Your small business is growing and diversifying. You’ve experimented with bringing in an inexperienced sales person (who did not work out). You realise you need a more experienced direct sales person, but you don’t know where to go or what to look for.

All you know is you need a sales person who is able to prospect for, and win, new business opportunities on a consistent daily basis, however you are not really able to detail anything else. You know your recruitment approach is haphazard at best. And what’s worse, it’s costing you big time.

You are not alone. Many SMEs still find it very difficult to recruit effective sales people. And it’s not all due to the tight candidate market.

Many people who know me know that I’ve been going on about having a more disciplined structured sales recruitment process and strategy for years. Many people are cynical about sales recruitment. You can hear the sighing or see the eyes rolling, can‘t you?

The problem is most people are not trained in effective recruitment practices and yet it is one of the most critical jobs in your business, especially for sales. They often give it to someone else and then blame them when it doesn’t work.

So who is in charge of your sales recruitment process? You are! Whether you go direct to market or use a recruiter, you hold the key. If you do not own the sales recruitment process you and your business are in big trouble.

I went out on a limb a few years ago and set about building effective and user-friendly sales recruitment processes for my clients, because they weren’t satisfied with what options they were using. I wanted to give them control so they were in the driver’s seat.

Many of my clients felt at the mercy of the market when it came to sales recruitment. Especially when using recruitment companies. It was all a bit “black box”.

Now you might think I have an issue with recruitment firms (I am an ex-recruiter myself). In principle I do not, but my advice is “recruit your recruiter”.

Make sure they really do know how to recruit what you need. I am not entirely blaming recruitment firms (sure there are a few shonky ones out there, just as in any industry) but I do believe there is work to be done on both sides.

Here are some of the issues I see plaguing businesses when it comes to having poor sales recruitment outcomes:

Issue 1: You do not know what type of sales approach or sales person you need to deliver your sales strategy. Ask: Has your strategy and/or marketplace changed recently? If so, how do you need to sell now? Not all sales roles are the same. Be clear about what type of sales approach you need to make your business successful: For instance do you need:

• An ‘expert’ who is bringing new products, ideas or concepts to the market versus an ‘organiser’ working in an established ‘educated’ (about what you do) market place?
• A sales person who can develop long-term viable business relationships with clients or a person who can get around to many people in your customer market and make quick one-off sales?
• An account manager who maintains accounts or someone who can develop new business with new or existing accounts.
• A sales person who can sell expensive quality value products/service or a person who can sell commodities or cheaper price sensitive items?

Issue 2: You do not really know how to clearly define, articulate and compare what qualities you want in a good sales person. What skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours do your sales people need to demonstrate to be competitive and successful in your marketplace?

For instance, latest research now reveals that high performing sales people also display high levels of emotional intelligence (EI). Know what sales competencies you need.

Issue 3: You do not use or have a logical structured recruitment process to objectively assess, compare and select candidates. Providing structure is probably the single technique most likely to help in improving the reliability of a selection method or process. Use a structured recruitment process to follow that allows for you to compare and contrast applicants in a more disciplined and consistent manner.

• Use the Key Selection Criteria (competencies mentioned above) as the framework.
• Standardise all selection activities.
• Rank the criteria: Are they essential, desirable or nice to have? And select in that order.

Research shows that the average percent increase in output from using a structured multi-assessment selection approach (structured behavioural competency interviews, relevant psychometric assessments, simulation exercises, structure reference, etc.) is approximately 2.5 times greater in sales jobs than in low-complexity non-sales jobs

Issue 4: You do not have or use an integrated recruitment strategy to find good sales people. How do you find the “right” sales people for your business and how do prospective sales candidates find out about your business?

Just like sales, in today’s market you need a combination of “push and pull” contact strategies for finding the right candidates for your business. Advertising alone is not likely to yield the candidates you seek. You are always recruiting sales people even if you do not have a vacancy.

Issue 5: You continue to recruit from your own industry, recycling the same people and do not look outside your industry to refresh the gene pool with new talent. Same old people, same old ideas, same old results. Need I say more?

Issue 6: You do not screen your recruiters for “best practice” nor do you brief them properly. It is a very costly exercise to get recruitment wrong and many people so not have the time to do it themselves.

