Entrepreneurs: growing your business often means hiring a sales team. Do you know how to test their selling skills before you hire them? Find out how hire the most skilled sales professionals to propel the profits of your company.
For small business owners, a good sales team is essential to continued sales and revenue growth. Unfortunately, sales positions are the most difficult to recruit, hire and retain. Relying on industry experience as the key hiring factor is one of the most common errors in filling sales positions. If the candidate left your competitor, how do you know hell succeed at your company?
Many hiring mistakes could be avoided by observing the candidates selling skills during the job interview. Since an interview is basically a sales presentation, its easy to test the candidates selling skills if you know what to look for. Watch for these three essential sales skills and youll find the right sales professional for your company.
1. Prospect qualifying
During the interview a good sales candidate will ask you qualifying questions, like:
What are the greatest challenges your salespeople face? What do you see as the most important qualities in sales staff?
If he doesnt ask these types of questions, he is probably the type of salesperson who wastes a lot of time with unqualified buyers.
2. Pre-sales preparation
Just as a good salesperson knows his prospects business before making a sales call, an excellent candidate will come to the interview prepared by knowing about your business. If he doesnt, then thats a big red flag against his selling skills. Youll know if he did his homework by the quality of questions he asks you about your business. He should be prepared with at least one question that is specific to your business.
A good question would sound like:
I read from your website that you service most of the tri-county hospitals. Do your future plans include extending your market statewide?
A canned question would sound like:
How do you see your company growing in the next five years?
If he cant ask questions that impress you with his intelligence and curiosity, he wont impress your prospective clients either.
3. Closing the sale
A great sales candidate will ask closing questions to move you toward a hiring decision. In the interview listen for closing questions like:
When would you like me to come back for the next interview?
When do you expect to make a hiring decision?
What concerns do you have that would prevent you from extending me the job offer?
The hallmark of a great salesperson is his ability to close the sale. If the candidate doesnt try to close you on hiring him, hell lose a lot of your business as well.
No matter the current size of your company, the sales function has the biggest impact on your revenue growth. Your companys revenue will increase steadily over time with a reliable sales team. You owe it to your companys future to choose your sales team with great care. In your next sales interview, ask the right questions and watch for the right skills and youll be on your way to building a sales force that outsells your competition.
Does Your Old Resume Say "Has Been"?
Post-50 job seekers, are you seeing signs of age discrimination? Your old resume could be the problem, categorizing you as over the hill and ready for retirement. Don't' give up, give your resume an extreme makeover!
Top Interview Secret: Know the Right Questions To Ask
Jobseekers preparing for interviews can beat their competition by using this interview secret. Know how to ask the right questions in an interview, and you could win the job.
Calling All Recruiters—Is Anyone Out There?
Introduction: If you've sent out your resume for dozens of jobs and no one is responding, it's time to find out why.
