Do as I Say…Not as I Did! A 3 Part Series
Hey out there, this is my first blog on Bullhorn and I’m writing it for YOU. Prior to the Staffing Industry, I enjoyed a career in Sales, Sales Training, and in Sales Management. I worked in the Staffing Industry for 10 years as a Branch Manager and as a Regional Director prior to launching myself as The Staffing Coach in 2001. In the past, I’ve written in several staffing magazines and I am passionate about helping the owners, managers, sales, and recruiting professionals to compress their learning cycles and to have some support guidance available to them. Times have changed and blogs are how to reach you now. Bullhorn is also working hard to add value for you and so am I. By posting this particular blog my goal is to spare you from making a lot of mistakes on the road to becoming a more effective Sales Manager.
A cynic once said “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want!” Well, based on that statement, I guess I have a lot of experience. I don’t believe the statement literally, but there is a ring of truth to it. Another saying popped into my mind just now. “Too soon old, too late smart.” That’s what happens when we don’t learn from others or when we don’t seek out coaches and mentors. We will make a lot more mistakes by being a “Lone Ranger” (and he had Tonto to scout for him and to cover his back). Well, here are a few of my hiring foibles that you can choose not to repeat:
Hiring Sales People
1) Picking the best of a bad lot. The position has been open and you have a quota to meet and a bonus to earn. You are not crazy about any of the candidates, but you are determined to hire a sales rep. Sometimes the best sale a candidate will make all year is to you! This has blown up in my face more than just once, I hate to admit. Hold out for the right person or you will likely regret it and blow that quota and bonus anyway.
2) Not using a sales profile or choosing to ignore some potentially fatal flaw that is highlighted in the profile. When I have done this, it was never a matter of “would I be proven wrong?” It always came down to how long it would take until I was eating humble pie. If a person is not hard wired to sell and also not blessed with a good deal of internal drive (read: fire in the belly) then they will likely become a chronic project for you. Unless you are a miracle worker, Don’t do it!
Come visit this blog soon to read part two of my advice on how to hire sales staff.