Steve's Blog

Why are Presentation Skills only worth $.10 when Recruiting Salespeople?

Steve Suggs — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:05:01 +0000

In my sales career, I have discovered that sixty cents of every commission dollar earned comes from these activities: finding enough quality prospects and setting enough first appointments in which I gain enough trust so that the prospect agrees to answer my fact-finding questions. Ten cents of every commission dollar comes from making the presentation. Thirty cents of the commission dollar comes from properly handling the prospects’ fears and concerns in a way that helps to close the sale in a timely manner.

Many people can make a presentation. Very few people are great at getting to the presentation step and closing the sale, which requires great skill in prospecting, getting meetings, handling objections, and controlling the sales process. Commission is not paid on the presentation alone. We only get paid for completing all steps in the sales process.

Recruiting the person who is great at the two portions of the sales process that make up ninety cents of the commission dollar is the greatest challenge.

During the interview process, we must not let ourselves be charmed by those traits that give a person the ability to make a great presentation.

We must sharpen our recruiting skills so we see past the charm to measure the degree to which a candidate can earn the full commission on a regular basis.

The chart below demonstrates the direct correlation between Character Traits, Personality Traits, and one’s ability to master sales skills. The higher the candidates’ score in the areas of personality and character, the greater propensity they have to master sales skills.

In my upcoming blogs, we will look at the Sales Skills that all top salespeople master and ways to measure them when recruiting salespeople.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Steve Suggs is a partner at Sales Manage Solutions, a sales consulting firm focused on training sales managers to recruit salespeople and coach them to greatness. You can also read Steve’s sales productivity blog.

Recruiting Salespeople: The Personality Trait of Need for Control Increases Sales Productivity

Steve Suggs — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:27 +0000

Has anyone ever accused you of always wanting to take charge?

When recruiting salespeople, it is important to realize that salespeople with the personality trait of high Need for Control will work to control all the circumstances around them to make sure they are spending enough time in front of enough prospects to hit their sales goals.

Top performing salespeople always control with a smile and pleasantly, but effectively, move sales conversations along to reach the objective of a sales transaction.

When face-to-face, conversations move at a pleasant pace, but they move in the direction of diagnosing and recommending solutions. Just enough facts are gathered to make presentations targeted at needs.

The low need for control salesperson allows the customer to dictate the speed at which the meeting will occur. Conversations wander here and yonder, pleasantly engaging the customer. The customer and the prospect begin to feel good about each other until the customer begins to wonder about the purpose of the meeting. Team members enjoy the pleasant personality of the low need for control salesperson. Managers find them easy to direct and coach, until it comes time to look at sales results. They are low. Sales calls contain too much visiting and not enough selling.

If you have ever said, “I want a salesperson who is coachable”, repent. You really mean, "I want someone who will respond to training." High need for control salespeople typically resist coaching. Instead, mentor them in the way they want to me mentored. “Show me the road to success, now leave me alone and let me walk down the road on my own two feet. “

In my upcoming blogs, we will look at the Sales Skills that all top salespeople master and ways to measure them when recruiting salespeople.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Recruiting Salespeople: The Personality Trait of Goal-orientation Sets the Pace of Work

Steve Suggs — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:09:10 +0000

When recruiting salespeople, Goal Orientation is one of the most important hard-wired personality traits that will help a sales leader understand the way a salesperson will approach sales tasks. The scales on this trait range from laid-back, even paced on the low side to restless, with a sense of urgency on the high side.

Work Ethic is one of the most important, learned character traits that impacts Goal Orientation.

High amounts of Work Ethic will keep the high scorer on the Goal Orientation scale focused on important tasks and disciplined when bored.

“Racehorse” is the term used to describe this person who approaches sales tasks with an intensity and restlessness. They work on short term goals attached to a task that ultimately leads to the main goal.

“Unfocused” is the common word used to describe the salesperson lacking the character trait of Work Ethic and the personality trait of high Goal Orientation. The low work ethic salesperson who gets bored with phoning for appointments schedules a lunch with a friend to explore an additional business opportunity to supplement their income. The unfocused, highly Goal Oriented person has many plates spinning and a floor full of broken plates representing unfinished projects.

High Work Ethic keeps the low scorer on the Goal Orientation scale moving at a quicker, even pace and focused on shorter term deadlines.

