"Do not demand accomplishment of
those who have no talent. Do not charge people to do what they cannot
do. Select them and give them responsibilities commensurate with
their abilities." – Sun Tzu, Great Chinese Military Thinker
We cannot blame our sales managers if
this thought is lost on them. Sun Tzu had written these words 2500
years ago in an essay “The Art of War” and moreover it was in
China. But it is wonderful to note that how appropriate and useful
are these words in today’s business world, especially in sales.
Improved legislation from the WTO and
other international trading organizations have facilitated smoother
trading relationships between economies. With the crumbling of
protectionist barriers today’s business world has become truly
global. It makes sense to hire the best possible talent to succeed in
a competitive business environment that transcends national
boundaries.
Businesses would admit without much
hesitation that often their hiring decisions have proved too costly
for them. At times they have hired “sales personalities” and
found that they had only posited faith in a popular myth. Wrong
hiring decision costs much more than actually estimated by sales
managers. Unsuitable and incapable sales staffs do not only impede
growth of the organization, they drag it back. It takes two years to
rectify the problem of hiring the wrong sales person. If hiring the
right sales persons is difficult it is a challenge to retain them on
a long term basis.
It is possible to hire and retain the
best sales talent. The following steps would help a great deal
in that direction.
Attract the Best Talent: Whether hiring
locally or globally the challenges posed are similar – how to
attract the best talent. Offering the best possible compensation and
perks as well as an encouraging work environment will create a
premier pool of applicants. The challenge is to separate the
suitable from the unsuitable. From posting the advertisements for
filling up sales vacancies to the final handing over of the
employment letters, organizations should plan everything to hire the
best possible talent. They should know where talented sales
achievers would look for a change of job. Campus interviews are good
if raw talent is the target. Referrals from dependable employment
agencies and current employees work well in the case of experienced
hands when the referring parties know the exact nature of job
expectation of the sales position.
Creating
the Right Profile: The desired profile of the candidates should be
created by observing the current lot of outstanding sales performers
that the organization has. Some of their traits, if not all, are
what the organization should look forward to have in the candidates.
Of course, the candidate should have the potential and willingness
to develop the remaining traits that are absent in them. Candidates
must have multiple profile characteristics such as: high self-
motivation, goodsales
skills,
intelligence, empathy, and integrity. Candidates strong in a single
characteristic profile or lacking any characteristic profile should
be avoided.
Having
the Correct Selection Method: The HR department that has the primary
responsibility of screening candidates should work in perfect tandem
with the sales department, which is often not the case.
Psychologists
Frank L. Schmidt and John E. Hunter have determined in a study about
the effectiveness of different employee selection techniques that
work sample tests, which simulate important parts of the job are the
most accurate predictor of job success. Structured interviews with a
predetermined set of questions and a consistent method of scoring
candidates is the second best predictor of job success. The sales
and HR department should work together to design the tests and
questionnaires.
Seal
the Deal: Once suitable candidates are identified negotiations
should be made to get the signed copy of the employment offer. Delay
could result in the desired candidate opting to join elsewhere.
Retaining
talented and efficient sales staff on a long term basis is a
challenge. Sales people have vast contacts and have information about
openings in other sales organizations. Dissatisfaction with their
current organization would prompt them to explore a new sales
opportunity with another company. To avoid this, the following tips
will be helpful.
Giving
the True Picture: While recruiting candidates the HR personnel and
the sales manager should give the correct nature of the job and not
hide anything that may latter cause disappointment on the part of
the new hires. It works against an organization when it tries to
drum up the pluses and hides the minuses of working with it. The
policy of non-discrimination on the basis of gender, nationality,
religious affiliation, sexual orientation, or ethnicity should
actually be in practice.
Adequate
Appreciation and Compensation: Achievers in sales should be praised
for their efforts by way of appreciative compliments and adequate
incentives and perks. When the times are tough achievers may
consider forgoing monetary compensation. But what no human being can
do without is the recognition of his/her achievements. Give
generous doses of positive reinforcements to achievers.
Ignoring
occasional failures and not being overly critical would help a lot
in this direction. Having a Long Term Plan: Having a long term
career plan for achievers with the prospect of promotion, employee
stock option plans, and possible retirement benefits would encourage
sales personnel to stick with the organization for a long time.
Efforts
towards hiring the best talent and retaining them should be robust.
Financially, it makes a lot of sense and saves precious time as well
as energy.
Having
good recruitment and employee retaining practices would yield
tangible results if they are implemented with the spirit with which
they are created. The willingness to implement the practices must
come from the top management.
Sales
Training Consultant :- Doug Dvorak is the CEO of The Sales Coaching Institute
Inc., offers sales team training and development through classes and
seminars.
