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.