WrightOne Consulting
Identify Potential. Improve Performance.
Sales Selection
Your organization may have the best products or services in the world, but your sales team still has the power to make or break the company.
It's tough, this business of hiring salespeople. Many managers, particularly entrepreneurs and small business owners, have an awful track record when it comes to hiring sales talent. When they hire the right sales professional, they see results and amazing things begin to happen. However, when they hire a mediocre (or worse) salesperson, they provide paycheck after paycheck and begin to feel like they are running a corporate welfare program.
Why is it so hard to get great salespeople?
First, great salespeople don't leave jobs where they're making money. This point is pure human nature. If you're making $250,000 a year selling WidgetSoft Systems and beating your sales goals in the process, chances are that you're a hero at your company. Praise flows freely and you get the perks. You are probably quite happy. What you emphatically do NOT do is actively look for another job.
Second, great salespeople are always in demand. However, there are few of them. That means that for the manager looking to hire, the market for the most productive business development resource is always tight. Even in the midst of the current global economic slowdown, with millions of layoffs, top salespeople are virtually downsize-proof for obvious reasons.
Third, mediocre salespeople are "A-Players" when it comes to selling themselves. If only they sold products and services as well as they sold themselves in the interview, right? Most sales candidates are adept at talking about the act of selling - what to do, what to say, how to act, and the other common tools of the trade. But can they actually do any of it?
Moreover, some managers often assume that resumes contain the gospel truth when it comes to a candidate's background and experience. The only truth is that resumes are engineered to highlight strengths and accomplishments while omitting failures. Treat resumes like any other piece of marketing collateral. They serve to tell you the features and benefits, but come up short on the deficiencies.
Most managers also don't know how to interview effectively. Questions like "what's the last book you read?" or "what's your greatest weakness?" don't reveal anything useful, but make the interviewer feel like an interview has taken place. In addition, because "correct" answers to many typical interview questions are available all over the web, it would probably make sense just to print them out and hand them to the interviewer at the beginning of the interview. In the end, many interviews are inherently artificial situations. While an interview can help assess whether the candidate can sell themselves, it doesn't really tell a hiring manager much more than that.
There is a better way. We can help you hire better, especially when it comes to hiring salespeople.
We provide critical information you need to make better hiring decisions. Our sales selection assessment program is an independent evaluation of individual's strengths and capabilities. We describe how salespeople will perform on the job; the things that simply cannot be learned from a resume and casual interview. Most important, we give you that insight at a critical time - before you hire.
But the benefits extend well beyond the selection phase. Our assessment report also provides these benefits:
Faster ramp up: If the company has also assessed the sales team, the new hire can be more easily and quickly integrate into the team. This sophisticated knowledge of individual difference of team members allows for more productive team development and provides forewarning and solutions for the inevitable conflicts that emerge under the pressure of working at internet speed.
Clarity on how to lead, motivate and develop a new hire. With the additional knowledge of the employee's strengths and areas for development, the organization is better equipped to maximize those strengths and enhance the person's growth, contributions and success.
Faster recovery from mistakes: Both the new hire and their manager will understand the ways in which the new hire will most likely make mistakes so that developmental feedback/training can be more efficiently and effectively implemented. This is mission critical for organizations working on Internet time.
Improved performance: Management will better understand how to "package" and deliver feedback to this specific individual and will have a head start on performance management.
Here are 10 things you can learn from our assessments:
Is your candidate adaptable?
How effectively can your candidate manage relationships?
Is your candidate self-motivated?
Will your candidate stand up to sales pressures?
Will your candidate seize the initiative?
How strong are your candidates’ interpersonal skills?
Is your candidate attentive to details?
Does your candidate have the cognitive aptitude to handle the assignment? Does your candidate persist in the face of difficulties?
Is your candidate open to new ideas and new approaches?
We understand the importance of the selection process. We use proven assessments and experienced consultants to assess your sales candidates in a timely manner. We also discuss with you the candidates' fit, and help you make on-target hiring decisions. We provide an integrated approach to selection and our capabilities, expertise and experience focus on one goal: your success.