“Plow Horse” is the term used to describe this hardworking, plodder who stays steady and even-paced until the job is complete.

“Lazy” is the common word used to describe the person who lacks Work Ethic and has a low score on the Goal Orientation scale. This person did not learn the relationship between productivity based on visualizing the end result necessary for success and the steps necessary to achieve the end result. Since they lack the natural sense of urgency, are slow paced and lack work ethic, they put forth the least amount of effort and depend on others to supply their needs.

When recruiting salespeople, remember many studies show that most successful high activity salespeople have a combination of high work ethic and high scores on the Goal Orientation scale of the Craft Personality Questionnaire.

In my upcoming blogs, we will look at the personality trait, Need for control, and the impact this trait has on executing the sales process.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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When Recruiting Salespeople - Why is High Social Confidence Critical Throughout the Sales Process?

Steve Suggs — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:48:26 +0000

"We all agree that you are a people person, but we're looking for a closer not a professional visitor."

Every important moment in the life of a salesperson involves asking a prospect to take a step. Each step moves the prospect closer to being a customer. Socially Confident and trained salespeople know how to act and speak in a manner that causes the customer to gladly move through the sales cycle to a buying decision. Confidence contributes to quickly earning trust and increases believability, leading to less buyer's remorse. Recruiting salespeople with the personality trait of high social confidence is critical.

High Social Drive moves the sales professional into social situations where business relationships are possible. High Social Confidence causes relationship-building actions to occur when in the social situations. Networking with as many people as time allows for the purpose of doing business is the achieved objective.

Layer High Social Confidence on top of High Social Drive and High Goal Orientation, and you have the Peyton Manning of sales; all of the natural talents are in alignment.

This bundle of potential simply needs the training and tools necessary to execute all phases of the sales process in a high activity manner. Teaching and coaching is soaked up like rain on the desert floor.

The level of the top three character traits of honesty, work ethic, and personal responsibility will dramatically impact whether or not the perfectly wired salesperson reaches potential. Without all of the character traits in alignment, the impatient, confident, socially driven racehorse may dabble into too many non-income-producing activities. High confidence will take on the appearance of arrogance. While in social situations, the desire for recognition can lead to life-of-the-party behavior that turns prospects away.

Struggling, Low Socially Confident salespeople timidly tiptoe around the possibilities of the prospect moving forward, creating uncertainty in the mind of the buyer. Prospects sense the lack of confidence in the trying-to-be-nice voice of the low socially confident salesperson. The on-target intuition of the smart buyer senses their lack of belief in the product. Most do not buy. Sales activities slip further behind.

Knowing the level of Social Confidence with certainty is critical while recruiting salespeople.

In my upcoming blogs, we will look at the personality trait, Goal Orientation, and the impact this trait has on executing the sales process.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Recruiting Salespeople: The Personality Trait of High Social Drive, Energized to Network

Steve Suggs — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:35:02 +0000

While recruiting salespeople, it is important to measure the personality trait, Social Drive.

In a recent sales meeting with high-activity/outside salespeople and their sales engineers, I was conducting training on finding new customers. The proposed method of finding prospects was networking in the community. One of the sales engineers abruptly spoke up and said he was glad this was not part of his job description. Some of the salespeople in the room did not speak up. However, their lack of new prospects on the sales board was evidence of their low desire to be socially connected.

There are two reasons why high social drive is important for high-activity/proactive/hunter/outside salespeople who are required to build new accounts.

1. Finding prospects through referrals, networking in the community, and building long-term relationships with many people is more productive than cold calling and is necessary for long-term success.

2. Most sales team cultures are tied to contests, awards, and public recognition.

Salespeople with high social drive prefer to be around people and find it easy to accumulate a large number of casual relationships for the purpose of doing business. They readily join the chamber, attend business networking groups, and get heavily involved in service organizations. These activities lead to long-term business relationships.

Monthly and annual contests motivate them to choose prospecting over paper work. They visualize themselves walking on stage to receive sales awards. They work effectively making each day count in order to lead the sales board. Team recognition may fuel their work ethic and discipline to stay focused.

Highly social driven people get energized by business networking events.

Social Drive is best measured using the Craft Personality Questionnaire. I also ask these questions during the interview to measure Social Drive.