However many are equally sceptical about the real value of using recruitment consultants. It is as difficult to find a good recruiter, as it is to find a good sales person. If you are going to use a recruiter, ask them what processes they use to source and select candidates.

Check them against the processes recommended above to see if they use “best practice” methods or just “wing it”.

By giving the recruitment consultant a clear job and person specification and competency profile you are able to clearly articulate and request what you need and what they need to deliver.

No more “bums on seats”, thank you very much. The good ones will tell you who is available in the market place, what each type of person is attracting salary wise, and most importantly help you find the right sales person for your business.

Being in control of your recruitment process is very important. Not being able to articulate what and who you need to perform the job well is very risky. As you can see it’s all in the preparation. Putting in the work on getting it right up front and then sticking to a plan really pays off.

The positive feedback I am getting from sales managers and senior managers when they do follow the process is so rewarding. For instance:

• “It really works! I was able to make a selection decision based much more on the evidence not my emotions or prejudices.”
• “I’m not getting caught up in my own dialogue and can really concentrate on them.”
• “I didn’t think it would, but it saves me so much time and money.”
• “I don’t take any one out of desperation and more.”
• “When we follow the process, my co-interviewer and I come to the same conclusion time and time again and we have the evidence to prove it.”
• “I feel in control and are able to make more informed decisions.”
• “I know how to work with my recruiter to my best advantage.”

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more information.

As the New York Stock Exchange is now looking at “employee engagement” as a significant predictor of higher share value and market return, and given we are all competing, not just for clients and market share but for good employee talent, maybe a key performance indicator for sales management could be in Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB).

I came across some recent research into sales management, and it got me thinking about how team leaders were not allowed to “mother” their sales teams.

A loaded term, “mothering”, and without proper definition creates myths and innuendo where none should exist. The following research piece might surprise you - then again it may not.

The research, conducted by Piercy, Lane and Cravens, examines the gender issue across multiple companies from the perspective of sales managers.

What the research found was that, by and large, sales units led by female managers who had higher levels of behaviour control activities displayed higher effectiveness in terms of better job satisfaction and job involvement; lower role ambiguity, job anxiety, and burnout; higher organisational commitment; and with a lower propensity to leave.

Behaviour control activities include monitoring, directing, evaluating and rewarding people. The research says, in part: “Female sales managers perform significantly higher levels of behaviour-based control activities and display higher competence in this management approach, compared to male counterparts.”

Subsequent analyses of the same salesperson study (Piercy, Lane, and Cravens 2002) examined sales manager gender as a predictor of sales team Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB).

The results show that sales teams led by female managers display significantly higher levels of civic virtue, sportsmanship, altruism, courtesy, cheerleading, peacemaking, and overall citizenship. This suggests the management style of female managers (perhaps most particularly, their higher levels of behaviour control activity) encourages and facilitates higher OCB among salespeople working in the sales unit.

While the research showed that both female and male sales managers were able to achieve comparable sales performance, the effect that sales management behaviour control practices (as described above) had on OCB was positively linked to critical factors such as:

• Superior performance with customers
• High sales unit performance
• Helping with work-related problems
• Effective organisational performance
• Higher employee retention

Interestingly the research did not provide support for the “nurturing and caring” stereotype that suggests female managers will lead by supportive and facilitative behaviours, often referred in derogatory terms as “mothering”. However, female sales managers appear to “go the extra mile” in terms of conscientiousness.

It was reported that female sales managers spend more time monitoring, directing, evaluating and rewarding control activities in their sales teams than their male counterparts.

One of the benefits of a behaviour-based approach to sales management control is that sales managers work more closely with sales people and gain a greater understanding of the weaknesses of their salespeople – important areas that need to be improved – and provide strategies on how to help them improve their performance. If that’s mothering, then I’m all for it.

The “gender” discussion highlighted by my Sell like a Woman project, articles and other research leads people to believe that women are doing things men cannot because of gender. And this is causing sighing and forelock tugging in some male circles. “Not another feminist on her soap box” or “all men are useless” I hear some say.

As stated previously, my approach is not to denigrate men or idolise women, but to bring you information and findings that give you food for thought to help you make decisions so that you can be more successful at what you choose to do (as long as you don’t hurt yourself or anyone else in the process, as my mother would say).

