HARDISON’S TIPS – December 21, 2021 – FINDING GOOD SALES TALENT (PT.2)
- Tailor the interview to get to the heart of step one. “Identify the questions that would help [you] understand where [you] could find this talent,” Rate the applicant using a scorecard tailored to the role. Developing a scorecard can help you remove bias influencing who you hire, Paul notes. Hiring managers have a tendency to index on things like past work experience, which may or may not be a valid indicator of performance in the role you’re hiring for. A scorecard tied to the role in question, with an emphasis on finding the right skills, can keep biases at bay.
- Test the applicant. Potential hires may not love this step, but it’s one of the most important to ensure a good fit. Develop a test that maps to the specific requirements of the role and aims to assess whether the candidate has the skills that are essential for success. The exercise can help the applicant get a sense of whether it’s the right fit for them, too.
Getting the most from your superstar sellers
Being a transformational employee at one company may not translate directly to being one at the next. Which is to say, environment matters. Your culture has to be set up so transformational people can flourish, or they could get frustrated and leave.
“Fundamentally, [transformational hires] have different values than the average employee,” warns Paul. “They’re looking for the right leadership, the right employee experience, and they’re looking for the opportunity to develop, grow, and learn, and to truly make an impact at the organizations that they work for.”
With that in mind, before embarking on a hiring spree, take a hard look at your organization to see whether you have the kind of conditions in place for transformational talent to thrive. That often means room for career growth, sufficiently challenging work, and mentorship. But it also means understanding what inspires and energizes that person on an individual level—and making sure the career path they’re on matches their interests, instead of lumping their needs into a one-size-fits-all plan.
“Survey and understand what’s important to them,” says Paul. “Potentially, there are things in there that don’t always come down to a higher salary that we could implement. Things like collaboration, think tanks, and leadership opportunities, that help really make an impact on the day-to-day and the retention of this talent.”
