3 Critical Questions to Answer BEFORE you Hire Another Salesperson

Your guide on how to find and keep the top tier talent in today’s challenging job market.

As the economy continues to bounce back from the global pandemic, many businesses are scrambling to restore staffing to pre-2020 levels. You’ve probably heard about worker shortages in the restaurant and retail sectors. But demand for quality employees is outstripping supply in many white-collar professions as well, including sales.

Continued uncertainty and hesitancy to return to in-person work (which is critical to many types of selling) has resulted in the tightest labor market in years. The so-called “Great Shuffle” in how and where employees will do their jobs post-Covid has only added to the perennial challenge of attracting and retaining sales talent.

What does this mean for you as a hiring manager? Simply put, depending on your industry, the search for the perfect candidate may be an impossible quest right now. You can’t pull someone from the labor pool if they’re not in there swimming. So your focus today should be on creating the best ROI from the available applicants.

That means quickly and confidently assessing what they’re going to bring to your sales organization. Make sure you’re looking for the answers to these three questions during the selection process: 

1. How much can they produce?

The bottom line is important, but don’t let an impossible standard rob you of hiring opportunities. Of course, you never want to bring aboard someone who seems destined to be a poor performer just to fill a position. But don’t overlook candidates who aren’t currently top-tier, either. As much as you’d like to have an All-Star sales team, leave room to develop solid but mediocre performers.  

2. How soon can they produce it?

Hiring for potential can be a sound strategy or a costly mistake. You may be tempted to take on a promising but unproven employee as a “project,” especially when the labor pool is shallow. It’s a gamble that can pay off - if you’re realistic about the odds. Depending on your tolerance for deferred gratification, a middle-of-the-road performer who reaches their full potential in 90 days may be a better fit than a rock star who takes six months or more to ramp up. Whichever course you take, make sure your expectations for progress are crystal-clear and the level of productivity you ultimately expect will be worth the wait.

3. How much will it cost?

Developing sales talent takes time and money. Some new employees will quickly justify your investment. Some never will. Be clear-eyed about how much training, or re-training, a new hire will require. The experienced sales ace you just snapped up may have made his name as a great face-to-face seller. But how well will he adapt to the new world of selling primarily by video call (which may be here to stay even when the current crisis is over)? What will it cost you to find out?

When candidates are scarce, you may need to pare down the attributes you’re evaluating. That doesn’t mean lowering your standards! But it does mean sharpening your focus on the most mission-critical behaviors of a successful salesperson. Probing for personality traits and work styles can be helpful to differentiate among a glut of applicants. But in a highly pressurized labor market, it pays to remember that the single best predictor of future performance is past performance. Period.

Look for a track record of measurable success. Seeing “team leader” on a resume looks promising, but how did that translate into closed sales? Listen to how candidates describe what they actually do when they sell. Do they talk about specific activities like prospecting, networking, and following up, or do they speak exclusively in nebulous catchphrases like “building relationships” and “creating value”?

Finally, avoid the trap of holding out for the very best. Instead, take note of those who seem coachable and teachable. In the long run, they’ll be the employees who represent the best return on investment, regardless of economic conditions.

We can help! Our diagnostic tests are engineered to identify salespeople who will consistently and comfortably navigate the entire selling cycle, from prospecting to closing. Let us show your organization how to find and keep the best salespeople in today’s challenging market.

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• Eliminate excuses and maximize prospecting and/or engagement activity.

• Eradicate negative sales-defeating behaviors.

• Clear “head trash” that is more dangerous than the current market conditions.

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