Failure is a two way street in that both management (the company) and the employee did not accomplish the objectives. Employee failures are always well documented but few leadership teams take the time to understand where and how they failed too. The typical sales leadership failures we see on a continuing basis are:

1. Setting growth goals to challenge hunters but hiring farmers to deliver the numbers. This never works so the company starts viewing the sales staff as independent contractors and retools the commission plan to performance levels no one in the history of the company has ever achieved. The underlying attitude is – if we don’t get what we want, we won’t pay them anything!

2. Not using objective screening tools to understand if applicants have the skills, aptitudes and motivations to do the job. Typical final selections are best described as beauty contests based on references, resumes and recruiting relationships build during the interview process.

3. No definition or accountability regarding a consistent go to market sales process thus allowing everyone to do their own thing. The chaos that results is only amplified in terms of gross forecast inaccuracies.

These leadership failures are all fixable – CRO’s have to own their role and do it.

Now, fast forward a couple decades and consider the opportunity to assess candidate aptitudes, motivations, communication style and selling skills as part of identifying the better qualified applicants before you make an interview investment. This is the equivalent of replacing the black and white television process with high definition color in terms of seeing the real applicant.

What amazes me today is the number of companies continuing to use the old black and white television process for making critical hires. Once you see high definition color data, life as a CRO is a much more enjoyable role. If you want to try high definition color – just contact us – the first applicant assessment will be complimentary if you mention this blog post.

1. Cannot describe a successful sales campaign against a larger competitor in a major new account.

2. Wants to know if the base compensation is upgraded annually.

3. Wants to know more about the benefits program and PTO (paid time off).

4. Asks if travel is required and if overnight stays qualify for comp time off.

5. Expect marketing to provide all the leads.

6. Wants to be measured on proposal quality and number of quoted issued.

7. Wants to know how often s/he has to make quota.

8. Specifically confirms the workday is 8-5.

9. Believes top sales performers are just lucky.

10. Wants to know if quotas can negotiated.

And a bonus 2 for you:

1. Believes quotes are the best way to qualify a new opportunity.

2. Believes quality, service and support are the only ways to grow revenue.

The first step is to define both the sales cycle and the specific role talents and behaviors needed. This profile will be different for both hunters and farmers in your business so don’t try to mix the two. There is no “one size fits all” profile.

Second, select a web assessment tool for determining applicant DNA fit with your requirements. There are a number of web products available that essentially just confirm a pulse is present. Typically they report the person is 80% qualified for your position, etc. What does that say? Can you accept 80% sales performance? If you are using one of these, you are risking a bad selection decision. Contact us for better options – there are other options.

Third, make sure your initial interview simulates a typical sales call with a fairly cold, disinterested prospect. That is where all orders start today so you need to see how candidates perform in the real world and not in a soft interview setting.

I won’t be repeating this until Dec 2011 – good luck with your hiring programs!

It is easier to train sales talent about your business that is it to train someone how to become a sales talent for your business. You already know all of the in’s and out’s of your business and industry but the euphoria of finding someone else that has some of that knowledge too can become compelling.

That is the trap we see all too often Applicants are eager for interviewers to go there and simply assume they can and will sell your product or service. All the applicant wants to do is get paid a lot of money to just ‘manage’ the existing account base. Before you discuss industry background, drill down on their selling skills and see how they handle some rejection.

If they won’t engage your tactics in an interview, how will they perform in your marketplace?

Employers know the traditional interview process only looks at the tip of the iceberg and they need to see “below the water line” to make a better selection decision. There are cost effective, web-based sales assessment tools available today that are designed to look below the water line.  The key to gaining the full benefit of these assessment tools starts with defining the sale:

· What is the primary or target market?

· Who should this salesperson call upon?

· What is the market demand profile?

· How are leads generated?

· Is this a hunter or farmer role?

· What is your sales cycle timeline?

The goal is to identify key behaviors and characteristics an applicant must exhibit in order to succeed in the position. The assessment tools we use today start with over 60 sales process questions.

The bottom line is this – you can look below the water line today but you have to specifically define what you are looking for first. This is the most critical step in the talent selection process.