Develop a Job Description and Performance Agreement
Article Theme: maximizing the potential of your new hire.
An article by Keith Rosen about maximizing the potential of your new hire.
Now that you're ready to begin the recruiting process, make sure you take the time to develop a detailed job description and performance agreement for this position. The description needs to encapsulate not only, "running leads" but also what they do, how and when they do it and the expected results.
In other words, what needs to happen to make this worthwhile for you and your company?
Develop specific milestones for your new hire that you want achieved at a certain time. These milestones can include completion of sales training, putting a sales and marketing strategy in place, company orientation, developing sales goals, achieving a certain sales volume, and creating collateral materials. These milestones are critical to ensure that you are getting the greatest return on your time and monetary investment.
Tip from the Sales Coach:
Some companies actually have their salespeople sign an agreement which includes their job description and responsibilities so there's no room for misinterpreting the expectations of the position. Ask your attorney if it would be possible to draft something like this for each new hire.
What's More Important: Who They Are or What They Do?
Take it a step further and create a list of characteristics you want in a salesperson. It's one thing to identify what you want them to be doing. It's another to determine who you want them to be or the type of person they are. (Honest, open to change, flexible, coachable, organized, focused, effective communicator, attractive disposition, punctual, professional, resilient, caring, high achiever, relaxed, team player, persistent, knowledgeable, friendly, experienced, inexperienced, and so on.)
Remember, you are going to be spending a large portion of your time with this person. Envision yourself working with them every day. Do you get along well with them? Will you enjoy having them as part of your team? Do you want this person representing your company?
Realize that during the interview, each candidate is on their best behavior. So, if there's anything that stands out during the interviewing process which you don't like, it will magnify once you start working with them. Think of it as a marriage. Would you marry someone that you couldn't stand being around every day?
Now that your responsibilities and the salesperson's duties are clearly outlined and specified, it becomes much easier to manage and monitor. You now have a profile you can use to make the best hiring decision as well as the gauges or scorecard needed to measure their performance.
Tip from the Sales Coach:
Once you have created the salesperson's job description and milestones, stick to your plan. For example, hiring a salesperson under the presupposition you will be providing them with leads, only to inform them later that they have to generate their own leads will compromise the trust and strain the relationship between you and the salesperson. Unless it cannot be avoided or it's a benefit to the salesperson, changing the rules in the middle of the game will change the outcome you originally intended.
Take your life and career to the next level.
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