To request additional information and a sample sales assessment report call us (973) 419-0870 or please click here.
It's tough, this business of hiring salespeople. Many managers, particularly entrepreneurs and small business owners, have an awful track record when it comes to hiring sales talent. When they hire the right sales professional, they see results and amazing things begin to happen. However, when they hire a mediocre (or worse) salesperson, they provide paycheck after paycheck and begin to feel like they are running a corporate welfare program.
Why is it so hard to get great salespeople?
First, great salespeople don't leave jobs where they're making money. This point is pure human nature. If you're making $250,000 a year selling WidgetSoft Systems and beating your sales goals in the process, chances are that you're a hero at your company. Praise flows freely and you get the perks. You are probably quite happy. What you emphatically do NOT do is actively look for another job.
Second, great salespeople are always in demand. However, there are few of them. That means that for the manager looking to hire, the market for the most productive business development resource is always tight. Even in the midst of the current global economic slowdown, with millions of layoffs, top salespeople are virtually downsize-proof for obvious reasons.
Third, mediocre salespeople are "A-Players" when it comes to selling themselves. If only they sold products and services as well as they sold themselves in the interview, right? Most sales candidates are adept at talking about the act of selling - what to do, what to say, how to act, and the other common tools of the trade. But can they actually do any of it?
Moreover, some managers often assume that resumes contain the gospel truth when it comes to a candidate's background and experience. The only truth is that resumes are engineered to highlight strengths and accomplishments while omitting failures. Treat resumes like any other piece of marketing collateral. They serve to tell you the features and benefits, but come up short on the deficiencies.
Most managers also don't know how to interview effectively. Questions like "what's the last book you read?" or "what's your greatest weakness?" don't reveal anything useful, but make the interviewer feel like an interview has taken place. In addition, because "correct" answers to many typical interview questions are available all over the web, it would probably make sense just to print them out and hand them to the interviewer at the beginning of the interview. In the end, many interviews are inherently artificial situations. While an interview can help assess whether the candidate can sell themselves, it doesn't really tell a hiring manager much more than that.
There is a better way. We can help you hire better, especially when it comes to hiring salespeople.
We provide critical information you need to make better hiring decisions. Our sales selection assessment program is an independent evaluation of individual's strengths and capabilities. We describe how salespeople will perform on the job; the things that simply cannot be learned from a resume and casual interview. Most important, we give you that insight at a critical time - before you hire.
But the benefits extend well beyond the selection phase. Our assessment report also provides these benefits:
Faster ramp up: If the company has also assessed the sales team, the new hire can be more easily and quickly integrate into the team. This sophisticated knowledge of individual difference of team members allows for more productive team development and provides forewarning and solutions for the inevitable conflicts that emerge under the pressure of working at internet speed.
Clarity on how to lead, motivate and develop a new hire. With the additional knowledge of the employee's strengths and areas for development, the organization is better equipped to maximize those strengths and enhance the person's growth, contributions and success.
Faster recovery from mistakes: Both the new hire and their manager will understand the ways in which the new hire will most likely make mistakes so that developmental feedback/training can be more efficiently and effectively implemented. This is mission critical for organizations working on Internet time.
Improved performance: Management will better understand how to "package" and deliver feedback to this specific individual and will have a head start on performance management.
Here are 10 things you can learn from our assessments:
Is your candidate adaptable?
How effectively can your candidate manage relationships?
Is your candidate self-motivated?
Will your candidate stand up to sales pressures?
Will your candidate seize the initiative?
How strong are your candidates’ interpersonal skills?
Is your candidate attentive to details?
Does your candidate have the cognitive aptitude to handle the assignment? Does your candidate persist in the face of difficulties?
Is your candidate open to new ideas and new approaches?
We understand the importance of the selection process. We use proven assessments and experienced consultants to assess your sales candidates in a timely manner. We also discuss with you the candidates' fit, and help you make on-target hiring decisions. We provide an integrated approach to selection and our capabilities, expertise and experience focus on one goal: your success.
To request additional information and a sample sales assessment report call us (973) 419-0870 or please click here.
Content copyright . WrightOne Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.
Content copyright . WrightOne Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.