Leadership and sales training Australia

Sales people are not like any other staff in your organisation. They must overcome competition, face rejection, they will encounter hostility and have to accept a lack of control over the sale. Here are six critical tips for recruiting professionals in this unique field.

1. Define the criteria for success in your company! Identify what you believe a person must do in your business to be successful - under ideal circumstances. Start by looking at your market, why people buy your product, pricing against competitors. Consider the customer development - whether you want your sales person to sell and service or sell and move on, who does the closing of the sale, who should they call on? And other factors such as: average size of an order, your sell cycle, % of new business vs existing, level of supervision and pressure on the sales person. This way you will know what you are looking for.

2. Describe the candidate that you want! When advertising, most companies fail to differentiate their company and opportunity from other advertisers. They describe the company, the opportunity and the job just like everyone else. Describe the candidate that you want, not yourself.

3. Screen your candidates at the point of application! Don't waste time talking to and meeting people that do not meet your criteria for success. A specific sales pre-employment screen can reduce hiring mistakes from the beginning. Make sure that you use a tool that assesses candidates against your criteria and that you can understand, and then apply the results.

4. Find out what is missing from the resume! Important but typically missing information may include:

• Real (vs. their stated) reason for leaving
• Salary vs commission for each position
• Number of new accounts acquired and the average revenue
• Growth of existing accounts
• How much resistance the candidate really had to overcome
• The amount of competition
• The pricing compared to the competition
• What activities the candidate engaged in on a daily basis to reach goals.

5. Focus on function not fit! Most recruiting focuses on "fit". Do you like them, do they have the right background and will they fit your culture?  When it comes to sales, what you really need to know is - will they sell successfully in your company, within your industry, calling on your marketplace, with your particular product or service positioned against your competition? It's important to make the distinction between fit and function.

6. Create a live preview of the "sales" environment for the candidate! If you really want to see how the candidate will respond to tough prospects, create this for them in the interview. The only way you'll learn if they can do it is to let them try. Be professional and respectful, be direct and don't get emotionally involved.

Recruit Renae today to ensure your next sales candidate is a success.

Mrs Renae Quinn - Dip HR, Cert IV Training & Assessment, NLP Practitioner Renae is a sales development specialist. She holds a Diploma in Human Resources, a Certificate IV in Assessment & Workplace Training and is an accredited NLP Practitioner.   Her thirteen years experience in sales, recruitment and sales management has provided her with a passion for understanding the particular strengths and weaknesses of the sales mindset and the impact on business results.   Renae is dedicated to both individuals and businesses achieving their goals and to their successful development.