HARDISON’S TIPS – DECEMBER 15, 2021 – Faster & More Profitable Sales Hires
Best Training for Sales Team Hires
One of the top things to look for when hiring sales reps is transferable skills. In other words, you don’t need to hire someone with industry experience if you can land star sales performers who will quickly get up to speed.
Your in-house sales-team training for new hires should be focused on teaching new-hires how you use your sales process to determine product fit, including positioning, buyer personas, and competition.
Let’s look at what each of these entails a little more closely.
Positioning: This is your chance to define your value (and your customers’ perception of your value) within the industry. Potential customers will compare your product or service to brands they know. Your reputation could come down to how well your sales reps are able to answer customer concerns.
Buyer personas: You need to define your target audience — the core customer base that benefits most from your product or service. Teach your salespeople who the best-fit consumer is and how your company can solve the problems that consumer is facing. Positive relationship-building begins with understanding the root cause of your buyer’s pain points.
Competition: It’s not enough to know who your competitors are. You have to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the other products and services in the market. Your competitors are working to lure your customers away. Your sales team should know how to differentiate your brand and earn customer loyalty.
Recruiting Ideas for a High-Performance Sales Team
Here are some do’s and don’ts for direct sales teams that you can use to optimize your recruiting process and ensure candidate quality.
Do consider cultural fit. Culture can’t be taught easily, so this should be one of the first criteria when analyzing fit.
Make sure the candidate’s personal beliefs line up with the company’s core values. The new recruit should also be able to develop solid relationships with peers and management and spread positivity. All members should feel good about the hire’s presence on the team.
Do have an onboarding program built before interviewing. Your new employee will feel more valued from the very beginning if your onboarding program has actionable items before the start date. It will help the new salesperson have a smooth start.
You don’t want your new hire to have “buyer’s remorse.”
