It doesn’t matter how innovative your products or services are; without a strong sales team, your revenues will remain flat.
So why do so many companies make the mistake of leaving their top-performing sales representatives out of the hiring process? Or worse, putting candidate selection in the hands of under-performers?
Throughout my years of recruiting sales and marketing professionals, I have learned that the real secret to building a top sales force is to get your A players involved in the interview process.
Why Top Performers Attract Top Performers
Top performers want to surround themselves with other top performers. They are motivated by success and thrive on the competition that comes from working with others who share their enthusiasm and drive.
When your top talent participates in the sales recruitment process, they do two things:
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They naturally gravitate toward other A players.
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They show candidates that they will be joining a progressive, winning team.
The Reality of Hiring: Top sales talent needs to be sold on your company just as much as you need to be sold on their skills. If you want to improve your conversion rates, you need to optimize your sales interview questions to reflect a high-performance culture.
The Danger of Involving “C Players” in Sales Team Recruitment
On the flip side, C players will never hire A players.
Whether it is because they are intimidated or because they simply don’t know what qualities to look for, under-performers do not have what it takes to play a key role in your recruitment strategy.
Leaving the interview process to someone who lacks the ability to motivate others can cost you a star candidate. If an A player senses that the person interviewing them might hinder their own ability to succeed, they will walk away. This is especially true if the under-performer happens to be someone the prospective hire would report to or work with closely. This mismatch is a primary driver behind a high sales team turnover rate.
The Bottom Line
Putting an elite candidate in front of anyone who does not present your sales team in its very best light, or who lacks the understanding of what makes a high-achiever tick, is a recipe for disaster.
If you want to succeed in hiring A players, you need to overhaul your sales onboarding strategy and let your best people lead the recruitment charge from day one.
