should never give up. Instead, they should dig deeper for more contact information or pass on the lead to someone else who can try to close if they are failing to win it themselves. By listening in on this call, they can then understand where they went wrong and what they could have done better.

Are you managing an inside sales team? Are they failing to jump on the phone and make

the calls? If yes, what does the phone mean

to them?

One more thing!Another good tip for hiring sales people is to organise a role play and have the candidate sell a product to one of your existing sales leaders/trainers, based on an agreed case study. This exercise is an ideal way to assess whether your prospective hire will shine brightly…or fade into the abyss of insignificance!

Are you managing an inside sales team? Are they failing to jump on the phone and make

the calls? If yes, what does the phone mean

to them?

In SummaryHiring great salespeople can be tricky, you need to make sure that you’ve found the right person who can walk the walk, as well as talk the talk.

Apply these key interview questions and Lominger competency comparative analysis to your own business, and see how it can help you hire the right people for your sales team.

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