Put yourself in this picture. We go to a chamber of commerce networking event where 100 people have gathered to network with each other. You see one of your best friends across the room. You do not know anyone else in the room. Your mission is to spend the next two hours in the room getting to know as many people as possible. At the end of the two hours, you and I meet to discuss your success.

(It is important that you simply read this paragraph. Additional details are not necessary. The candidate’s facial expressions will tell you a lot about their social drive. Do they wince at the thought of having to do this task, or do they get excited about it?)

How many people are going to remember meeting you?
How did you go about meeting the most people?
What are some examples in your life where you have been put into a new situation where you had to develop a lot of new relationships?
After a week in this new environment, what percent of the new people knew who you were?

In my upcoming blogs, we will look at the personality trait, Social Confidence, and the impact this trait has on executing the sales process.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Personality Traits – The Forth Dimension to Measure While Recruiting Salespeople

Steve Suggs — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:54:39 +0000

In this series of blog posts on recruiting salespeople, we have been exploring the five dimensions of the “Best Salesperson Profile”. The first three were – Attitudes, Motivations, and Character Traits. Over the next several weeks, we will explore the forth dimension – Personality Traits.

Personality is genetic. It takes less energy to do a task if we have the natural personality tendencies that are in line with particular job duties. It drains our energy if tasks are outside our natural personality tendencies. Our Personality traits also determine how we react to our environment. Some of us have personality traits that are at a level which help us bounce back more quickly from challenging circumstances. Others may have levels of personality traits that make it more difficult to bounce back quickly from our circumstances.

Over the past eleven years, I have been helping sales leaders recruit salespeople using the Craft Personality Questionnaire (CPQ). (For more information on this tool, please visit CraftProfiles.com.)

Dr. Craft completed a significant study where 10,000 salespeople were given the CPQ. Their results on the CPQ were compared to their sales performance. A profile for high activity salespeople in the financial services industry was created. This is the baseline profile I use to help many organizations that wish to recruit salespeople in a high-activity, high-rejection environment.

This personality profile has eight personality traits. Each trait is scored on a scale of 1-100. The ideal high-activity salesperson has scores in specific ranges for each trait. The ideal ranges are as follows:

Social Drive            90-100%

Social Confidence      45-75%

Goal-orientation      90-100%

Need for Control      50-75%

Detail-orientation      10-35%

Skepticism            50-80%

Good Impression      60-90%

Need to Nurture      15-40%

These CPQ scores are indicative of salespeople who have the drive and confidence to perform at a high level in a high-activity, high-rejection and competitive environment where it is necessary to find prospects and turn them into customers. These high-energy salespeople have an independent, entrepreneurial spirit who can work with low amounts of supervision.

Keep in mind, Personality Traits are only one of the five dimensions of the “Best Salesperson Profile”. It is important to measure all five dimensions, not just personality.

In my upcoming blogs, I will further explain the personality traits in greater detail and how to measure these while recruiting salespeople.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Recruiting Salespeople: The Character Trait of Personal Responsibility

Steve Suggs — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:11:12 +0000

The fourth character trait we measure while recruiting salespeople is personal responsibility. In addition to the definition of the trait, I have included some interview questions.

We accept Personal Responsibility for the outcomes of our choices when we believe that the struggles as well as the accomplishments in our lives are impacted by our choices.

We set our selfish interests aside and realize there is a cause and effect associated with every decision we make.

If we have a high maturity level in this character trait, we believe that all of our decisions have either a positive or negative impact on ourselves and others. On the positive side, if we want to make something better, it is up to us to take action. On the negative side, if our decision caused a problem, we either choose to admit that we caused the problem and take action to fix it, or we take our punishment and move on. We do not blame others or make excuses for our mistakes.

Taking responsibility involves being introspective enough to ask, “What did I do wrong and what could I have done differently to have caused a better outcome?”

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, refers to this concept as looking in the mirror and changing ourselves vs. looking out the window for someone else to blame.

