| | Salesperson Wanted! Experience Required???
For many small business owners the task of bringing sales people on is very stressful. There are so many things to consider. Ask yourself if any of these thoughts creep into your head as you go through this process:
- How much should I pay?
- How should I structure the pay?
- Should I restructure everyone's pay?
- Do I need someone that is experienced?
- I need to hire someone because I am too busy to get my work done, how am I going to find time to attract, and acquire the right person for me?
- How do I know who is the right person for me?
- I don't have time to manage these people.
- I don't have time to train these people.
- As the list goes on into eternity .
The fact is, it is an important decision that you must take seriously. Many of these are legitimate concerns for organizations of all sizes. Just this morning I was at my twice monthly networking group in Worcester, MA, when one of the members mentioned that he was looking to hire a salesperson. He insisted that he needed someone that he didn't have to teach how to sell. He acknowledged that the candidate did not need industry experience as long as he had sales experience.
I approached him after the meeting and we began to discuss the realities of sales experience. The fact is Sales is hard. You need to have a certain attitude to be successful in sales.
Here is the scary part In study after study of Successful People (not just sales people), future success has little to do with past experiences. Many of the most successful people in the world carry around a past chock full of failures.
Here is one other thing to consider. I think by now we can all agree to at least acknowledge the Pareto Principle, or what's most commonly referred to as the 80/20 Rule. This rule implies that 80% of your results come from 20% of your employees. This is especially true in sales. Each month, most of your sales come from the top 20% of your sales team.
Don't take my word for it. Look at the last year's results and determine what percentage of your sales force was responsible for 80% of your revenue.
Now consider what this means. It means that 80% of the people "with experience" combine to produce less than 25% of the sales revenue.
Are you sure you want to require experience?
In order to Build a Better Workforce and create leverage for yourself, you have to define what your business stands for and hire people that share your beliefs and passions.
Am I saying ignore experience? Well, maybe. (When comparing candidates certainly you should consider experience, but don't assume that just because someone has experience that they have had any training.)
I think closer to the point is to focus on the things that have proven to predict job success, and frankly prior experience isn't one of those things.
to find solutions for better sales hiring.
to find solutions for better interview questions.
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