SalesHacker_MGP_3.15

Scaling Sales Development through

Hiring Excellence

Morris G. Porter March 19, 2015 Sales Hacker Series, Boston www.linkedin.com/in/morrisporter/en

Why Talk about Hiring?

�  Hiring – an important part of scaling sales teams

�  Lifeblood of your team �  Growth and succession

�  New blood

�  Sales teams cannot sell without new hires

�  Many lousy sales candidates �  Only good at selling themselves

Morris G. Porter Sales Hacker 3.19.2015

Why Talk about Hiring?

�  Cost of a bad hire? �  U.S. Department of Labor – 30% of 1st year earnings

�  Morale challenges �  Team

�  Candidate

�  Opportunity cost of training someone who leaves �  Then doing it all over again!

�  Company’s reputation


Potential Hiring Pitfalls

�  Hiring only by your “gut” or “just winging it”

�  Skimping on the job description

�  Using prior experience as the sole criteria for hiring

�  Failing to backchannel candidates

�  No practical component to interview

�  Not taking your current team into account

�  Hiring a “project”

�  Going it alone

�  Not shooting for diversity

�  Interviewing for expediency

�  Failing to consider succession


Comprehensive Job Description

�  Discovery process is invaluable �  Great insights

�  Quantitative goals

�  Qualitative expectations

�  “Persona” of the best possible hire

�  It’s worth auditing existing job description


Search for Attitude Intelligence & Resilience

�  Cannot be taught

�  Don’t look solely for “plug and play” experience

�  You want someone who will improve your team


References and Backchannel

�  It’s a LinkedIn world!

�  Leverage your network to vet candidates �  Save heartache later

�  Your network will give you “straight scoop”

�  Avoid investing time in the “wrong” candidates


Take a Test-Drive

�  Include practical exercises in your process �  “Pressure test” good candidates

�  Shows candidate commitment �  Gives proof of candidate capabilities

�  Avoid investing time in the “wrong” candidates

�  Mock sales call and 30/60/90 day presentation �  Tests acumen �  Provides writing sample �  Tests skill in presentation

�  Shows comfort level with PPT


Look for Gaps in Your Current Team

�  Candidates can fill “gaps” �  Sense of humor

�  Analytical approach �  Writing skills

�  Specialized training

�  “Completing” your team = an evolving process


Don’t Hire a “Project”

�  Be sensitive to challenging habits of desirable candidates �  i.e. candidate who is late or interrupts you

�  Annoying flaws only get worse later on

�  You cannot “change” people


Get Many Perspectives

�  Don’t “go it alone” �  More eyeballs are helpful

�  Catch things you will miss

�  Value of multifaceted perspective

�  Shared accountability

�  Debrief team as soon as possible after interviews


Always Pursue Diversity

�  Avoid the temptation to hire the same profile

�  Diverse teams are more capable and resilient

�  Diverse teams possess more skills, perspective

�  Monolithic teams struggle


Patience is a Virtue

�  Be patient

�  Strive to always hire A-players

�  You’ll know the right candidate

�  Better to miss a good candidate vs. hiring badly


Hire for Today…and for Tomorrow

�  Today’s entry level hires will be tomorrow’s leaders

�  Take future scaling into account

�  Advancement shows your company is a great place


Questions?

Thank you for your time and attention Morris G. Porter Sales Hacker 3.19.2015

SalesHacker_MGP_3.15

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