So let’s put this gender issue into perspective. We all would be mistaken to assume gender is the single distinguishing factor in anything except pregnancy and childbirth. What we are finding is the research is highlighting that women are bringing certain qualities and skills they use in other aspects of their lives to the world of business and, in particular, sales.

And what we are finding is whatever they are doing is working better than previous initiatives, especially now the landscape of sales is changing so markedly. The qualities these women exhibit are not the exclusive domain of women; they can be and are modeled by men as well. It’s just that this has been done at an unconscious level to date, with little if any recognition by management.

What these women and others like them are showing is that they are using higher levels of “emotional Intelligence” (EI).

Research into competencies of highly effective salespeople have generally identified three or four broad categories; Selling skills, General management or Business skills, Technical skills and Interpersonal skills, and more recently, EI.

Interpersonal skills were historically identified as an important category of competencies needed by highly effective salespeople. Their importance reflects the significant contribution of the salesperson’s ability to form and develop a relationship with their client to creating a profitable and productive relationship for both parties. Emotional intelligence is a psychologically more complex process than Interpersonal skills, involving a deeper process of analysing, reasoning and responding.

Our own research, involving over 300 interviews coupled with research findings from Australia and overseas, has found that superior performing salespeople and managers demonstrate greater use of competencies related to the use of EI. They display well developed self-awareness, self regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

A recent Australian study conducted by Genos also found that sales performance and EI are positively related. What was even more exciting was that they showed that EI can be learned and developed in people. (An 18% increase in EI for the managers and sales representatives that participated in the learning and development program).

And furthermore, developing the EI of sales professionals and managers results in greater sales returns. The Australian pharmaceutical company who put their sales managers and sales representatives through an EI sales development program found that the program has so far returned $6 for every $1 invested over a six month period.

These EI qualities are being used by high performers despite current management practices in most cases, however if raised to a conscious level and recognised for the value they bring to people, business, customers etc, then they can be selected in and/or trained and developed in people (men and women alike) to use effectively and purposefully in the workplace (and beyond).

If you are still not convinced consider this:

• “Buyers do not buy products, services, or ideas; they buy states. Buyers buy emotion.” – George Ludwig, former National Sales Director for Johnson & Johnson (USA)
• “Emotions are part of the total communications experience, and they must be acknowledged.” – Janelle Barlow & Dianna Maul, Emotional Value: Creating strong bonds with your customers
• “Partnerships will never work if they are forced. It is important to provide ‘friendly’ service; however, organisations pull the legs out from under ‘friendliness’ by too tightly scripting the experience.” - Janelle Barlow & Dianna Maul, Emotional Value: Creating strong bonds with your customers

If you want further information on EI and sales let me know.

Stop for a minute and reflect: What is your view of selling? Has your perception of sales changed over the years?

Your answer is most likely ‘yes’ if you are a customer or salesperson in business to business (B2B) sales. But not if you are a customer of retail. More about that another time.

Today’s changing B2B and high-end B2C sale practice styles are an adaptation to the environmental forces. The change towards people-centricity is evident in a number of organisational functions, in particular the sales function where there has been a significant shift from product-focused selling to relationship selling.

To serve their customers better, in ever more competitive marketplaces, companies feel compelled to reorganise their sales force around markets rather than products.

Findings from the Sell Like a Woman research project found that companies realise they cannot satisfy every customer and instead focus more on serving well those whose needs and expectations they can meet, in return having kept an ongoing customer and built up a good reputation.

After all, most businesses these days acknowledge that keeping an existing client is easier than acquiring a new one, especially with decreasingly less product differentiation, brand loyalty and information exclusiveness.

The perception of sales is improving within companies because the very nature of sales is transforming; only part of sales is about making a sale.

The position titles serve as good indication. “Sales representative” has changed and diversified into more co-operative titles such as Account Manager, Relationship Manager and Business Development Manager. All sales, but with more of a partnership focus to build their customers’ business.

One of the survey participants, Debra Templar, the director of Australian Retail Services, who has almost two decades of management experience, really hit the note, which resonates acutely with many other successful saleswomen, when she gave her impression of what is it her clients value the most about working with her:

“They trust me,” she said. “(They receive) value for money. They value expertise. They know I can sift through issues and flag situations they perhaps haven’t seen. I keep confidences. And I get results for them. I make them appear heroes to their people.”