When looking for evidence that candidates have a well-developed sense of responsibility for their actions, listen as they talk of former companies. If they tell you about leaving several jobs due to the way they were treated by others, due to companies going out of business, or due to broken promises, stop them and ask, “As you hear yourself telling me about your previous jobs, what do you think I am thinking?” It takes a few tries, but the candidate usually acknowledges that they were not very good at choosing the places they picked to work. The reality is that they failed to perform the due diligence prior to taking their last several jobs. This scenario shows a lack of Personal Responsibility for not acknowledging why they left each job and a lack of Work Ethic for not better researching the company.

These additional interview questions also help you measure the presence of Personal Responsibility.

Tell me about a time in your life when someone gave you a task that did not work out well.
What happened, and what could you have done differently? (Mature candidates spend more time admitting their mistakes and talking about the wrong choices they made vs. blaming others for their mistakes.)
What are you doing to improve your sales skills? What are you doing personally and professionally to grow? (Mature candidates realize they must take responsibility for their own moral and professional growth. They are regularly growing by reading, studying, and attending training.)

In the next blog, I will begin to talk about another dimension in the “Best Sales Person Profile”, Personality Traits.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Recruiting Salespeople: The Character Trait of Concern for Others

Steve Suggs — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:23:46 +0000

When recruiting salespeople, it is important to measure the Character trait of Concern for Others.

As a salesperson, I always appreciate professional help from another great salesperson. It is always a pleasant experience when salespeople greet you warmly, ask questions about your frustrations, and then use their great product knowledge to help you feel good about investing in their product. The Guitar Center has done a great job in hiring musicians and tech-savvy people who use the equipment they sell. Shopping there is always a great experience. Rather than spend hours researching on the Internet, thinking I might save a few bucks and waiting days to get my product, I drive down the street to a trusted and knowledgeable source. I then tell all my friends about the great experience. The salespeople at the Guitar Center have a great deal of concern for me.

My office is located in an area that attracts salespeople who spend their day cold calling. Over the past four years, I have not given a single salesperson more than two minutes. They all do the same thing. They barge into my office, flip out their card and begin to up-chuck product information as if I was sitting at my desk with an immediate need for the exact product they are selling. However, the moment a salesperson walks in, apologizes for the interruption, asks me if I have a moment to speak, then begins to ask questions about me and my frustrations, I will most likely buy from them whether I need their product or not, just because they showed concern.

When salespeople immediately show they have our best interest in mind, and not their own, all of our guards come down and we become open to learning about their product or service. We then tell all our friends about this great professional helper of people.

The character trait of Concern for Others is simply the “Golden Rule” - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. While even the Bible tells us to love others as we love ourselves, remember that all of us are born with selfish traits. The degree to which we can suppress that natural selfish urge is the degree to which we will care for others.

The psychologist, Dr. Denis Waitley, says that we can only give away love and Concern for Others to the degree that we love ourselves.

If candidates have a large number of emotional problems, family problems, financial problems, and other issues, it is emotionally draining. So the question you have to ask is whether or not this person is emotionally healthy enough to have the energy to take care of your customers when they come to work.

We are all beating a path to something, but the question we want to have candidates answer is: does the path lead to anything outside of their own self-interests?

Concern for Others correlates with the personality trait of Need to Nurture. If a person has a personality with a low Need to Nurture, it naturally takes more energy to show a Concern for Others, but with the right training early on in life, there is a higher motivation to help others. For people who score high on the personality trait of Need to Nurture, it may take less energy for them to show Concern for Others, but they may also be tempted to get over-involved.

During the interview ask, “What are the three most important things in your life?” Do they spend time outside of work doing something for others? Ask about their level of involvement. Try to screen out those who just have items on their resumes as window dressing. Look for true involvement in community service, or club memberships that have a service orientation.

If I am concerned about the level of this trait in my candidate, I will ask their reference, usually a coworker, an oh-by-the-way question, “Have you found Rick to be a bit selfish?” When you throw out a question like this, listen for how quickly they respond. If they usually hesitate, no matter what they say next, I have my answer.

In the next blog, I will talk more about the character trait of Personal Responsibility.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Recruiting Salespeople: How Hard is Hard Enough, The Character Trait of Hard Work Ethic

Steve Suggs — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:16:57 +0000

While recruiting salespeople, after your candidate has passed the test for honesty, it is time to measure the important character trait of work ethic.

On the farm, in the 1970’s, we were tired at the end of the day; though, it was a good kind of tired. Winters were cold, but come suppertime, we ate well. We understood the meaning behind Mom’s wisdom when she said, “You can’t wait until you feel good to work. You have to work so you’ll feel good.”

