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Remember your last sales job interview? Robert was a recruiter for five years when he finally got the chance to run his own office. He quickly found out that hiring good sales employees was no easy task. Here's his story:
I had run an ad for salespeople and hired two new reps. The reps came in for the first day of training. Like many rookie sales positions, this job required lots of cold calling. So I had them jump right in. I thought this would toughen up the reps and teach them how to respond to objections -- thus helping me sort out the keepers from the new hires who couldn't handle the job's pace.
One new hire, Marty, was very nervous through the morning's training session and up to lunch. She declined the free meal the manager offered to all new employees. I realized the reason for her hesitation when she went to lunch on her own and then never returned.
One down, one to keep, I thought. The second day of training was all phone work. A list of potential clients was given to the second trainee. She was to spend her day calling these clients, keeping track of the objections she encountered from decision makers. This would serve to pinpoint what the trainee needed to work on to develop better sales skills.
I knew I lost this trainee when the employee at the desk adjacent to her came into my office at 4 p.m. "Something funny has been happening all day, and I finally listened really hard to see what it was,” the employee said. “I could barely hear the voice coming out of her phone and realized that the trainee had spent the whole day calling her own answering machine and faking conversations!"
It was back to the drawing board for me.
Postmortem
This isn't just a hiring blunder; it's a lesson for all sales professionals. If you don't have the drive to do whatever it takes to make a sale, you need to find other work that inspires you. Most sales roles require a blend of phone and face-to-face selling.
Sales professionals should also have a systematic way of managing their day. If you are struggling, follow the lead of someone who isn't. This keeps fear from making you avoid your problem areas and thus hindering your success. Step by step, break down your selling life into manageable portions and get great at each. Naturally, attentive and paced training is helpful in this effort (hiring managers, take note).
[Dan Seidman of SalesAutopsy.com has been named one of the Top 12 Sales Coaches in America by Ultimate Selling Power. He collects sales horror stories for use in his speaking and training programs.]
