Recruiting sales people

I came across a very interesting article about recruiting sales people in Growing Business magazine. Whilst the article is a good read it is very simplistic. It assumes that all great sales people are the same and it also neglects the limitations. I have come across many a great sales person who displays all those characteristics when the going is easy but comes apart in areas where they have a personal challenge.

Maybe not for the sales superstars that have a track record of selling anything they touch. The only issue is getting them to want to work for your small business! The larger more established businesses that have an easier to sell product attract the cream of the crop and the smaller business compete for what is left. You have to ask the question – if a sales person is that good then why are they on the market? Why are they looking to change industry?

Since I started assessing sales people for clients using an incredibly powerful sales assessment test it has opened my eyes to how dangerous it is to rely just on interview techniques. Even assessment centres have their flaws if you have interviewed people first. You tend to over look key warning signs in your desire to prove that this is the sales person you have been waiting for!

Large companies can afford to make a mistake every now and again. Small businesses need to ensure they get it right. It can be the difference between success and failure for some firms and no sales person is better than one that is costing you money and sucking up all your management time.

I believe that as long as you know what you are dealing with and you are happy that a sales person is going to be profitable (including the cost of your management time) then they are worth considering. Without some form of assessment test that takes into account their weaknesses, how would you ever know. How would you know that the person who has had a glittering career working for another company relied heavily on a sales manager but in your business you are expecting them to be more self reliant?

Taking on someone without first assessing them is just asking for trouble. You can ask some of my clients how much money they wasted before they started using our sales assessment tests. For the smaller business – the question is not whether the person you are going to interview is likely to be the best sales person in the world. They will not be. Its whether you should invest an hour of your time interviewing them in the first place!

So, the article was a good read but if you run a smaller business just read it for tips rather than the definitive way to approach recruiting sales people. Unless of course you have lots of money to burn!