Here’s a mindbender for you – we have a customer who has a relatively new salesperson and a new sales manager. The salesperson has sold more than the 5 other new salespeople hired within a few months of him (mostly before him). The sales manager has not met the salesperson in person yet, but has voiced some concern about him.
The concern – this salesperson does not have industry experience (we sourced him from a completely different industry that has a similar sale). The industry they sell in is, well, to be blunt, rather not complex. Again, this salesperson is off to the best start of the group, but the sales manager has doubts about him.
This mindset is revealing of the worst type of bias any sales manager can have. The belief that industry experience trumps ability is 180 degrees out of phase. Unfortunately, we see it often in our sales hiring business. However, I must confess that I have never seen it as the salesperson is excelling in the role.
That is a first for me.
And hopefully the last.