One of the companies I worked with had 120 people in the sales-force. It didn’t start out that way. We started with a huge investment budget assigned to us from from a global conglomerate group of companies that included a helicopter manufacturer and a worldwide parcel delivery company. The Group CEO saw a gap in a market and decided to put a team together. Over time we bought around 140 local companies with the intention of leaving the local field sales people in place but centralising everything else. There were a “million” lessons learnt in this process, more of which I’ll cover in subsequent posts. In this one I’ll concentrate on the recruitment of field sales people.
We managed to keep a significant number of the existing field sales force but maybe around half left. Our local competitors saw an opportunity to pinch really good people who were unnerved by change – and we know how people just love change!!
So, we ended up needing to recruit maybe 50 sales people. We advertised the vacancies everywhere we could. We had a massive response, we needed to filter out potential employees from an over-abundance of options. More on that in another post. We ended up having several regional recruitment days where up to 16 appropriate, potential candidates were invited to attend for most of the day.
At the start of the day, all in a conference room, seated at tables, we asked them to fill out their expense claims. This gave us a little information about what they thought fair and reasonable. On the back of the expense form we asked them to name a job they would hate to do. After this, we asked them to interview the stranger on their right and then introduce that stranger to the rest of the candidates. This too gave us an insight into their ability to get info, put together a minor presentation then stand and deliver.
We then did some group work which included asking them to debate the 10 most influential people in the last 100 years. We watched who was dominant and to what extent. Who had empathy and to what extent. Who shrunk away and said nothing.
Truly great sales people have both drive and empathy. The drive to succeed or win but couched with an ability to understand how they are coming across. Too much drive they become overbearing, too much empathy they never get round to asking for an order as they don’t want to appear pushy!
Following this we did face-to-face interviews which are covered elsewhere well enough but………...we had a twist. Remember we asked about a job they'd hate to do on the back of their expenses claim? Well, one 25 year old female had written down “Toll collector on the Severn Bridge”. We asked “What is it you love about the idea of being the Toll collector on the Severn Bridge?”. She looked a bit surprised, got it, and said “I love that job, you get great views up and down the estuary, I try to work out which car is approaching, see if I can work which model or year it was. At the toll there are often kids in the back seats excited about going into Wales on holiday. I get a real buzz from them and what they’re looking forward to. It’s great to make so many human connections everyday, I couldn’t do without it.”
This 25 year old female was particularly successful and was regularly a top sales person. She was promoted and we, as employers, enjoyed the multiplier effect. This effect is where one individual imbues the team they manage with all their qualities using coaching, training and a balanced motivational, driving, leadership style thereby multiplying their own skills in the behaviour of the team they manage.
I won’t repeat what the person who wrote down “Gravedigger” as the job they’d hate said!!
If you’d like to talk to me about recruitment please don’t hesitate to get in touch 07771 526 276