{"id":5859,"date":"2017-06-13T08:37:02","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T13:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/?p=5859"},"modified":"2019-06-04T12:10:44","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T17:10:44","slug":"4-pillars-of-successful-sales-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2017\/06\/4-pillars-of-successful-sales-selection\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Pillars Of Successful Sales Selection"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"boldgrid-section\">\n<div class=\"container-fluid\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<h3 class=\"\">Successful sales hiring, in any company, is one of the most difficult tasks in which to achieve repeatable success.&nbsp; From unexpected outbursts to terminal tardiness to woeful incompetence, every company has a sales hiring horror story regarding employees who interviewed strong but performed poorly.<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Perhaps a subtle, but more dangerous occurrence is the all-too-common hire who performs their job in the gray twilight of mediocrity.&nbsp; They never rise to the occasion and they never catastrophically fail.&nbsp; They interviewed well but now simply perform their role in a nondescript manner within the company.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Amass too many of these employees and your company will be overwhelmed with mediocrity\u2026or worse.&nbsp; How do you identify candidates who have unseen natural capacities that will elevate them to record-setting achievements?<\/p>\n<p>There are 4 pillars that are present in all repeatable, successful sales hiring processes.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"\">\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Always select talent and skills over experience.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"\">Experience is a definite benefit to shortening a sales ramp, but it is not an airtight predictor of success.&nbsp; This over reliance upon experience in hiring decisions is the foremost error companies make when selecting new salespeople.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The issue is simple \u2013 no two companies are the same, no two cultures are the same and no two sales are the same.&nbsp; Competitors still approach the market from different points.&nbsp; Competitors have unique cultures that may be sales-focused, engineering-focused, financially-focused.&nbsp; A salesperson who is successful in one culture may very well be a flop in a different culture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">A successful salesperson from a competitor may have inherited the strongest territory.&nbsp; They may receive a disproportionate amount of leads.&nbsp; They may have the competitor\u2019s largest customer in their territory.&nbsp; You will never know the answer to all of these questions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">However, you can know the answer to their skill and talent level.&nbsp; These are abilities that can be objectively measured.&nbsp; You can know how they will fit into your sale before they ever land on your payroll.&nbsp; Our assessments provide an x-ray into their sales abilities.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"\" start=\"2\">\n<li>\n<h4><strong> Do not clone yourself.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"\">Bias can blind people from seeing real talent.&nbsp; Oftentimes we encounter sales leaders who either consciously or unconsciously constructed a team in their own likeness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Here is why this matters &#8211; different styles provide different strengths that can augment an existing team.&nbsp; A team consisting of varied styles, skills and aptitudes will approach a singular problem from different angles.&nbsp; This varied approach provides a broader view of the problem and an opportunity to consider differing solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Weakness occurs when a herd mentality, based on similarity, creates a monolithic solution.&nbsp; This solution may be feasible at that moment, but one thing we are encountering today is disruption.&nbsp; Markets are changing a lightning speed, technologies are shifting major platforms and prospects are more informed than any time in our past.<\/p>\n<p>Your hiring process should embrace sales candidates with unique styles and motivations for your team.&nbsp; This variety will allow you to accurately foresee cataclysmic changes in your marketspace.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"\" start=\"3\">\n<li>\n<h4><strong> Use hiring situations to see the candidate in action.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"\">Use every contact as a chance to see the candidate incorporate their sales abilities.&nbsp; The similarities between a hiring process and a sales process are remarkable.&nbsp; The sales candidate is attempting to sell his or her abilities to the needs of your sales position.&nbsp; This similarity provides a wonderful opportunity to see the candidates\u2019 sales abilities in person.<\/p>\n<p>Your sales hiring process should begin with a phone screen as most selling still commences through an initial phone call.&nbsp; Phone etiquette still matters.&nbsp; Thought coherence under pressure is crucial in all sales.&nbsp; Personality, humor, articulation\u2026these traits can all be discerned through a relatively short phone screen.&nbsp; Finally, pressure can be placed on the candidate to get your first glimpse of their calmness in a phone qualifying call.&nbsp; The key is to match the pressure that the candidate will face selling for your company.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">If your salespeople typically sell to a committee, ensure that you have multiple people in the initial interview with the candidates.&nbsp; This simple move mirrors the selling situation the salesperson will encounter in your sales role.&nbsp; You can observe how they handle multiple questioners, eye contact, different personalities, various power levels and much more.&nbsp; The key through this process is to envision the candidate selling for your company.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"\" start=\"4\">\n<li>\n<h4><strong> Do not expect to hire perfection.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"\">Even the strongest candidates have some blemishes.&nbsp; Every sales hire requires an understanding of strength areas and potential weaknesses.&nbsp; These areas can be measured through our accurate sales assessments.&nbsp; The key is to understand what areas are \u201cneed-to-haves\u201d and what areas are \u201cnice-to-haves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">There are aspects of a successful sales hire that are always required, including qualifying skills and an ROI motivation.&nbsp; Yet, there can be some give-and-take regarding prospecting skill, presentation skill, communication style and general aptitudes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">It is the rare candidate that perfectly matches your sales position so do not lock down on the eternal search for perfection.&nbsp; You must know the absolute need-to-have abilities and use those as your measuring stick.&nbsp; Besides, waiting for perfection means you may never make a hire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Install these four pillars into your sales hiring process and you will drastically improve your hiring success.&nbsp; We have the tools and training available to solidify your process.&nbsp; Contact us today if you would like to learn more about turning your sales hiring process into a company-wide strength.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><strong><a class=\"btn btn-pill btn-color-5 btn-glow\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\" href=\"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/recruiting\/\">Our Recruiting Process<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Successful sales hiring, in any company, is one of the most difficult tasks in which to achieve repeatable success.&nbsp; From unexpected outbursts to terminal tardiness to woeful incompetence, every company has a sales hiring horror story regarding employees who interviewed strong but performed poorly. Perhaps a subtle, but more dangerous occurrence is the all-too-common hire who performs their job in the gray twilight of mediocrity.&nbsp; They never rise to the occasion and they never catastrophically fail.&nbsp; They interviewed well but now simply perform their role in a nondescript manner within the company. Amass too many of these employees and your company will be overwhelmed with mediocrity\u2026or worse.&nbsp; How do you&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2017\/06\/4-pillars-of-successful-sales-selection\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,16],"tags":[125,257,1762],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pillars.jpg?fit=304%2C204","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Oho-1wv","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5859"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5859"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49574,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5859\/revisions\/49574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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