From Human Resource Executive Online’s Uncertain Economy, Uneven Hiring (emphasis mine):

Richard Fanelli, president of Fanelli McClain Design Studios, a commercial interior planning and design firm located in Fairfax, Va., says that his company is not hiring right now, but they’re scouting.

“We have to have the workload to support new hires,” he says. “But if I were to find the right person, I might hire them and then market harder to justify the hire.”

That is an interesting turn of phrase, isn’t it?  “Scouting” is an excellent verb to use in this context.  This is a practice we preach, but most companies don’t scout consistently.  This lack of consistency leads to a mad scramble after a salesperson walks in on a Friday afternoon and resigns.

Today’s high productivity, fast-paced market may make these scouting activities difficult for a sales manager to accomplish while growing revenue.  That is where a company like ours can stand in the gap and provide scouting reports on available candidates.

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This ManageSmarter.com article – On-Board Your Sales Hires Faster – hits me where I live.  We ran into a serious issue with one of our customers where a salesperson we placed was terminated after 60 days.  I won’t go into specifics, but this gentleman never had a chance.  One anecdotal point – he never received business cards.  You get the picture.

We are working with our customer this week to establish a formalized onramping program for the next salesperson in this role.  Much, or even all, of the problems that developed were due to this small company not understanding what needs to happen to successfully launch a new salesperson.  Some of these items are rudimentary like having business cards for them on day 1 while others involve the manager-critical setting of expectations.

The truth here is that the first few months are the most formative in establishing future success:

1. Time is Fleeting
There is an opportunity in the first three to six months of a salesperson’s career at the new company to set the tone. And during this timeframe, you need to get your new hires to fully comprehend your desire for their success and that you plan on using process, methodology, coaching and technology to help them.

Exactly.  The third and final point in the article is also most relevant:

3. Belly Up to the Benchmark
Take the time before a salesperson is on board to integrate traditionally independent activities from multiple departments, and agree on the collaboration process. Create a plan that has specific objectives and milestones that pinpoint productivity from day one. Measure and track productivity, but measure in terms of activity rather than financial results. This allows for better tracking, measurement, monitoring and coaching.

We always tell our customers that they need to set activity expectations and then monitor them closely during the first 3 to 6 months.  This is the time period for course correction that sets up a successful employment with clear expectations.  Failure to engage in these management topics leads to early terminations and revolving-door territories.

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Don’t you love that title, Sales Gravy?  This site is a sales resource that I was not aware of until I received a call from Jeb Blount who runs the site.

Sales Gravy is the fastest growing international networking community for Sales Professionals. Sales Gravy is your portal to All Things Sales.We believe that Sales Professionals are the Elite Athletes of the Business world and this site is designed and dedicated to helping our members gain the Winning Edge!

There are many resources on the site and I have to confess I have not had a chance to browse through all of them.  The Sales Tools and Resources is the area in which I have spent the most time.  There are numerous articles that I have read and can clearly see that we will be using them in our future posts.

Take the time to check out this valuable new resource.

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