There was a rhythm on the farm. It was a rhythm of consistent, honest work. There were no short cuts or lucky breaks. The instruction manual had to be followed in a timely manner. God’s blessings were needed and counted upon.

I learned work ethic on route 33 in Eva, Alabama from a strong mom and dad who made sure all five of us children contributed our part. If one of us slacked, we all suffered.

A salesperson with Strong Work Ethic –

knows what the goal is, knows what the important tasks are, knows the deadline, then uses a high level of self-discipline to finish the tasks on time.

Logic and discipline determine the priorities and deadlines, not emotions.

Work ethic is a character trait which all top salespeople have in abundance. It is getting harder to find it in today's generation of instant gratification mentality. As we are recruiting salespeople, we must sift through more candidates than ever before, but candidates with hard work ethic are there if we know what to look for and how to look for it. Here are some tips.

Evidence of hard work ethic in candidates:

They have…

many stories of several people in their lives who mentored them through an environment of high expectations.
an educational history of high achievement.
a job history of choosing the right job for their talent and sticking with the same company/field for an extended period of time.
stories of challenging things happening to them and their struggle to overcome.
multiple, varying types of references who talk about their dependability, hard work, and self-discipline.

Evidence of Hard Work Ethic on Resume:

Working at the same company/career for an extended period of time.
Reasons for changing companies related to movement up.
Awards for achievement in sports, academics, and sales.
Use words like “hard work, discipline, achievement, and putting in long hours”.
Worked to pay for education.
Initial statement is tailored to fit the position.
A cover letter tailored to your company and the position is included.

Other Evidence of Hard Work Ethic:

Prepared for the interview by researching your company/job requirements/product.
Arrived at the interview early.
Asked for the job.

Interview Questions to Discover Work Ethic:

What is your definition of work ethic?
What are some specific experiences in your life that have built your work ethic?
How has your work ethic impacted your life?
Tell me about a time in your life when you had to sacrifice in order to achieve something important.
What did you sacrifice?
Why?

In the next blog, I will talk more about the character trait of concern for others.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Recruiting Salespeople: Honesty - the Most Important Character Trait to Measure

Steve Suggs — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:59:19 +0000

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom" - Thomas Jefferson.

Honesty is learned when the desire for a clean conscience out weighs the feelings of guilt and disappointment. Honest people are strong enough to deal with whatever challenges are brought about from telling the truth. Discerning honesty while recruiting salespeople is not difficult if you know how to look for it.

I remember giving my honesty muscle a workout with my mother. The lie had to do with avoiding homework in order to play outside on a beautiful day.

On the school bus ride home, I committed to quickly finishing homework so I could play outside on the warm fall day. As I ran to my room to complete my homework, I removed my shoes. The cool ground and the warm air were intoxicating.

Upon entering the house, Mom asked her usual question, “Do you have any homework?”

With the aroma of the fall air still fresh in my nostrils, I replied with a convincing, “No, I finished it on the bus.”

She was pleased and sent me out to play with her approval and blessing.

Within the first five minutes of my continuation of romping in the pleasant outdoors, I caught a glimpse of my beautiful mother’s smile and wave from the kitchen window, as she mouthed the words, “I love you”.

All of sudden, a sick feeling in my stomach created from the guilty conscience began to override the earlier sensations of fall weather and freedom to run and play. I began to understand the emotions of a guilty conscience. The rest of my play time was spoiled as I struggled to regain those feelings of joy.

I eventually came clean, took my punishment, and restored the trusting relationship with my mom.

Honesty starts with the training of absolute truth in right and wrong.

If someone hasn't had that parent or mentor who has instilled honesty at an early age, then they are always going to struggle with honesty. If they can't remember the first time they felt the weight of guilt for lying, then maybe they haven't participated in that training.

Ask a candidate to tell you a story about the way they learned honesty. Honest candidates most likely have a similar story to the one above.

