It\u2019s getting increasingly difficult to find the \u201cright fit\u201d when it comes to salespeople; and with mounting pressure to make sales, it\u2019s tempting to settle for \u201cgood enough\u201d. Often times a person at interview stage might seem \u201cgood enough\u201d, however turn out to be the wrong person in practice, to the detriment of your business. But why do these people end up being hired in the first place and more crucially, what does this hiring decision actually cost your business?<\/p>\n
Sales Managers naturally do their best to get the right salesperson for their company, so how do the wrong ones get through? Sometimes it\u2019s simply a case of hiring the right person for the wrong job; just because the interviewee fits in with the company\u2019s culture doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll become your next sales superstar.<\/p>\n
Interviewing salespeople can be a difficult task within itself. A good salesperson can sell anything, and a job interview is their chance to sell the product they are a true expert in: themselves. When interviewing salespeople, it pays to be extremely diligent, carefully looking into their background and checking references to ensure you don\u2019t get carried away with a charismatic candidate. Having someone who is experienced in interviewing salespeople be part of your hiring process is a key advantage here, whether that\u2019s an internal employee or a third party, such as a sales recruiter.<\/p>\n
Another reason for a hire not working out is that someone is hired for the wrong reasons. For example, let\u2019s say a company has hired a salesperson under the assumption that they would somehow fix their financial woes. While it might seem like a logical thought process \u2013 sales lead to a better financial position \u2013 the key here is that no one is going to fix your finances if you don\u2019t have an effective sales process in place. A salesperson in this scenario is just a band-aid. It would be like hiring a top chef for a restaurant with no kitchen.<\/p>\n
That said, as an employer it\u2019s easy to also get blinded by proven success of a sales person with industry experience that matches your own industry. The assumption is that they\u2019ll bring that success with them, but that may not be the case. While they may have the industry knowledge, they may not have the right attitude or personality for your company. It\u2019s easier to spend time training a candidate with the right skills and attitude on the nuances of your industry, rather than hoping someone makes a drastic change to their personality and fits into your company. It\u2019s easy to fall into the trap of trying to \u201cfix\u201d someone, but more often than not it\u2019s significantly less cost effective than simply not hiring anybody at all. As any people manager knows, personality clashes or attitude problems can lead to poor performance and significant issues in the office, and usually aren\u2019t worth dealing with even if the person is a skilled salesperson.<\/p>\n
To run an effective business, you need to evaluate your financial losses and gains, and when dealing with the costs of a wrong hire it\u2019s logical to focus on the fiscal damage, all of the separate elements can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars:<\/p>\n
However, the financial set back is often just the first of your problems. When dealing with a problematic person, management will often put in additional hours to try and fix the situation. From guiding your new salesperson, to implementing strategies to improve performance, it\u2019s incredibly frustrating to see little to no progress. This has the flow on effect of managers burning out after putting in extra time to help someone who shouldn\u2019t have been hired in the first place. This puts companies at a very real risk of losing quality talent because of one bad egg. After all, it\u2019s not just management who has to deal with the situation.<\/p>\n
In addition, a sales team is only as strong as its weakest member. It\u2019s demoralising for a team of salespeople to see lacklustre results across the board because of one person\u2019s poor performance \u2013 no one wants to put in hours of hard work only to have it undone by someone else! It\u2019s that kind of environment that makes retention incredibly difficult.<\/p>\n