Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein
Here is a riddle we constantly encounter yet have difficulty solving. Let’s say you are the sales manager for a somewhat complex product sale and you have an underperforming salesperson. The salesperson is well below quota, has an ethereal forecast and is not making enough prospect connects to turn it around. What do you do as a sales manager?
My solution – pull them from their territory for 1 week of intense product training. I’m talking deep training down to the part production, software coding, product assembly nether regions of operations. If you can pump enough product information into their brain, high-margin sales revenue will certainly follow . . . quickly.
Right? Are you with me?
Hopefully you see this approach as insanity. It is. Yet, many companies apply this logic when hiring a salesperson. Exact industry experience becomes the weighted predictor of success in their position. To make matters worse, over-valued industry experience is deduced from a resume that has almost certainly been embellished. This trap is the main cause of poor sales hiring.
The number 1 predictor of successful selling is sales skills not industry experience. Every company that we encounter has resident experts for their product or service. I guarantee it will take more time, effort and resources to teach a salesperson how to sell than it will ever take to teach them about your product or service. Some sales candidates only sale will be to land on your payroll.
Don’t succumb to the experience trap when hiring. Look for abilities that are needed in your particular sale. Objectively assess candidates. Contact us if you need assistance.