You’re determined to hire the best and think you did. Then why 30, 60 or 90 days later are you wondering why the seller isn’t living up to your expectations?
Where do you weigh in on these 4 traps that set you up for failure and not success?
Hiring Challenges
Trap 1: Hire from experience and gut. Heck you’ve been successfully hiring for a long time.
Maybe your track record is more good than bad and you expect to have some mis-fires.
If you are truly interested in dropping that notion that it’s okay to hire wrong, then prepare a standardized set of interview questions based on the necessary core competencies and talent required.
Trap 2: Limit the interviews to 1 or at the most 2 meetings.
You’re busy and again, you’ve done this before.
You think you can gain everything you need to know from one or maximum two interviews.
Today’s candidate is an expert interviewer.
They’ve been coached and trained by their peers, recruiters and the internet. They’ve learned how to ace an interview.
It’s important to be certain that ‘what you see’ is ‘what you get’ and the best way to discover the true person is with 3 or more interviews – with one interview being a breakfast or lunch meeting.
Two interviews isn’t enough. Extend the interview process and people’s true colors appear.
It’s much harder to stay on your best behavior for any length of time – unless that’s how you are all of the time.
Trap 3: Interview with only 1 person.
Since they’ll be working directly for you, you may think you are the only one that needs to be interviewing. Wrong.
Consider asking 1 or 2 of your best sellers to conduct an interview along with another sales manager.
First, the candidate will be more relaxed with a peer and the more relaxed they are the more loose lips they become. You’ll be amazed at what is said and asked on that interview!
Plus, your top sellers only want the best on the team and they’ll find out information you didn’t.
Another sales manager’s perspective is also a good idea.
You may be desperate to fill a position and have on your rose colored glasses. Your colleague will ask different questions and either confirm or disqualify your findings.
Trap 4: Institute the sink or swim onboarding program.
You’ve now hired a professional sales person, provided the product information and sent them out to close the deals.
Sure you’re available by phone or in person if they have any questions.
You possibly even set them up with another seller for a week or two.
This trap is more like a sinkhole. It’s near impossible to be successful within the first 90 days out there figuring everything out by yourself.
Time-to-performance is critical for everyone to be meeting sales quotas.
Assemble a well planned 6-8 week on boarding program to include you riding along the first, third and sixth weeks. This time intensive one-on-one schedule onboards your new seller more efficiently and effectively.
What other traps have you eliminated to save your new hires from failure?
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