Many of us have read numerous times about the massive cost of selecting the incorrect salesperson. There is first the money that is spent on salaries, training, and benefits. This is not even talking of the loss of business and opportunities lost from a weak production which may not always appear on the balance sheet. However, they can be the difference between making or breaking your business.
Another expense that isn’t disclosed and one that isn’t often mentioned is the price of the time that sales managers spend. I’ve yet to meet someone with an open calendar. Every minute spent looking over resumes, screening potential employees, or interviewing new applicants is a distraction from other tasks. This is the time that could be used to mentor young salespeople, looking for ways to build relationships with existing customers or, in different ways getting new business.
This is why I’d be happy to present to you the five steps to selecting and hiring the best sales candidates. In essence, the steps are sending emails to applicants, arranging an interview over the phone, meeting with them in person, taking an honest assessment of their personality as well as the follow-up well as a final assessment. There’s nothing magical about all of them. However, this is because they’re not intended to completely change the method of recruiting – simply simplify the process to take much lesser time and energy to find the potential superstars in sales to be part of your team.
In this post, I will discuss the first part of the process of sending out emails to potential applicants who are interested in working as part of your team of sales. This has two beneficial purposes. First, it relieves some immediate pressure off of you. If you have a set of already-written questions to send to potential applicants, you can keep working on other tasks while waiting for answers to be returned. Additionally, as you’ll discover in a second, it can help you eliminate a lot of women and men that aren’t likely to be a good fit. To understand the reasons, let’s take a review of the five questions to ask any person who would like be part of your team before you have any meetings with them in person or over the phone:
#1 Question for E-mail What was your most memorable sales achievement over the last two or three years? Simply describe the achievement, the challenges you faced, and what you had to accomplish to be successful.
It may seem like an elementary school essay. However, it’s actually a fantastic opportunity to ask. On one side, it allows the salesperson the opportunity to share – quite specific with their personal words what they’ve done. The actual responses you receive (which tend to center around the opening of new areas or the growth of sales by a specific percentage, etc.) will vary, but it’s an excellent indicator if the candidate is able to prove their assertion with concrete figures.
On the other hand, this question will eliminate a number of less successful salespeople from the question. A salesperson with a low rating will be put off from answering an inquiry like this right immediately – which is a great thing. The goal isn’t to find out everything about everybody, however, to let the top performers climb to the top.
#2 E-mail Question #2 E-mail Question: How many sale books have you got in your library? Which is your top sales book, and what did you do with the advice (points, ideas, tips, and techniques) to boost your sales?
You don’t go to need to create an organization to discover the right people to employ. The reason for this question isn’t worrying about the specific titles an applicant has been reading, but rather to ensure that they’ve read something. Top performers don’t happen to be this way through chance. They are dedicated to their field and profession, constantly trying to increase their performance or gain an edge. How they respond to this question can tell you a lot about their commitment to their sales career, what directions their careers are heading and whether you can anticipate them to continue growing as an expert.
#3 E-mail Question Which kind of boss do you prefer to collaborate with? Give a brief explanation of why?
Two things will determine the answer you get from this question. The first is that the top-performing salespeople are self-starters; they’re very likely to need a manager who will help them and coach at times; however, they will be able to get away from the way. The most important thing you or any sales manager is a person who will need their hands kept on the line at regular intervals. The other thing to keep in mind is that some candidates employ this question as a reason to blame the previous manager for their lousy performance. This should be the eyes of you, as the top salespeople usually take ownership and are able to overcome challenges. If they’re looking for reasons the reason why things aren’t going your way, then take it as an indication to be cautious.
#4 E-mail Question What is essential for you to make lots of money in sales? And what do you think is the amount of money? What else, other than money, is driving you to succeed in sales?
While it’s true that money is sometimes given an undeserved bad name, but it’s a well-established fact that the vast majority of top performers are at the very least driven by the thought of the biggest paycheck. Suppose your candidate says that they’re not really interested in the money and cents to be aware that they may not be as motivated as you’d prefer. Another thing to look for is a reasonable range. You already have an idea of the amount a top salesperson within your industry will make. If the salesperson gives an amount that is much less than the average, they may not be ready mentally to jump the shark in the near future. If they give you a figure that’s not feasible for your company, Be aware that this individual is working out or not, maybe difficult for you to hold onto in the near future.
#5 E-mail Question: What do you rate your selling capabilities on a scale of 10 to 10? Please describe your skills best and how you’d want to do better.
It’s the most flexible of the questions. However, that’s because you’re trying to gain an insider’s view of the personality. When you allow them to share a bit about their abilities and confidence, it opens the possibility of all sorts of responses. Of course, you’re not trying to employ a salesperson who thinks they’re going to be subpar. However, you shouldn’t be seeking out a candidate who’s not willing to improve and grow.
Don’t Waste Your Time:
If you send these five questions in an email to anyone who would like to promote your business, You will are saving yourself a lot of time and effort selecting the best applicants. Be aware that the most successful candidates would love to display their achievements and their communication abilities, while those who are less motivated may not take on the task, or they’ll reject themselves with unclear or unfocused responses.
Use your inbox to shorten the time required to fill sales jobs that are open. It will not just make it easier to review endless hours of cover letters and resumes. However, it’ll help you be more equipped for the following stage of the hiring and recruiting process, which is a short phone interview.
