Start With a Good Hire.

Credit: Bill Gillespie

When it comes to sales, managers and owners will hire anybody. For some reason, we go deaf, dumb and blind when we interview reps. Revenue excitement leads us to set caution aside.

I’ve been guilty. A while back I shared the story of a lady that earned an interview without sharing her name. She claimed to have lots of business with a Fortune 100 company. Turned out she had never been on their premises. We wasted time and money finding out.

One of my best stories…and most embarrassing failures involved hiring a lady from an advertising agency. She was confident that she understood the ad world better than us and could turn what she knew into revenue. During her interview she said, “I see the characters that call on me. If they can earn a living, I’ll do great.”

A few days into her employment she learned that I was headed down to see a specific agency. She cautioned me. “They’re a bunch of swingers. The lady that buys the printing is married to the Creative Director. Both of them have live-in lovers and rendezvous homes. They make no secret of it either. The whole staff knows.”

Now I’ll confess that I don’t know what a swinger looks like. Still, I had an expectation. I conjured up all sorts of images on my drive to their office.

I was real disappointed. The Print Production Manager was a middle age, matronly woman. She was prim, proper and conservative. She didn’t fit the image I had in mind. Neither did her “husband.”

Turned out they are brother and sister. I figured it out after a month or so of doing business. When I, eventually, shared the story they howled. The agency gal that was going to kill it, never sold a job.

Another time, we hired a guy that claimed to have lots of business. He came to us looking for work. He was and had been out of work. I told our owner, “If he had customers he would have a job. He wouldn’t be unemployed.” He never sold a single order.

We’ve got to hire better. Nothing improves numbers faster than hiring the right person. Nothing throws more dollars into the trash than adding the wrong rep.

Here are some tips based on my experience.

• If there are no account conflicts they don’t have any accounts.
• If they need a big guarantee, they have no confidence in themselves. Run.
• If their interview is full of complaints rather than opportunity, be careful.
• Lots of job changes = Red Flag
• Ask for client references. Solid reps include their customers in moves.
• If you don’t like how they make you feel in the interview, clients won’t like them.

I know this seems obvious, but I have to say it, during my long career I’ve seen managers take risks in sales that they would never take in production. That’s backwards.

Reps make or break your reputation. Reps tell the market what you value. Hire only those that make you look your best. This is the most important hire you make because it helps or harms every employee.