Other signs of honesty and dishonesty during the recruiting process:

Exaggerations on the resume. Many times a 3.0 GPA is really a 2.7. Community activities and service organization experience was time spent in a small participatory roll rather than in a time-consuming leadership role.
They've taken a strength and stated it as a weakness. If they say they are impatient with lazy people, or that they are a workaholic, that person has a problem with honesty.
Struggling to give you 6 great references who will say good things about them is a sign of dishonesty.
Struggling to get to the truth about the real reason they left each job.
Sometimes the personality trait, measured using the Craft Personality Assessment, of High Good Impression points to a candidate’s tendency to exaggerate strengths and downplay weaknesses.

Here are 3 interview questions I use to measure honesty:

What would you do if our products or services are not what a prospect needs or wants?
Which of these traits is the most important one for the type of sales we do? Persistence, Self-Discipline, Honesty, or Work Ethic?
When I speak to your last boss, what will they tell me are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

When we experience the negative consequences and burden of a guilty conscience of dishonesty, and choose the comfort of a clear conscience over the temporary ease of dishonesty, we become bonded to the trait of honesty.

In the next blog, I will talk more about the character trait of work ethic.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Character Traits – The Third Dimension to Measure While Recruiting Salespeople

Steve Suggs — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:15:35 +0000

When recruiting salespeople, the third dimension of the Best Salesperson Profile is character.

Character is different from personality. Personality embodies hard-wired, genetic traits that determine a person's natural behavioral tendencies. Character traits are formed in our past from teaching and training from mentors.

The top 4 character traits of high performing salespeople are honesty, work ethic, personal responsibility, and concern for others.

Top salespeople are honest with themselves and with others. They work hard by setting goals and doing enough of the right activities to hit goals.

They suppress their selfishness for the benefit of others. They take responsibility for the consequences of their decisions.

Productivity patterns in the areas of attitudes, motivations, character traits, and skills are developed in our past. The development of patterns is impacted by the amount of exposure to teaching and the willingness to follow the teaching.

When we hear laws, rules, and instruction, and we choose to obey, especially when we do not feel like it, we experience feelings of gratification, accomplishment, and productivity.

The desire to seek the productive path intensifies.

We become bonded to the law, rule, instruction, and the lawgiver. The trait is imprinted on our heart.

The more we are bonded to a trait, the more often we choose to act with high character.

Over the years, as training continues, we begin to echo patterns of high character and high skill level.

The degree to which a salesperson candidate has been bonded to character traits is measured with interview questions. Stories of the ways character traits were taught give indication of the trait. Ask questions that get the candidate talking about the teachings in their past.

Here are a few examples of salesperson interview questions for discovering the character trait of concern for others:

Who has had the most influence on you in shaping your character?

What are some of the most important life lessons _________ taught you? (Strong candidates will have one or more significant stories about a huge impact a parent, teacher, coach, etc. had on the development of a specific character trait.)

What about work fulfills you? (Looking for words like – helping others, making a difference, solving problems for people…)

When you are not working, what are some things that are important to you that you spend time doing? (Look for involvement in things that benefit other people – family, charity, and church. Not looking for hobbies, working out, etc.)

Learning behavioral interviewing is an important skill when measuring character traits.

In the next blog, I will talk more about honesty, the number one character trait.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Motivation - The Second Dimension to Measure While Recruiting Salespeople

Steve Suggs — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:07:39 +0000

When recruiting salespeople, the second dimension of the Best Salesperson Profile is Motivation.

Most top salespeople are motivated by personal financial needs that keep them working through what I call the Sweat Zone. They need a reason to make calls when it gets hard, and to keep pressing through whether they feel like it or not.

A salesperson with financial needs and a desire for a better future will keep going. Having goals for a better future gives you an indication about how mature they are in their ability to think about the future and to provide for it. This is also a measure, to some extent, of their degree of maturity. And to be successful, your salesperson has got to be more mature than the people he or she is serving.

Getting out of debt is another motivating factor, although you don't want someone who is so desperate for money that they can't think straight or concentrate on the job at hand.

If there is no motivation that the candidate can articulate, pass them by. If a candidate can live on $35,000, they're not likely to push to do well in a $100,000 sales job. They're going to be satisfied with much, much less. You want a person who sets goals, reaches them, and then sets more.

Ask these questions:

What in your current financial situation would you be able to satisfy if you got this position?
What is the minimum amount of money you need to earn?

You can have a person with great sales skills, but if they don't have something in their lives they want to change, then they're not likely to apply those skills well or consistently.

