Salespeople Are Professional Actors
Inc.com offers this article - When Is It Safe To Hire? The focus of the article is a software manufacturer’s assistance to their rep companies in hiring salespeople. Basically, the manufacturer will provide $10,000 to the rep company to assist them in hiring salespeople. The money can be used for assessing, training, supplementing salary, etc. Apparently this approach is relatively common in the software industry.
The article discusses the pitfalls of hiring salespeople in the context of small business owners ($1-2 million revenue). This ground is well travelled by us. I am convinced that in companies this size, sales hires are a make-or-break proposition. And when I say “break” I mean risking the business “break.”
That thought leads to this excerpt:
Brant Wadsworth, the owner of Digitek, a Phoenix-based software reseller with $2 million in revenue, is typical of the CEOs Sage wanted to reach. “I had hired salespeople before, but the process to get them up to speed was difficult, and they didn’t work out,” he says. “The hardest thing about finding good salespeople is that they’re all professional actors. Every salesperson is giving you their best pitch when you’re interviewing.”
I couldn’t have said it any better myself. They are all professional actors which is why relying solely on your gut instinct to make the sales hire is a losing proposition. And proof comes later in the article:
He dutifully put candidates through personality testing, but when a low score seemed to discredit his favorite prospect, he decided to go with his gut.
Mohan thought the person he hired, though inexperienced, had great potential. But soon after she came to work, Mohan realized he’d screwed up. As the personality tests had suggested, the candidate’s natural exuberance did not make up for a lack of aggressiveness and experience. “Some of the weaknesses we identified in the screening process turned out to be the problem,” Mohan admits. After several unhappy months, the salesperson left.
I give Mr. Mohan credit for being so open about a bad hire. He was only using personality tests which is better than nothing, but certainly not enough to consistently hire strong salespeople. Nonetheless, his experience is a persuasive statement about the need to assess sales candidates before hiring them.
Lastly, it is difficult, but trust the assessments. This approach is like a pilot who has his or her instrument rating. When it is pitch black in the night, they are trained to trust their instruments even when they mind is telling them the plane is diving towards the ground. When hiring salespeople, the desire is to follow your gut in the face of assessment results. Don’t do it - trust the instruments.
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Posted By Derrick Moe | Assessing, Hiring Salespeople, Interview, Sourcing | |
It may come as a surprise to know that there are ways to assess the potential value of ‘professional actors’ when they show up in your selection process net. Two of my early careers were production stage manager and theatrical stage director - and key to the success of our productions were selecting the best actors for the roles and the show. If you can imagine - many actors are a lot better at auditioning than actually performing.
Anyone familiar with the process of casting a show understands that “The Audition” is the primary event used to evaluate and then to select the best possible cast, just as the interview is used by many as the key to selecting new salespeople. And, as the article suggests, companies can be fooled by great performances. Auditioning well (and being the appropriate ‘type’ for the role)does carry a lot of weight, and often lands the role. After casting actors who auditioned well and performed poorly, I learned to look at other factors to help me predict future performance - previous stage experience, favorable critic’s reviews and even conversations with directors who had worked with that person before all helped. Sometimes I would deliberatley cast a less experienced actor who may not have played the role before, but who had a great work ethic (what good a great actor who can’t make it to the theatre in time for their entrance?), demonstrated a hunger for success (fire in the belly), and seemed eager to be a part of the cast (team).
Just as in the selection process for new salespeople, I would first seek out basic skills and experience as the qualifier, then look at the intangibles to evaluate the degree of overall “fit.”
Often the factors that influenced casting decisions were gathered through informal assesments - did the actor socialize in the time leading up to their 2 minute audition? Did they look you in the eye when introducing themselves? Were they dressed appropriately for the role? Had they done their research and were they prepared (reminds me of the sales candidate whose first question during our face-to-face was: “What position am I interviewing for again?”).
So for those faced with the “professional actor” sales candidates, take some coaching from that profession and assess the candidate in other ways as well - references, prior success, non-interview setting meetings (like meals or social events), skill and personality assessment tools, and observation of all the intangibles about character, work habits and social skills.
By the way, I have seen some incredible sales results from folks who once trod the boards, so don’t discount a stage or film pro when they come knocking. But be careful. In sales the phrase is: “Talks a good game…” In theatre the sentiment is the same even though the comment is “Auditions well, but…”
The unsaid often says it all.