20 Sep How to Find and Hire the Best Sales Pros

I am often asked this question, and the answer isn’t straightforward. Even the most skilled sales managers can attest to the challenge of finding and hiring exceptional salespeople. High-performing salespeople are rare and in great demand.

There isn’t a simple answer that applies to every company.

My first question in response is, “Are you interested in hiring ‘proven’ salespeople—or in finding and developing salespeople?”  This is a fundamental choice that the company and hiring manager must make. Each has advantages and disadvantages. It also matters whether you intend to utilize a recruiter. Let’s review some of the differences.

If you find and hire an experienced and proven salesperson:

• There is less risk that the person will fail
• Quicker onboarding
• The training period is shorter. They can “hit the ground running.”
• They may know your vertical market
• An existing salesperson may have referred them
• They have had formal sales training classes
• Recruiters know them
• They have previously cashed commission checks and may be more motivated
• They may have more confidence as they have done this job before
• Understand that they will need to prospect for new business
• They may know more about the competition, especially if they worked for one.
• They will probably have a broader perspective than someone with little experience
• They understand the norms that professional salespeople should follow
• Probably will be better at sales forecasting
• Older salespeople are often an ignored pool of talent

On the other hand, some of the negatives are:

• Experienced salespeople will cost more in base salary
• They may be more challenging to hire away from their current employer
• There will be competition from other firms interested in hiring them. They may not accept your offer.
• They may not stay as long as those developed by your company
• They may have bad habits
• They may be less flexible in learning new sales methodologies
• Everybody says they were over quota, but were they? Many exaggerate their sales accomplishments. (What percent of their salesforce was over quota? Were they exceptional? What products or services did they sell?)

I have seen more companies looking to hire salespeople with a few years of experience out of college.  They are more willing to make the significant investments to hire and train these people – and they understand that as many as 50 percent of the hires will not be successful.

They are:

• Less expensive in base salary
• Usually much more coachable
• More up-to-date with current technology
• More interested in learning, especially company-specific product information and sales methodologies
• Less existing bad habits
• Greater diversity of ideas
• Less turnover risk. Homegrown salespeople are much more loyal.
• Their university may have had a sales or marketing program
• You might find a “gem in the rough.”

But:

• A more significant risk because there is no track record of sales success
• It is more difficult to assess whether they will be successful
• Most recruiters do not know them
• They value quality of life. Therefore, they may not be willing to work as much as more experienced salespeople.
• It will take more time to train and become productive in closing sales.
• They may be reluctant to “cold call.”
• Often less aggressive
• Probably as many as 50 percent of the new hires will fail

In my book “Above Quota Performance,” I discuss thirty characteristics of high-performing sales pros. I determined that these are predictors of success. The first five, in importance, are:

1. High character and integrity
2. Passion for their work and self-motivated
3. Intelligence, including emotional intelligence
4. Achievement oriented
5. Sales acumen or sales intuition

These apply whether you hire experienced sales pros or recent university graduates with little experience.

So, which will you choose—experienced or inexperienced? Some may want a mixture of both, which can work well for many. But most companies will choose one or the other. They should assess their success record at least annually, decide whether the path chosen is best for them, and adjust accordingly.