If they don't have something they want to change, they likely don't have any goals.

Ask this question: How will being successful in this job help you change things in your life?

You want someone who, if they were stranded on a desert island,

with a plentiful water source, plenty of food available, and a shelter that was the right temperature year round, and a spouse with them that they were attracted to, and if they knew they had to be in this situation for a while, they would look at this paradise and think, I could make this better.

The truth is, we live in a world that is constantly falling to pieces. So if you're not growing, you're going to decay. I want someone who is always driven to make it better, no matter how good it gets. You want someone who understands that the state you're in today, left unattended, will get worse automatically. So they've got to make it better, or weeds will grow. They understand, "If it is to be, it is up to me." And they are never satisfied with mediocrity.

One good way to encourage a candidate to reveal their motivations, is to ask them to list, in order of priority, the three most important things in their life.

In terms of answers, I like it when people have someone else to take care of, or are concerned about something outside of themselves, and have some spirituality. It shows they have a moral center. They're not just making up their own rules in life. But I also want to hear about their career somewhere in that list. It means my company is in the top three.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Attitudes and Beliefs - The First Dimension to Measure While Recruiting Salespeople

Steve Suggs — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:55:00 +0000

I spent fifteen years selling financial services products. The passion for these products was developed watching the "insurance man" visit my house on a regular basis while I was a child. My successful uncle also influenced me as I watched him build a successful career with State Farm. The passion for spending the past eleven years helping sales managers recruit top salespeople grew from the experiences in my past career and watching managers thrive when given great tools and skills.

Having a passion for solving customer problems using one's products or services is critical for long-term success in sales. Top salespeople usually have a personal reason for choosing sales as a career and for choosing to sell their product. This passion is usually brought about from a positive experience with the product and a successful salesperson's influence.

Top salespeople believe, as salespeople, they are worthy of respect and deserve their success. Weak salespeople are passive about solving customer problems, and do not believe their product is the best on the market. They are always on the hunt for their next job. As a sales leader, your job is to assess the candidates' belief in the products you sell and their self-image as a salesperson.

We must recruit the confident salesperson who is proud of the service they provide to others as a professional salesperson, and who is immune to the negative image of salespeople.

Purchasing patterns point to a person's attitude toward salespeople. Candidates who speak negatively about salespeople, who purchase primarily from the internet, and who avoid dealing with salespeople are weak candidates for your team. Do-it-yourselfers have a hard time convincing customers that salespeople are a necessary part of the equation if they don't truly believe it themselves.

Stories that reveal their passion to sell your product or service point to their attitudes toward solving customer problems using your product. Top salespeople always have a personal reason for their choices.

Ask these questions:

1. Who has influenced your thinking the most on __________ products? (Strong candidates seek advice from the same experts you use to influence your customers?)

2. What did you learn from them? (Strong candidates share the same values around your product.)

3. What ______________ products do you currently own or have owned in the past?

4. How did you go about making the decision to purchase these products? (Red flags – internet purchase, price focused, not willing to change to your company.)

5. Are you ready to move all of your products to our company? (Strong candidates know they must own what they sell. Strong candidates will not say, “If I get the job”, but “yes”)

6. When you think of a salesperson, what words come to mind? (Strong candidates say - helpful, expert, good listener, consultant. Weak candidates say - pushy, rude, lazy, bothersome.)

7. How do you see yourself in comparison to these words?

8. Why do you think I am asking you these questions? (Strong candidates make the connection between these questions and the things they will be doing in a sales role with your company.)

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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When Recruiting Salespeople, Start with a Best Salesperson Profile

Steve Suggs — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:53:54 +0000

What is the item in the picture?

One of the most commonly asked questions by sales leaders is, "What do I look for when recruiting salespeople?" Interviewing salespeople is a lot like looking for a diamond in its natural state.

If the only diamond you have ever seen is one after it has been skillfully cut, you could stub your toe on a diamond in the rough, pick it up, and curse while you pitched a $20,000 uncut diamond to the side of the trail.

If you do not know the top traits and competencies to look for while selecting salespeople, you run the risk of either hiring what you thought was a diamond or passing over a diamond in the rough.

