Meet Jim, the owner of a small construction supply company. Business has been good ever since he inherited the business from his Dad. 

Until recently, Jim has been doing well with his two salespeople, but it wasn’t always like that. Just after his Dad – who was the company’s top salesperson – retired, Jim went through 6 people in five years to finally get the two that he has. Bill, the most recent hire is really strong in the field. The other, Will, is better with the back up inside sales effort. He’s handling any drop-in business that might occur, as well as cleaning up the paperwork for Bill.

Recently things have gotten quiet in the marketplace, and there have not been as many jobs to quote. Those that do come by seem to be getting harder to get, requiring decreased margins and short time frames, just to get the jobs.

Jim realizes that he needs another salesperson to keep his facility profitable. After all, look at last months numbers! He has to do something and do it quick. He finds an old ad (the one that worked before) and places it in the newspaper:

"Outside Sales"

We are ABC Construction Supply, Anytown’s best construction supply company, providing our products to the community for 47 years.  We are known for our reputation of reliable service and responsible pricing.  Our customers love us.  Want to be part of our team?  Please fax your resume in confidence to Jim at (123) 456-7890.

Jim hates the thought of interviews. He dreads the inevitable deluge of resumes from people wanting to move out of their positions with the local convenience stores and gas bars. "Hey, you never know where you will find that next gem"… and on it goes.

Many business owners secretly detest the notion of hiring salespeople. Where do you find the good ones? If you do find a good one, how do you get that person on board without paying a fortune?

So you need a new salesperson.  Where do you start? How do you make the process accurate?

Where to Start

The place to start is getting clear about you and your company. What kind of company do you have? What kind of salesperson might work the best for you? The person who will best fit is usually one who already has experience with your type of products in your type of environment. To address this, you can do a simple evaluation on your own company.

Here are a series of questions for you to consider:

1. Who are your customers?  Are they other companies? Large? Small? Institutions? Government? Professional firms? Homeowners?  Retailers? Your ideal candidate will have already had experience calling on that particular market.

2. What is the title of the potential customers on whom your salesperson will call?  The ideal candidate has had success calling on those particular people.

3. Your products and services fall into which of the following needs versus wants categories? 

Your potential customers:
Need it and want it
Need it but don’t want it
Do not need it but want it
Do not need it and don’t want it

Your ideal candidate has already had success in selling something in the same “needs versus wants” category as yours.

4. Are you faced with tremendous competition? Are you the only game in town?  Is your product or service so new and different that people haven’t realized that it is possible or necessary?  Your person will have already succeeded in a similar scenario with a similar number of competitors.

5. Are your products and/or services the most expensive, least expensive or middle of the road, when compared to your competitors?  The ideal candidate has already succeeded selling something with similar pricing when compared to the competition.

6. What is your average size order or account? The ideal candidate has already had success asking for similar sums of money with similar sized average orders.

7. Is your product or service tangible, or is it a concept that must be described?  Your ideal candidate has succeeded in selling under similar circumstances.

8. Do your customers continue to buy from you or do you make a sale and move on?  Your ideal candidate has already had success at the process that matches your profile.

9. Will you ask the salesperson to take over a mature customer base and grow existing accounts, or is the requirement to find new business?  Your ideal candidate has already succeeded in your desired strategy.

10. Do your salespeople “close” the business? Do they leave with the hope that the next time your customer needs your product / service they will think of and buy from you (as in pharmaceutical rep or commercial travel)?  Your ideal candidate has had success emphasizing that approach.

11. What are some of the other nuances that are particular to your business that you need to consider?

12. What is the minimum of product knowledge that your salesperson will need to have?  What specific technical expertise is mandatory for success in this position?

Job Descriptions and Job Specifications

Armed with information on your company, the next step is to build your job description and your job specification. The job description is a list of the “To Do’s” of the job. It answers the question, “What will your salesperson really be doing on a day to day basis, on the job?”

The job specification is a list of the skills and attributes needed for this particular job.  Many people make the mistake of building the list of skills and attributes first, without identifying a company profile or the job’s day-to-day duties and responsibilities (something more specific than, “sell, sell, sell”). Much of the heartache associated with hiring the wrong people is that simple elements are overlooked due to a lack of planning in this area.

Let the profile and the duties dictate what skills you need. By being complete here, you will make the selection process much easier on yourself, and increase your chances of success.

Safety Tip

One of the questions you may want to address is what type of person would fit into your corporate culture?  As a result of this, what are the attributes specific to your culture that are necessary to make the addition of a new person, a beneficial event?  By dealing with the skills of the job, and the fit with the company, you will be well on your way to gaining the right person for you.