Hire Right, Higher Profits
Lee B. Salz
It’s the revolving door on sales teams. Executives hire who they believe to be great salespeople, but the results never come – and the salespeople are let go. This perpetual cycle eradicates profits, makes revenue targets pipe dreams, and has sales leaders pulling out their hair in frustration.
Despite these issues, executives continue to try to “hire great salespeople.” That three-word expression is exactly what “Hire Right, Higher Profits” is all about. Sales management strategist, Lee Salz shows you how to stop the vicious cycle by treating hiring decisions as you would any other investment.
He begins the book by challenging readers with the $25,000 Revenue Test which most executives fail. Then, he hits readers between the eyes with the statement “there are no great salespeople” and offers proof of it! He also cautions those executives – who view the competition as their primary sales talent source – of its risks.
But Salz doesn’t stop there! He challenges executives to shift their perspective from hiring salespeople to investing in revenue. Each salesperson represents a revenue investment made by the company with the core objective of receiving a fast, high return on it – no different than when companies invest in sales strategies, tactics, and ideas to grow revenue.
“Hire Right, Higher Profits” teaches executives how to determine what type of revenue investment is needed, evaluate revenue investment candidates and get a fast, high return on the investment made in their new salespeople. In this widely-acclaimed book, you learn how to:
- Shift your executive team’s perspective from hiring salespeople to investing in revenue
- Identify the factors that affect revenue investment performance – the causes of salesperson success and failure in the role
- Scrutinize a salesperson’s resume to get to the truth
- Assemble a screening program to adeptly evaluate investment candidates so you select the right ones
- Avoid the common mistakes executives make when they recruit salespeople from the competition
- Protect the revenue investment through structured sales onboarding and enablement
- Design sales onboarding curriculum to get a fast, high return on the new revenue investments
- Assess revenue investment performance both during and post-onboarding
“Hire Right, Higher Profits” is a step-by-step, practical guide teaching you how to implement the revenue investment concept in your company – impacting both the top and bottom lines. It’s a fun, educational read that is chock-full of stories as you learn how to build a world-class sales force. The methodology presented in the book can be implemented in any company, in any industry, of any size. The book is not based on scientific studies, but rather on real-world, field-tested sales management practices that Lee Salz has developed and used for over twenty years. Whether you are a seasoned executive or new sales manager, this book has everything you need to hire right.
When it comes to hiring sales professionals, executives want the right ingredients for a perfect rainmaker recipe. Regardless of experience or industry, there are four key attributes that every top salesperson possesses.
- Resilient: Rejection is par for the course in any sales career. Leading performers get up repeatedly when they’re knocked to the mat and make more calls. Top salespeople don’t take a prospect’s “no” personally – rather as a challenge to close the next deal. Resiliency also helps them to roll with the punches as changes occur in their company.
- Continuous self-improvement: During a client visit with a minor league sports team, their executives and I saw the players work on their skills from dawn until dusk. Those players were trying to take their career to the next level. Yet, when we looked at the sales team, they lacked that same commitment to continuous self-improvement – which was one of the organization’s primary problems with sales.Just like elite athletes, top salespeople are always upping their game. Four of their most valuable investments are in: sales skills, industry research, prospect buying habits, and competitor analysis. Winning sales professionals pursue these areas relentlessly.
- Client goal-oriented: If making money is a salesperson’s primary objective, their prospects can break a leg running away. Most prospects easily detect salespeople who put their paycheck before their clients’ needs.Top salespeople know the only way to reach their goals is to help their clients achieve their goals. The equation does not work the other way around.
- Inquisitive: Many salespeople are passionate about their company and its products…so much so that they tell anyone and everyone about them. Yack, yack, yack! People don’t buy because they’ve been lectured. They buy because, through conversation, opportunities for improvement are uncovered. Conversation occurs when salespeople master the art of asking questions.Coming back to being “client goal-oriented,” salespeople can’t help prospects if they don’t know what their client wants. The old expression of being interested versus interesting is a foundational success principle in sales.
While there are many attributes executives need to evaluate in a candidate, these four ingredients should be non-negotiable.
Lee B. Salz is a leading sales management strategist and expert in hiring and onboarding highly profitable sales forces. Through his sales management consulting firm, Sales Architects, Lee has helped hundreds of companies experience explosive growth through the migration of their sales teams from “people-based” to “process-based.” He is the author of three best-selling business books including Top Book Awards silver medal winner Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager (WBusiness Books, 2007). He serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Sales & Marketing Management magazine, is host of the Sales Management Minute podcast series, and is chairperson of the Sales Management Challenge executive skill-development program. Lee can be reached for consulting and speaking opportunities at lsalz@salesarchitects.net or 763.416.4321
