The sales industry as a whole has always been a transitional career move/path environment. Today it’s more than ever. Managers, Owners, Presidents, and CEO’s are short fused with their sales teams. Sales members are looking at the proverbial “grass is greener” across all industries in response. A great time to hire and get that sales team dreamed of. Or so I thought.

Making calls, networking, job board listings produced some wonderfully qualified candidates. Resumes full of talent and capability. There was no way this wasn’t going to work. My actual attempts to hire top sales talent seemed to be another story however. I just couldn’t get them to come aboard. Time after time they would hire on elsewhere. Frustrating. After doing some research I came to realize my offering was looking old, vague and outdated as it turns out. Something had to change.

Analyzing my competition and doing some interviews with other hiring managers I found that there were 5 areas my offering was lacking. Here is what I found:

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Hire Top Sales Talent.

1.) Do you really know what it takes to be successful in your industry today?
What are the metrics for success? Just don’t point at your top salesperson and say this is what it takes. They might not really represent what it takes for a variety of reasons. If you’re not sure then do the research to find out. This is crucial.

2.) Do you have an on-boarding process that ramps up fast and successful?
First you need to be on top of #1. Then put a plan in place to set the right pace and direction based on this information. Clear and concise.

3.) Is your current training relevant in today’s market?
I was working for an organization recently that was using training methods that were at least 15 years old. The amazing part is they couldn’t understand why this was a problem and why they weren’t attracting top talent currently.

4.) Is your pricing, offering, and presentation updated and competitive?
Are you presenting with your best foot forward. Today’s client can easily online research and expects presentations using today’s tools.

5.) Does your compensation plan drive real success? Can you prove it?
If you think salespeople don’t talk between themselves about compensation plans then your mistaken. Not only that but they can get on Glassdoor and such and find out anyways. Total compensation needs to be competitive and creative. It needs to drive company AND sales person successes.

We are all guilty of hiring to get “feet on the street”. Typically willy-nilly and not thought out fully. Why? Almost always this leads to your frustration and loss of money to the company. A truly great salesperson hire can do so much for not only the bottom line but for the company’s reputation as well. By simply taking some time to prepare your offering, hiring your next top ace sales professional can be a reality.

Before you invest in a new salesperson, make the changes and give yourself and them a chance to succeed.

Chris Lott

Chris has over 15 year’s Sales Management experience including Business Ownership, Product Management and Web Design/Marketing. He’s a national sales team strategist and trainer. Chris is the designer of the popular totallysales™ sales playbook with thousands of copies downloaded. He’s a nationally syndicated author with his articles on SalesBlog! rated as a “top must-read” on consultative selling.