Hiring Sales Representatives: Focus on Behavior
An interesting article from the Harvard® Business Review (hbr.org) reveals what we have preached for years: when it comes to hiring good sales representatives, forget the resume, the industry experience and the hard skills. Rather, focus on the needed soft skills and behavior-related characteristics.
It is estimated that direct replacement costs for a telesales employee range from $75,000 to $90,000, while other sales positions can cost a company as much as $300,000. And these numbers don't reflect the lost sales while a replacement is found and trained. So how do improve your hiring while reducing your sales force turnover (the US average being 25 to 30%)?
The chart below suggests that more emphasis should be put on assessing a candidate's soft skills in relationship to a specific job environment. Does the applicant's behavioral package fit with the job and vice-versa?
Our Recru-Tec™ Test also perfectly fits with the suggested soft-skill approach to job fitting assessment. To evaluate job-related soft skills and measure how they fit (or not) your specific work environment, use the Recru-Tec Test. With a precision of over 90% it guarantees to detect what you did not see during an interview - no matter how structured it is.
The Recru-Tec test will tell you if a candidate for your sales job
- Can fit in YOUR work environment,
- Will be able to persist and follow up on potential clients,
- Will be courteous and friendly - no matter how tough clients are,
- Is a natural "hunter" or rather a "farmer",
- Will be honest with you and with your customers,
- Can work under pressure,
- Is customer and company-driven or mostly money-motivated,
- And much more…
Use the Recru-Tec test to avoid trouble. It is your best insurance policy against costly, sometimes deadly hires which may take months or even years to fix.
Best success,
Patrick Valtin,
Best Selling author of "No-Fail Hiring 2.0"
