There can be many contributing factors to explain why you’re experiencing a high turnover rate. Here are a few:
- Poor compensation structure
- Not articulating the value of your product, service or solution
- Poor sales leadership
- Not hiring the right people
Let’s talk about the last one, not hiring the right people. And I’m going to drill down even further into this category and discuss the sales representative hiring profile. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, there are a number of descriptors people include in their hiring profile that aren’t really valuable unless they are specific, measurable or observable behaviors. Here are just a few tips when writing a hiring profile:
- Observe one of your top performers and document what you like about them. Do they proactively fill their funnel at all times by cold calling? Do they customize their executive presentations to fit their prospect’s needs? Do they effectively paint-the-picture of your solution to compel the prospect to act? Are they awesome public speakers? Are they a people person? Do they have good industry knowledge?
- Use concrete examples that are measurable, observable and actionable. For example, rather than stating in your hiring profile that the candidate must be able to “thrive in a high energy environment” you could be more specific by stating the candidate “must be able to remain focused, productive and adhere to their daily call plan in a loud inside sales call center.”
- Review the profile with others. If possible, review it with a sales rep because they will have the best insight into what really makes a person successful in the unique role you’re hiring.
Still not sure if you’ve zeroed in on what an ideal sales rep candidate should look like? Consider hiring sales consulting professionals to do this job quickly and efficiently for you.
I keep getting fooled when I hire sales people because they’re so good at selling, they can sell themselves. What do you recommend I do to circumvent being conned?
One of the attributes that I looked for as a former manager is a representative that trainable. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I have worked with very skilled sales representatives that have came on board to my team but were not successful at adapting to the new environment because of the common “I already know that” mentality.
Having a good work ethic is an important skill to have with new hires. Self motivated, sales acumen, presentation skills, are all important assets but, I also would try to hire people that were positive.
I’ve hired sales representatives that had good selling skills but had a negative attitude thus influencing the rest of the team. Just like some of the championship teams in sports such as the New England Patriots, a team player is crucial for a successful outcome.
I think asking your other key players what would be a good addition to the team is a great strategy in the hiring process because it allows your people to get involved in key decisions and prepares them management opportunities and sharpens their leadership skills.
That was a great post. I couldn’t agree more with your sentiments. Thanks for the effort. Great looking site by the way.
Hi. I treasured to drop you a quick note to verbalize my thanks. I’ve been observing your blog for a month or so and have plucked up a heap of fabulous information as well as enjoyed the way you’ve structured your site. I am seeking to run my own blog however I think its too general and I would like to focus more on smaller topics.
i might not have suspected this had been useful a number of years ago but it’s interesting just how age evolves the way you comprehend a mixture of concepts, thanks for the post it is really great to start reading anything intelligent now and then instead of the typical garbage mascarading as blogs on the net,im heading to play with a couple facebook poker chips adios for now
[...] Also, positive reinforcement is crucial when managing a team. If you’re negative all the time, or they have a fear of punishment then they’re going to be unsuccessful in the long run. Have you hired the right people? [...]
[...] Goals: Make sure they are measurable and doable. If they’re meeting the goals set, then perhaps you can let up on them a [...]
Nice looking blog you have here. The theme is awesome, great color combination.
Great post, I bet a lot of work and research went into this article.
Hi, It’s a rare find for a nice blog like this. I enjoyed it. Kudos to you. Have a nice day!
Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.
Good morning, I don’t come to an agreement with everything in this write-up, but you do make some very excellent points. I’m very involved in this matter and I myself do alot of research as well. Either way it was a well thoughtout and nice read so I figured I would leave you a comment.
A Good Read…
Very helpful info thanks…
Super stuff! This was a really helpful post, thanks for pulling it all together.
This is a wonderful post, I discovered your blog site researching aol for a related content and arrived to this. I couldnt come across to much alternative information and facts on this post, so it was great to locate this one. I will certainly end up being back to look at some other articles that you have another time.
I have visit lots of sites which talk about this subject but only your site gives me all the important things that I need to know about the subject. Thank you for posting this one.. Can you give me some other site that same as what you have?
Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.
Has anyone used this site before. It looks great and simple to use.
You certainly deserve a round of applause for your post and more specifically, your blog in general. Very high quality material.
Really good write-up, this is very similar to a site that I have. Please check it out sometime and feel free to leave me a comenet on it and tell me what you think. Im always looking for feedback.
This is a really good post, but I was wondering how do I suscribe to the RSS feed?
This is a excellent post, but I was wondering how do I suscribe to the RSS feed?
This is a good piece of content, I was wondering if I could use this blog on my website, I will link it back to your website though. If this is a problem please let me know and I will take it down right away.
I love your website! did you create this yourself or did you outsource it? Im looking for a blog design thats similar so thats the only reason I’m asking. Either way keep up the nice work I was impressed
Wonderfully…
Wonderfully practical advice, as usual. Thanks for sharing. My prayers are with Nashville right now….
The comment above me is nicely thought… and no I am not being sarcastic. No pun intended.
My father recommended your blog. I’ve bookmarked your site.
Thanks for making my morning a little bit better with this great article!!
Genial brief and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you for your information.
Please, can you PM me additionally tell me few additional thinks about this, I am really fan of your blog…
Wow! Thank you! I usually wanted to write in my site something like which. Can I take component of the post to my weblog?
A watched pot never boils
Love your site, so glad I found it, loads of interesting stuff, if you get chance why not check out my site here and let me know what you think. I have bookmarked you and will be back soon. How often do you update?