3 Steps to Hire Great Salespeople in Today’s World – Part Two, Quantity or Quality?

When you hit publish on that job ad, do you want 275 people emailing you from Indeed or do you want 27 people who are proven performers and a great fit for your team? If you really want to hire great salespeople to meet your sales needs in today’s world, there are three steps you need to follow.

1. Define your need by designing your CRISP
2. Create a comprehensive job ad that reflects your CRISP
3. Set up your interview to hold candidates accountable to your CRISP and what they say they can do

In Part One of 3 Steps to Hire Your Best Salesperson in Today’s World, we discussed the first step, and it’s one you just can’t miss, which is defining your need for today. Since we specialize in helping companies hire great salespeople (a process that should be completely different from hiring anyone else on your team), we’ve designed a formula for the first step, and we call it a ‘CRISP.’

CRISP stands for competencies, results, intangibles, skills and performance. There is an art and science to great sales hires, and it starts with a well-defined CRISP for this new era of selling.

Now that you know everything about who you’re looking for and what they need to be able to do to succeed and make sales for you, the next step is to overhaul your job ad. Once you do, you’ll be amazed at how clarity and a lot more depth helps turn away the 275 spending their days on Indeed and instead brings those 27 stars (who are probably already working, because they’re good).

2. THE AD

Writing your job ad: Is it current & comprehensive for what you absolutely need in a salesperson now?

Guess what one of our goals is for your job ad? We actually want to encourage people to not apply.

You’re probably thinking, That’s not right. We want a lot of interest, more people to choose from. This is a good approach if you want a lot of applications from a lot of people because your ad is so vague and generic that just about anyone could read it and think, Maybe that’s me. Sure, I’ll apply.

But if you want to be reviewing just a few dozen resumes from the best of the best, do this: Write a job that’s so comprehensive in communicating your CRISP that only those who truly fit the bill would carry on and apply. You want someone invested and with such a clear picture of who you need that only a few say, That is me. I want that job.

It’s about quality, not quantity. It takes a bit more time at the outset designing and communicating your CRISP in a job ad—but every minute pays off in spades if it means you find your star.

So let’s say you’ve got your CRISP defined and translated into a compelling job ad, how do you take those 27 candidates to one great hire that we could guarantee will succeed? The art and science of hiring salespeople is at is most brilliant in the interviewing phase.

3. THE INTERVIEW

How do you hold candidates accountable to your CRISP?

If you close your eyes a moment and think back to the last interview you did for a sales hire, did you find yourself afterward regretting getting caught up in talking about the glories of the company yourself?

It happens all the time. A candidate says something to prove they’ve done their research and pay a compliment to the company, and the owner or manager can’t help but go on about its greatness; they ‘rainbow the job,’ as we say. And it happens all the time in interviews, and is often a precursor to bad hires. You’ve been scouted and maybe sold.

Instead of you talking for 70 per cent of the interview, you want your salesperson doing the talking, and because they’re in sales, you want to put them in the hot seat and see what they can do. This isn’t the time to talk about flex time when kids are off school, this is the time to find out if they can live up to their resume before you hire them and find out those were all half-truths. Because anyone can say they’re good at cold calls, but most aren’t.

Here are some ways you can really make your interviews count:

• Make sure every question ties back to your CRISP
• Create consistent questions that each candidate will have to answer—and follow it without fail so you can easily make comparisons
• Get them to describe a complicated product in a succinct and compelling way
• Get them to perform a sales call live in front of you so you can see how they roll with punches and close deals (we are serious – this is sales!)

Again, you’re employing the science of sales hiring because you want results: someone who is a proven performer who will need little managing because they are innately driven and capable.

Would you rather find a guaranteed star with help from professionals who specializes in hiring great salespeople? Learn more about how you can lean on our expertise and proven approach – or set up a call. 1-888-966-2284