Are you trying to recruit a salesperson for your distributorship in order to even out the workload? Did your top salesperson just leave and you have no idea how to replace him or her? Or, do you simply want to expand your sales force, but are unsure where to begin?
If the idea of finding a salesperson stresses you out, you are not alone. To help you relax, Print+Promo reached out to the experts for tips on how to best approach the process. Here, Billy Booe, MAS, vice president of business development at Activate! Promotions + Marketing, Charlotte, N.C., and Lisa Watkins, senior talent acquisition manager at Chicago-based InnerWorkings Inc., share their hiring practices and discuss the traits they look for in their prospective salespeople.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Experience
Industry experience is a must for Activate! A salesperson with pre-existing client relationships also is required. "Because what we don't have is an incubator, so what I can't do is take newbies and bring them in and train them," Booe said. "We're looking for people who have already spent five, six, seven, eight, 10 years in the business. They've established a book of business, a vast amount of relationships."
InnerWorkings, on the other hand, has found success with hires who were previously consultants outside of the industry. "They're able to utilize their consulting experience to understand a client's business problem. They can drill down into the data, and then see the bigger picture to apply different solutions," Watkins said.
Consultative Ability
While some industry know-how is helpful, it isn't necessarily the most important aspect of the job. According to InnerWorkings, a potential candidate's problem-solving skills are what will set him or her apart. "Anyone can learn about this industry, but you can't really teach someone how to understand a business problem or a client's need and then be able to provide added value," Watkins said. "The intangibles make someone successful here, and we're more than willing to provide technical training."
Activate! also prefers salespeople who can go beyond selling products. Booe characterized those without the consultative aptitude as "product eccentric." "They don't understand that these products can be used in conjunction as a program," he said. "They don't know how to identify an employee wellness program. They don't know how to ask for a recognition program. They can sell you a BIC Clic Stic pen, but they can't build a program. You don't have to be a program salesperson, but when you have the ability to recognize those opportunities—those are revenue lines."
WHERE TO LOOK
Referrals
Posting a sales job on craigslist or Monster may result in some applications, but not the top talent you're seeking. Both Watkins and Booe have found referrals to be rather successful. "I use referrals and pay attention to the marketplace—who's doing well and trying to engage those people," Watkins said. "I've had success cold-calling candidates at competitors that closed a big deal or helped their organization in other ways. But the best hires are referrals from our employees or other areas of our organization—even clients."
Booe's information typically comes from relationships he has created during his 32 years in the industry. Therefore, he hears when a distributor is having trouble paying its bills, or if a certain salesperson is unhappy with his or her current employer. "If there's one channel I focus on, it's the supplier channel," he said. "You know the reps are out every day calling on the distributors, so they're on the front lines. They know, they hear, they see. They're the first ones that know if there's a problem or John Doe at XYZ is not happy because his owner just changed his compensation plan. So that's where I spend my time."
If you're new to the industry or simply don't have a collection of contacts to keep you in the loop, you're not out of luck. LinkedIn provides an easy and effective way to search and find salespeople who may fit your needs. "If I have their direct contact information, that's the best way, but I utilize LinkedIn a lot," Watkins said. "It is a great tool."
Booe agreed. "It's great because most of that email traffic and mail traffic doesn't get into the corporate side of it, so you can start a conversation with a prospective account executive without any fear on their part of their employer finding out about it," he said.
But even before contacting the person of interest, Booe browses the Internet and calls supplier reps in that person's part of the country to obtain more information on that person. Then, he sends a short, simple and non-invasive LinkedIn message.
"It's not, 'Hey, I want you to look at Activate! We're great. We're a top 50 company. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Come work for us.' You really have to get to know the person before they're going to allow you to really get to know them," he explained.
While some of these conversations may not result in an immediate hire, as trust develops, that time spent may pay off down the road. Booe has had an ongoing conversation with one person for about five years. "He's probably not going to leave his employer, but when you find the right person, you stay in touch," he said. "You never know when life's going to throw you a little curve ball, because it always does. So if you've covered a lot of that preliminary qualification ground, and the more conversations you have with people, the more comfortable you get, well, when you-know-what hits the fan and they have to make a decision, you've already covered a lot of that ground. You're in a good place."
WHOM TO HIRE
The Interview
Since many of these prospective salespeople were approached as opposed to applying directly to the distributor, they need to be sold on the employer who is chasing their talent. "I have to sell them on how we provide value to our clients, and I help them understand our business model," Watkins said.
Booe and Dave Cronch, executive vice president of sales at Activate!, call the candidates multiple times before bringing them to the office for a two-day, all-paid visit as a way to get to know them and their book of business. The prospective salespeople even have an opportunity to chat one-on-one with employees across various departments, such as accounting and warehousing.
"It's a two-sided coin," Booe said. "They're interviewing us and every one of my employees is interviewing them. [...] At the end of the day, if my employees don't see value in that person, we don't hire them."
The Decision
The process from first contact to hire is long, but important. You are filling a position, and hiring the wrong person could be costly. "We see it more as a conversation than an interview process," Watkins said of the process that on average takes three-to-six months from first contact. "Will it be a right fit for us and the candidate as well? We really want to invest in people to stay with us since we have a very long sales cycle."
Booe estimates that Activate! invests about $40,000 in resources, people and assets to train a new salesperson. "If I make an error hiring you, it's a $40-, $50-, $60-thousand mistake [...] so we better be right," he said.
Both admitted that the process of finding top sales talent isn't easy.
"Everyone wants to know how to find the right people, the right mix of skill sets and intangibles," Watkins said. "In addition to referrals and paying attention to the marketplace, you also have to use your existing network."
"Ultimately, it's through a consistent long-term approach that you start to make better decisions and you become more successful in keeping good people," Booe added. "Not only finding them, but keeping them."
Amanda L. Cole is the editor-in-chief of NonProfit PRO. She was formerly editor-in-chief of special projects for NonProfit PRO's sister publication, Promo Marketing. Contact her at acole@napco.com.