12/18/2012 1

Kevin GaitherVP of Inside Sales, uSamp

President, Los Angeles Chapter of AA-ISP

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 2

Costs of Mis-Hires

*Phone Works 2010 Inside Sales Compensation Study** Bridge Group 2010 Inside Sales Metrics and Compensation Study*** Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again, Dr. Chris Croner****Topgrading for Sales, Dr. Brad Smart

Avg Team Size*Avg Base Salary**

Avg Mis-Hire Rate***

14 $63,000 50% 3 6

Cost of Mis-Hire Multiple****

$1,323,000 $2,646,000Cost of Mis-Hires

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 3

Agenda

• Begin with the End in Mind – The Benchmark• Drive! – Components and Sample Questions• 6 Tips on Interviewing• Candidate Scoring• Suggested Reading List

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 4

The Salesperson Benchmark

• Do Not Try to Clone Your Top Performer!

• Begin with the End in Mind

• Brainstorm & Collaborate

• Hone & Define• Develop Your

Questions

“If the job could talk, it would clearly define the knowledge, hard skills, people skills, behavior and culture needed for superior performance. “ – Bill Brooks, The Brooks Group

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 5

The Components of Drive?

• Need for Achievement– The intense desire to attain excellence and accomplish

challenging goals, found in athletes like Tiger Woods.• Competitiveness– The unquenchable thirst to outperform one's peers,

and win the customer over to your point of view, found in athletes like Michael Jordan

• Optimism– The certainty and resiliency that will not be denied,

found in athletes like Lance Armstrong.

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 6

Sample Qs – Need for Achievement

• What kinds of sacrifices have you had to make to be successful? Looking for substantial past sacrifices for success at work (time, other pursuits, etc).

• Tell me about a few times where you exceeded expectations or went beyond the call of duty?

• How do you know when you’ve truly succeeded? (Is tough on self in judging accomplishments)

• What’s the toughest goal you’ve ever set for yourself? How do you plan to top it? (has accomplished a very challenging work goal. Has a plan to top it).

• What is the hardest you’ve ever worked to succeed in your job? How often do situations call for that kind of effort? How do you feel about having to work that hard? (Has a story about exerting a tremendous effort leading to a major accomplishment. Has done so regularly. Feels that such effort is simply par for the course).

• What do you feel driven to prove? (motivated to prove excellence. Wants to be the best or can rebound from any set back)

• Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of? What about it makes you proud? (takes pride in hard work, surpassing others or remaining persistent)

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 7

Sample Qs - Competitiveness

• When was the last time you were competitive? Another time? (Has more than one recent example from work, home, sports)

• Where do you rank on the sales team? May I have permission to contact your boss to ask about your rank? (consistently ranks at or near the top of the sales team and gives permission to verify)

• How would your manager rank your competitiveness compared to your peers? What makes your manager see you as competitive? (Manager ranks candidate as among most competitive)

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 8

Sample Qs - Optimism

• Think back to the last time you lost a deal, what did you do to recover (quickly put the situation in perspective and bounced back by working on another sale)

• Tell me about a time when you persisted and others gave up. (Look for specifics. If you get a snow job or an answer that lacks specifics ask “Tell me about another time”)

• Describe a sale where your persistence really paid off. Another time. (look for a history of substantial effort to secure a new customer)

• Tell me about a sale that went wrong. What did you attribute this to? (Attributes a problem to a temporary unusual situation out of own control)

• When was the last time a customer got under your skin (rarely gets upset by customers)

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 9

Interviewing Tips

• Conduct a Structured Interview – Don’t Wing It!• Watch out for “We” or “You” references• Dig for Gold

• Tell me more, Tell me another time, Ask for details, When, Where, Who

• Threat of Reference Check• What’s the name of your current boss?• When I speak with (boss name), how will she rank your competitiveness

when compared to your peers

• Fly On the Wall• “Pretend I’m a fly on the wall in your cubicle….what would I see?”

• Encourage Them/Coach Them• That’s the exact kind of story I’m looking for. Thank you.• John, I’m looking for a specific story here, a real story…

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 10

Candidate Scoring

@kevinsgaither

12/18/2012 11

Suggested Reading

• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by Jim Collins

• Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People by Ph.D., Bradford D. Smart

• Topgrading for Sales: World-Class Methods to Interview, Hire, and Coach Top Sales Representatives by Ph.D., Bradford D. Smart and Greg Alexander

• Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again: Selecting Candidates Who Are Absolutely Driven to Succeed by Dr. Chris Croner and Richard Abraham

• The Smart Interviewer by Bradford D. Smart

• Never be Lied to Again by David J Lieberman

• What Every Body is Saying by Joe Navarro @kevinsgaither

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