Dave Kurlan wrote an outstanding post:  Bench Strength – The Key To Replacing Salespeople.  He mentioned that managers must always be recruiting.  It’s such a simple concept, but Dave Brock is constantly amazed at how few managers–at all levels do this.

Here’s how the cycle goes.  We have a bad performer in place, we worry about firing the person, because it leaves an open territory….too often we think coverage is more important than quality.  Maybe the manager might start looking casually for someone, but the normal day to day events slow the process down, consequently nothing is done for too long.

Or it may go like this:  One day, our star performer walks in and resigns.  We panic–she’s going to leave a huge gap in our organization.  We immediately look to back-fill the position.  In our haste to fill the position, we may reduce our standards recruiting the wrong person.  The death spiral accelerates…..

Recruiting high quality people–even in this candidate rich job market takes time.

By Sharon L. Florentine (The Ladders.com)
Name: Kathleen Steffey
Title: President
Company: Naviga Business Services, Tampa, Florida
Years as a Recruiter: 15

“It used to be an employers’ choice out there,” said recruiter Kathleen Steffey. “Clients had the upper hand and could take their time making sure they found perfect candidates, whether that meant keeping candidates ‘on hold’ for weeks or asking them to return for more and more interviews.”

That’s no longer the case. Candidates are finding they don’t have to tolerate employers’ “bad behavior” and often have a few opportunities from which to choose, said Steffey, president of Naviga Business Services, a Tampa, Fla., executive-search firm that specializes in recruiting nationally for sales and marketing professionals. Some employers find it a hard pill to swallow.

It leaves executive recruiters in the unenviable position of pressuring clients to take their advice, which could alienate them from customers, or risk losing the candidate and the commission altogether.

“If a client’s not pulling the trigger on delivering an offer, or they’re keeping a candidate on hold for too long, that person is now able to jet out of there and find something else — they’re not as starved for opportunities as they once were,” she said. “And that’s a trend we find ourselves coaching our clients on.”

Doing so, of course, requires finesse and the ability to walk the fine line between being consultative and being pushy. Steffey instructs Naviga’s recruiters to err on the side of “consultative” and simply present clients with as much information as possible, allowing them to draw their own conclusions.

“First, I really stress that my recruiters find out from the candidate the exact level of interest in that particular company and position; to ask thorough questions to gauge what they’ll do if they get another offer,” she said. This vetting process helps Naviga recruiters find out if candidates would be willing to give a company a few extra days if it could mean getting an offer, “and that helps us — and helps our clients — to understand where their interest lies and where best to expend energy.”

“If we’re in the process of presenting candidates, the client may express particular interest in one person,” she said. “Over the past year or so, they’ve been able to say, ‘We need to interview a number of other people as well,’ and that’s not necessarily the best approach today.

“We make sure they know if the candidate has a number of other interviews scheduled and that they could very well accept an offer from another company.”

By presenting as much information as possible not just about the candidate but about that person’s prospects and other competing offers, Steffey said clients quickly understand that the market has changed and that “if they don’t make their move, they might end up missing out on a great hire.”

Tim Rohrer shares that sellers are trained to overcome objections.  As a result, they don’t listen carefully to what is being said to them by a prospect and they assume that everything said is an objection.  His observation is that prospects make comments that can be classified into the following four categories:
1) Statements
2) Concerns
3) Blow offs and
4) Objections

Many sales leaders ask Scott Miller what’s the FIRST thing they should do to elevate the effectiveness of their team; train them up or move out the underperformers. Their initial inclination is to move out the C-players and then level set the team once the right players are in place. But that begs the question – what are the attributes of an A-player?

An interesting question was recently brought to my attention:  Should we resurrect the 100% commission sales position?

This topic has long been the subject of heated debate within the sales profession. On one side, there are those who believe that full commission positions are not only alive and kicking, but that companies should make them more appealing to hesitant sales pros by offering enhanced incentives and showcasing the income of top sales people to demonstrate earning potential.

Others, like me, are more divided on the subject. While 100% commission positions do have their place in sales, they aren’t always a good option for either the company or the sales professional. Certainly A Players can be wildly successful in 100% commission positions, but finding them is a major challenge. For many companies, these positions are recruitment and retention nightmares that result in low sales and high turnover.

While there are high caliber sales professionals who have the entrepreneurial spirit and drive necessary to make a 100% commission position work for themselves and the company, you have to dig very deep to find them. Too often, whether it’s justified or not, top sales pros perceive the companies offering commission-only positions as less-than-reputable.

The other problem with commission-only positions is that they haven’t kept up with the changes to the sales profession. Sales is far more than simply selling a widget and moving on. Today’s most successful sales organizations have recognized that success requires adopting a consultative, partnership approach that results in long-term client relationships.

By offering a base plus commission, hiring managers are acknowledging that they value sales people with much higher levels of education and experience than ever before – qualities that are neither cheap nor easy to find.

That is why I always encourage my clients to rethink their stance on commission-only positions. However, if they are insistent, I urge them to at least offer some level of draw against commissions and some type of guarantee. This demonstrates to prospective hires that the company is seeking a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with their sales team. It shows good faith, which ultimately leads to higher caliber sales professionals and lower turnover.

It’s one of the more challenging job interview questions: “What would your colleagues say about you?” Instead of fumbling around for an answer, prepare for it ahead of time and you can slam dunk this difficult personal question.  