When you sign up for Facebook or Linkedin, you are directed to build a profile. This profile is the description of you that you want the people in your Facebook and Linkedin world to see. These profiles contain your accomplishments, motivations, attitudes, and beliefs. Your profile is basically a summation of your personal and business life up to this point in time. You are putting your best foot forward for the world to see. Your profile allows people to form an opinion of who your are as a person so that they can make a decision of whether or not to connect with you.

Candidates apply to work for you. They create a profile for you to see during the selection process - resume, answers to interview questions, and references. They are putting their best foot forward. They bring a package to the job interview. Your job is to unwrap the package and evaluate this profile to determine if it measures up to the things needed to be a strong salesperson in a high activity, high rejection environment. You must measure the degree to which this candidate is growing or declining in all areas of their profile.

A “Best Practice” evaluation process measures the candidate’s profile against the ideal profile of a high performing salesperson. The profile of a high performing salesperson has 5 dimensions. Each dimension contains several important elements. I will list the dimensions and elements here and give more details about each dimension in future posts.

5 Dimensions of a Best Salesperson Profile:

Attitude toward product and sales as a career.
Motivations and goals that can be satisfied working for you.
Character - Honesty, work ethic, responsibility, and concern for others.
Personality - High social drive, high social confidence, high goal orientation and high need for control.
Sales Skills - Prospecting/Networking, holding appointments, fact finding, presenting, asking for the order, handling objections, and getting the sale.

Now that you know what to look for while recruiting salespeople, use best practice tools and skills to find the level at which each candidate has these traits. Your skills in interviewing salespeople will grow as you use the right tools.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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A Formula for Life and Recruiting Salespeople

Steve Suggs — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:57:17 +0000

One of my favorite Lucille Ball episodes is where she becomes the Vitameatavegamin spokesperson. She becomes the on-air spokesperson for this miracle product that promises to cure all that ails you and give you super energy and long life. As they are shooting the commercial for this miracle product, it becomes evident the main ingredient is alcohol. Lucy gets drunk during the shoot providing all the comedy needed for this great episode.

During a sleepless night, if you ever turn on late night TV, you will find dozens of infomercials promising the same thing Vitameatavegamin promised fifty years ago. There is always someone with plenty of marketing savvy and money willing to convince us there is always an easy solution to life’s most difficult challenges. They lead us to believe that we are dumb and that they are smart for having figured out the secret formula.

What is it about human nature that causes the attraction to easy answers and miracle cures?

Have you discovered anything about yourself that helps you turn on the discipline switch when something sounds too good to be true? In what areas of your life do you still struggle with the discipline switch?

Are there some areas of your business where you are challenged? Have you decided to stop looking for the miracle cure in these areas of challenge and begin to look for real solutions?

What about recruiting salespeople? What about ______________________ (insert your greatest challenge here)? Have you reached the point where you have concluded that whatever you are doing now is not working? Are you willing to learn a new system rather than trying to get different results with the same formula?

Here’s the truth about quick-fix formulas. There is a formula to all that ails us. It is not a secret. It is well published. Many authors have written about it for thousands of years. It’s called wisdom and truth.

Eugene Peterson says, “Wisdom is the art of living skillfully in whatever actual conditions we find ourselves. It has virtually nothing to do with information as such, with knowledge as such. A college degree is no certification of wisdom --- nor is it primarily concerned with keeping us out of moral mud puddles, although it does have a profound moral effect upon us...

...Wisdom has to do with becoming skillful in honoring our parents and raising our children, handling our money and conducting our sexual lives, going to work and exercising leadership, using words well and treating friends kindly, eating and drinking healthily, cultivating emotions within ourselves and attitudes toward others that make for peace. Threaded through all these items is the insistence that the way we think of and respond to God is the most practical thing we do. In matters of everyday practicality, nothing, absolutely nothing, takes precedence over God.”

Life is hard. There are no easy answers. The more complex the problem, the more complex the solution needed. The longer the problem has persisted, the greater the discipline needed to change the habits that created the original challenge.

The first step is to begin today. Seek wisdom and truth vs. a Vitameatavegamin secret solution. You will only get drunk while others laugh at your foolishness.

Blessings upon your recruiting efforts.

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Steve Suggs is a partner at Sales Manage Solutions, a sales consulting firm focused on coaching sales managers from good to great. You can also read Steve’s sales productivity blog.