With the advent of the Internet and numerous sites like CareerBuilder and LinkedIn, job searching has become largely electronic. Yet hiring a sales team, especially those who will become long-term loyal assets to your firm, remains a difficult task.

However, with all of our advanced technology, word-of-mouth is still a powerful and effective tool, not only in selling, but in recruiting sales people as well.   When sales people are doing well, making good money and happy in their position, it seems natural that they would tell their friends.   Nevertheless, it does not happen automatically.

Our Sales Management Training will provide you with some proven hiring tips and below are a few thoughts to help you focus more on personal recruiting to build your sales team.

Winners Associate with Other Winners
Top sales producers usually have friends who possess like qualities.  As the old adage says, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Chances are your best sales person knows people who are as enthusiastic, hard working and determined as he or she is, and in this economy, the odds that one of those people is looking for a new opportunity are good.

Offer Personal Recruiting Incentives
Offer some incentives for those who refer other sales people for a position with your firm.  Perhaps you give some small inducement for those who submit a qualified resume.  Then, more for those who interview, and even more for those who sign on.  Then you can offer an additional reward for those who refer sales people that you hire and that attain some basic level of performance.

Monthly or Quarterly Recruitment Lunch
Have a regularly scheduled recruitment luncheon or outing, in where members of the sales team invite friends and relatives they feel may have the qualifications and interest to join your firm.

Sales Help Wanted Advertising
In constructing your next ad to hire sales people, get some input from your sales team.  Ask your sales people what type of ad would attract them and people like them.  This will also help sales people to begin thinking about people they know who may be likely candidates for the job.

Help your sales people spread the word to grow their team.  You will build a stronger, more loyal sales force and save some advertising money as well.

Using a Sales Assessment can help you during the sales hiring process so you can ensure that your prospective salespeople have the right level of selling skills that you desire and also the right levels of motivation.

Visit our Sales Training Courses for a range of different programmes that can help to take your game onto the next level.

Or take a look at our full portfolio of Sales Training Courses.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training

 
Finding and hiring good people is a challenge in any industry.  However, identifying and hiring people who can become top sales producers is a monumental feat few have been able to achieve with any level of consistency.

However, I have found that this one test, this short role-playing scenario, can help you identify people who have all of the necessary traits that make top producers.  Use this during the interview process and it will give you a deeper insight into the candidate’s personality and help you uncover some diamonds in the rough.

The Concept
This idea is far more sophisticated and modern than the old sales interview role play of, “If you are such a good sales person, then sell me something.”  This role play will help you learn more about the applicant’s disposition in key areas such as integrity and listening skills.  It accomplishes this by posing a challenge to the sales person that is not exactly what it seems.

Below is a generic example of this role play.  Of course you can alter it significantly to fit your industry and selling situation. However, you can use this example as it is with small changes to the wording.

The Role Play
Towards the end of the interview, propose this scenario:

Interviewer:   
Suppose you sell home fire protection equipment: fire alarms, heat and smoke detectors.  You sell two types:

Type A: Heat detectors that sell for £250 each
Type B: Smoke detectors that sell for £150 each

I am the prospect and during the sales interaction you tell me…

“Mr Prospect, I have done a complete and thorough analysis of your needs.  And I have determined that the only system that will adequately protect you and your family in the event of a fire is four of our heat detectors and two of the smoke models.  This is because you have so much electronic equipment, that a fire is likely to be one that produces little smoke.  So your fire protection system comes to £1,300.”

As the prospect I answer with this objection:

“Well, that looks good.  But it is much more than I had in mind.  I was planning on spending closer to £800, maybe £900 tops.  What can you do for me for that much?” 

How would you handle that objection?

The Answer
Now you have the sales person role play his or her answer to the objection with you.  The key is that the sales person will do whatever he or she can to “sell” you and close the sale (since this is an interview for a sales position).  However, how the sales person goes about answering this objection, speaks volumes about his or her personality, honesty, professionalism and true potential.

Three Responses
You will usually get one of three types of responses to the above role playing objection:

1. The sales person who immediately begins to work the math and discount or change the offer to meet the prospect’s price.

2. The sales person who attempts to get the prospect to come up a little, as he or she slightly lowers the pricing or the offer to find some middle ground.

3. The sales person who refuses to drop the price or alter the offer in any way, and continues to build value and close on the original offer at the original quoted price.

What does each response say about the salesperson?

Please check out our Selling Skills Training or please contact us to discuss your Sales Training requirements. Our L&D team can help you to work out which course will be best for you or your team.

Take a look at our popular portfolio of Sales Training Courses.

Popular sales courses include:

Account Management Training
Sales Management Training

Happy Selling,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training