Top Performers Archives

How To Build a Candidate Pipeline For Future Hires

Posted on February 1, 2019January 20, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Building a "candidate pipeline" is a great way to form relationships with qualified candidates you may be interested in hiring when a new position opens up. Oftentimes, employers and hiring managers will have no more than two weeks notice to fill a position. This is nowhere near enough time to source candidates, interview them, and ultimately make an informed hiring decision. By creating a candid...

Sales Interview Best Practices for Employers

Posted on July 11, 2014January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Many companies look at the interview as the way to assess whether or not a candidate is a good fit for the business. While true, it is hardly the full picture. Many candidates today, especially top talent, have options of where to take their services. The interview is equally important in selling your business to candidates as the best opportunity to achieve their long term goals. &nbs...

How Long Should It Take To Hire a Top Performer In Sales? [Video]

Posted on July 11, 2014January 8, 2021 by caitlinhoward

By Kathleen Steffey (CEO and Founder of Naviga Recruiting & Executive Search) Hiring a new sales rep can take a long time if you don't have a dedicated resource searching for top talent. Learn how many days it takes on average to hire a sales rep when using a recruiting firm that is devoted to finding top sales talent. How long does it take your company to hire a top sales performer? How Long ...

Cultivate Your Network to Attract Top Talent

Posted on September 6, 2013April 6, 2022 by Kevin Steffey

This post is Part 3 in a Salesjournal Series on “Making Your Business Attractive to Top Talent.” Part 1 asks “Is Your Business Attractive to Top Talent?” and Part 2 describes how to “Market Your Company and Positions to Attract Top Talent”, Part 4 details “Lack Luster Employee Culture? Address It Now to Impact Retention” and Part 5 asks “Want Top Talent? Rethink Benefits.” You can’t rely...

7 Secrets of Recruiting the BEST Salespeople

Posted on March 30, 2012January 8, 2021 by KathleenSteffey

By Steve Suggs, Recruiting Expert and author of Can They Sell When Jeffery Gittomer, endorsed my book, Can They Sell, he said, “To hire or not to hire? That is the question.” Jeffery is a master at getting salespeople to understand this foundational principal of success: “Salespeople’s mastery of sales skills will determine the quality of their lifestyle.” A similar principal of succe...

7 Hiring Mistakes and How Not to Make Them

Posted on December 7, 2011January 8, 2021 by KathleenSteffey

BY S. ANTHONY IANNARINO I am not throwing the first stone here (or the last). I have personally been guilty of half of these. But, alas, it is how one learns. Hiring Out of Desperation One of the fastest ways to build an underperforming sales force and burden yourself with human resources nightmares is to hire out of desperation. If you desperately need someone to fill the position, or if you are ...

Always Be Recruiting!

Posted on July 19, 2010May 10, 2022 by KathleenSteffey

Dave Kurlan wrote an outstanding post: Bench Strength – The Key To Replacing Salespeople. He mentioned that managers must always be recruiting. It’s such a simple concept, but Dave Brock is constantly amazed at how few managers–at all levels do this. Here’s how the cycle goes. We have a bad performer in place, we worry about firing the person because it leaves an open territory - too often we thi...

20 Characteristics of a Superior Inside Salesperson

Posted on November 10, 2009 by KathleenSteffey

What makes a superior salesperson? Not merely successful. Meaning superior. This question was posed by Ian and Jennifer, two very astute Inside Sales Managers with whom Geoff Alexander communicates with on a frequent basis. After training and coaching hundreds and hundreds of telesales reps, he does have some answers, because he's worked with many of the best. The list of the key elements that mad...

Preventing the Mis-Hire

Posted on June 26, 2009May 13, 2022 by KathleenSteffey

In a recent posting, fellow blogger Dave Stein commented on what he views as an epidemic: the mis-hiring of sales executives. Dave notes that too many C-level executives don’t understand what sales leadership is all about and, as a result, continue to put non-qualified people into these positions. “That’s why sales is last on line in many companies with respect to quality, discipline, process, m...

Job Hopping or Financial Survival?

Posted on March 27, 2009 by KathleenSteffey

I’m seeing a trend lately where sales reps – even A Players – are taking any job they can find, even if it doesn’t make sense for them in the long-term, then continuing to shop for the right position. In many cases, it’s an economic necessity. Which is why hiring managers may need to adjust their opinions of job-hoppers, at least until the economy recovers. The reality is that professionals who w...

Would An A-Player Use YouTube To Compete For A Sales Position?

Posted on September 12, 2008 by KathleenSteffey

If my own experience is any indication, video resumes are becoming more popular. I’m definitely seeing an uptick in the number of resumes I receive from sales professionals that direct me to a link on YouTube or another website to view their video resume. For me, it creates a dilemma. There are some very real discrimination concerns because videos reveal information about the candidate such as r...

Where do you stand on sales positions that offer no base and are 100% commission?

Posted on August 29, 2008March 12, 2021 by KathleenSteffey

Would you take a 100% commission business-to-business sales position? I wouldn’t, nor will I take on any company that insists on such an out-dated pay structure. The turnover rates are just too high (something like 99% of commission-only sales reps fails to make a livable wage and are forced to leave for greener pastures) and it’s nearly impossible to find A-Players willing to accept t...

Bring in the “A Team”

Posted on February 1, 2008 by KathleenSteffey

It doesn’t matter how innovative your products or services are, without a strong sales team, your revenues will remain flat. So why make the mistake of not involving your top performing sales representatives in building out your team? Or worse, putting the selection process in the hands of under-performers? Throughout my years of recruiting sales and marketing professionals, I have learned that t...