• Why Ask Interview Questions Like This?  Most prospective employers ask this interview question to see if the description you give synchs up with the impression you’re making. “Some people are really good at interviewing,” says Sarah Baker Andrus, director of external relations and academic programs at CutCo in Olean, New York. “It’s a great way to measure if the person is the real deal.”  It’s also handy when doing due diligence. “Asking candidates this question also gives me something concrete to discuss when I call their work references,” she says. “They’ll either gush or pause, and either way it’s telling.” 
•  Ask Your Sources:  It’s a good idea to check in with former colleagues and employers to find out how they’d answer this question. Their answers will give you some useful material. Additionally, this will help you identify who among them would be good references.  “I would start thinking about coworkers who look on you favorably,” suggests Kathleen Steffey, founder and CEO of Naviga Business Services, a sales and marketing recruiting firm in Tampa. “Send these people a little friendly but honest feedback survey in advance that asks them how they felt about your work.”  Lee Perrett, a senior vice president with Tyler & Company, a healthcare executive search firm advises you “pick the best replies that can be tied back into the position or company you are interviewing with.”  If you don’t feel comfortable reestablishing contact, go back through your performance appraisals and pick out keywords like hard-working, tenacious, great attention to detail, excellent salesperson, etc. “A potential hiring manager may check your references, so it’s important to be honest and consistent with the feedback you give the interviewer, and the feedback the former manager or colleagues will give,” he cautions.  
• Respond Thoroughly:  Avoid the temptation to use those key descriptors as your complete answer, however. Instead, use that information to introduce concrete results. Anyone can say they’re reliable, for instance, so you want to show how you were reliable.  “An applicant is going to be seen as much more sincere and believable if they have tangible, articulated examples,” explains Rick Moore, a senior vice president for staffing firm Volt Services Group. “By having a clear example, they have created an image that the interviewer can easily relate to and reflect upon at the conclusion of the dialogue. Think: How can I use real life situations and describe something well enough that the interviewer feels like they were there?’”  

Andrus has another idea. Use the question as an opportunity to show you’re interested in improving by saying something like this: “My boss would probably tell you I didn’t get off to the greatest start, but by the end of the summer she knew she could count on me” followed by an example of that. “Talk about a challenge you had and overcame related to how people saw you,” she notes.   Now you’ve got the keys to unlock one of the toughest interview questions you may be asked. A little networking and some preparation will put you at ease with answering interview questions like this one.    

He can close, but Susan Greco asks “How’s his interpersonal sensitivity?”  A guide to screening sales candidates.

SALES MANAGEMENT: It seems this is a continuing refrain heard ’round the world- “It’s so tough to find good sales people.” The first question is “Are you really looking?” After that is wrestled down, “How and Where?”

Today’s tightened economy has opened the ears of so many more capable sales people that have been previously closed to overtures about making a move. Some have been hurt due to their industry being severely impacted. Some are working at companies that are genuinely struggling and are open to discussing a move. Now is the time to turn a tightened economy into a time of opportunity. Put together your list of known top sales performers that could add quick and real impact to your team. Don’t forget to expand your search to folks outside your industry. Whenever Jack Daly asks his audiences if they would want a third/fourth quartile performer with industry experience or a first/second quartile performer with no industry experience, the choice is always the latter. Yet, it’s infrequent that we see Sales Leaders recruiting from outside their industry. There is real opportunity here and you can train them in your business. Top performers know one thing for certain- how to be top performers!  Identify a dozen or so key recruits and begin the courting process.

Dave Kurlan says: Let’s pretend that you just learned that none of your salespeople are motivated to earn more money (the actual finding is “not motivated to earn more money” as opposed to “not money motivated”). Wouldn’t you be thinking, “That’s impossible - There has got to be a mistake”? You would, but what kind of mistake would lead to a finding like that? If the finding was true it would mean that you hired the wrong people, so maybe the assessment is invalid.  And if you are in another country you would ask, “Could this be a cultural difference?”

   Guest blog by Tony Smith, The Brooks Group, www.thebrooksgroup.com 

Kathleen recently asked my opinion on how to best measure a candidate and their results in today’s down economy. In thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that the answer to this question is actually the same as it would be in a better economy.

 The sales manager is responsible for coaching a candidate to maximize their success in the field.  The problem is that many managers focus on end-process measurement, which is measuring a candidate’s results relative to their ability to achieve goal or quota, as opposed to in-process measurement.   In-process measurement occurs when you measure throughout the sales process.  Is your salesperson investigating properly?  What about pre-call planning and prospecting?   Do they meet the prospect in the right way?  Are they able to build trust and rapport?  Are they asking the right questions and presenting appropriate solutions?   The job of any sales manager is to be able to answer two questions:  1) Where are you in the sales process?  2) What are the next steps?   In a down economy, the end goal is a specific result which may or may not be obtained.  Goals may have been unrealistic to begin with due to current economic conditions.  Budgets have been trimmed and, in some cases, organizations have put a freeze on buying.  Depending on what you are selling, even if you think you do bring value, you may not be able to get around this fact. Simply measuring a candidate’s results against a goal is easy, but does not get at the heart of the truth that the right activities drive the right results.   Every action that a salesperson takes creates an outcome.  This is where you need to be measuring your candidates, because they are producing outcomes even if they are not meeting their goals.   Most sales managers do not focus on this because in-process measurement requires more time. But it is critical in this economy that the candidate be measured on in-process measurement, because the real goal of the salesperson should be to be in front of qualified prospects when they are ready to buy and not when you need to make a sale.   In order to do this effectively and measure a salesperson properly, sales managers must be in the field.  They cannot lead the sales team from behind a desk.  This requires more time, but it is the only way to measure a candidate in today’s turbulent times.  If your salespeople master the sales process but are not meeting goals, then the goal is unobtainable.   Organizations must realize this and be prepared to work through these turbulent times.  However, you must first make sure that your salespeople know exactly what to do.  Sales will still be made. The question is, will your salespeople be the ones making those sales or will it be the competition?   Too many sales teams simply do not know how to properly sell.  They are using outdated techniques that are no longer effective in the marketplace.