This new strategic, multi-tasking approach to sales (of being a mini CEO) is a complex process of being an attuned listener and communicator and a creative problem solver on the customer level, and understanding or inferring customers’ broader business objectives, while having a sound knowledge of one’s own internal resources and abilities more generally. Those are some of the qualities that distinguish the most highly successful salespeople of the 21st century from the average.

Seeing the bigger picture or “playing god” isn’t easy, especially when no one expects that from a salesperson in the first place. Sales managers more often than not discourage any activities not directly related to selling a product right here, right now, to as many people as possible.

However, as Rosenbaum (1999) found, successful salespeople often disregard manager’s directives and achieve results in ways other than following these primitive and, at a first glance, intuitive rules alone.

In the “olden days” when I first started my business, over 95% of my sales came about through cold calling, which I had learnt to do really well when I worked as a sales recruitment specialist with Morgan & Banks.

At M&B – and in my business – it was very clear that if I didn’t bill anything I didn’t earn anything. So I got on the phones and I prospected to people I didn’t know – that is, cold calling.

This was well and truly before the internet was in mainstream use and I had the privilege of learning how to cold call really well.

But it is a FACT that in an essentially crowded market place of the 21st century, businesses require a series of “push” and “pull” prospecting strategies rather than one simplistic “push” approach to selling such as cold calling.

Cold calling is simply calling on someone who fits into your target market that you do not know and do not have a warm referral to give you an introduction.

However in today’s market, as I and others have found, focusing all your sales efforts on a cold calling campaign puts you at risk of missing many other prospecting opportunities.

I have had to adapt to all the other prospecting methods now available to us. I am not advocating the abolishment of cold calling from your repertoire, not at all. If done effectively cold calling can work, but it is only a small part of a now much wider prospecting strategy available to us.

The very act of prospecting is tactical marketing. In this networked society there are a number of avenues you can call upon to build up your list of referrals and leads to give you access to viable business opportunities.

The average person in the street knows about 800 other people in their network, and for those of us in sales jobs we should have 1000s of people in our network. How big and how warm is your network? Remember six degrees of separation?

Let’s just take banks and other financial businesses for instance. In reality they should hardly ever need to make a cold call. Just look at all the referrals, networking and sponsorship opportunities they already have available to them.

However the question is, are they using them effectively?

Whether you are a small niche player or a large corporate, businesses now need to have a far more integrated approach to generate and build sales leads for their businesses and their sales teams – “Push” and “Pull” prospecting strategies.

This is even more important for SMEs who do not have the big marketing and advertising spend many larger businesses can rely upon. Thanks to the internet, SMEs can really start to build a presence without the big price tag. However it still takes effort.

But first you need to know the answer to the following questions:

• WHO is my target market?
• HOW do I need to make contact with them?

Once you have identified who your target market is, think about all the ways you can reach them and how you can help them reach you. However, make sure all your prospecting efforts have a consistent message, because precisely how sales people position themselves needs to match the positioning of the business and how it chooses to position its solutions.

You could even position your sales people as advocates, business experts, industry supports or niche industry gurus to whom interested parties turn for solutions or sources.

So what push and pull prospecting strategies are available to you?

Let’s define “push” and “pull” first. Pull prospecting strategies are ways your business pulls people (ideally your target market) to your business for your sales people to then follow up on to identify viable sales deals. Push prospecting strategies are ways your sales people go out into the market and make contact with prospective customers — cold calling

Examples of push and pull lead generation modes are:

• Branding and public relations.
• Website and e-mail.
• Events.
• Phone calls and face-to-face meetings.
• Referrals.
• Direct mail.
• Online marketing.
• Blogging.
• Public speaking.

Your pull and push prospecting strategies should ensure that your sales people invest valuable face-to-face or phone selling time with the right people on a consistent daily basis. Going out willy-nilly calling on anyone hoping for the best won’t cut it any more.

You need a clear strategy supported by some market research that gives you the necessary information you need to make informed decisions about how you invest your time and money in positioning yourself with prospective customers, especially if you do not have a big marketing budget.

So now you can also see why I am such a big advocate for an integrated team based approach with marketing, sales and service.