To build a sales team that makes things happen, you first need a great job description.
This is one of the most metric functions there is.
But before charging numbers we have to explain the function.
In the job description, it must be clear in black and white: what is to be done, when and for whom.
The problem in sales is, most of the time, in this "for whom".
A salesperson does not work for the company, he works for the market. He must be immersed in the market and return to the company the opportunities for improvement and sales.
It sounds ufanistic talking like that. It is. But we have to start from something ideal to get to something good.
Let's start with the hiring.
There are very good and competent people for the job.
The problem: They are employed.
Want a good salesperson? Take someone away from your competitor. Of course there are exceptions, as in everything.
Then, what is the profile of a good salesperson, what qualities will I be able to scale by increasing the staff?
It depends on each company. If you sell a commodity or nearly so, in extremely competitive markets, the characteristics are quite different from those for a more complex/technical sale.
Now if your product is a new idea, the salesperson should be you.
In all cases think of "hunters" and "farmers".
Hunters are the hunters, those who operate very strongly in the pre-sales area: they have the technique and the nose for discovering if this or that is a hot opportunity and when they realise it they go in for the kill. They are extremely aggressive in order to make the business viable.
You know if the guy is like that when he breaks down your door and calls you on Sunday to make a contract happen. They're not here to charm you, they're here to solve things.
On the other hand you have the farmers. These are the ones who look after the portfolio, nurture relationships. They are good for clients who make recurrent purchases. They are the ones who know how to deal with day-to-day problems and don't let the relationship between the company and its customer turn sour.
It keeps a cool head for operational problems and ensures a good relationship at least at the acceptable level for the next repurchase to happen.
If your sales are recurring, look for farmers. If they are "shots", look for hunters.
I'm not going to include in this short rant, the online subscription segment, nor the sales automation segments. Those are 0.01% of the game, at most. I am talking about the other 99.99% of the market, which revolves around merchandise, information, software, hardware, logistics, manufacturing, construction, design, security, meetings, reports coming and going, opinions, technical problems, adjustments, recurring but irregular requests and the various situations in the business world.
Farmers know how to navigate the incongruities of the corporate world and resolve them with the lowest possible temperature, with little stridency.
I would say that in the industry, generally speaking, those are the ones with the best profile.
The hunters, on the other hand, are for closing deals, bringing the new client in. To structure operations and be aggressive to make it possible internally. To be malleable and "malaco" in the sense of not being deceived by the leads. These are the ones who bring the new cocoa inside. Day in and day out.
In any case the characteristics between the two are quite different. I would say that among those that are at the intersection are discipline, honesty and energy to get things done.
Farmers or hunters, they must be intelligent people and very focused on results.
A salesperson first realizes how far they can stretch their company to meet a good opportunity.
If you stress too much internally, you run out of battery for the battle outside. So you need to know the internal shortcuts to get things done. There is no perfect formula, but the breakers bring the hunt leaving some blood trails on the way (and here we are not talking about the blood of the hunted).
Here in the company we get a lot of offers. The SDRs approach it from different angles. If it's something I need I open my guard.
Please come in.
Here comes the pitch. Everything is wonderful and perfect and I am delighted.
At the end I ask for the conditions and let them know that my finance or rather my technical area will get in touch.
Then come the squeezes, the counter requests, the changes and everything else.
If the prospect is trying to enable and to what extent they battle for the opportunity, with what discipline and depth, that is the right measure of commercial vigour.
Someone who comes back with the possibilities, who has worked on the case, and comes back in a short time with the alternatives, that's a good one.
If it's excellent, then I'm on top. That's how I've always put together sales teams. When I had to form a team of Rottweilers at Editora Globo, I had the radar on 24 hours a day.
I would go to the competitors' stands at fairs to "squeeze" those who attended me. Sometimes I simulated interest to see the calibre of those in the front line. If it was really good I kept the card.
When the vacancies opened up I fell upon these and made my sale: a vacancy for the biggest communications company in LA.
Well, that's the real world.
Do you want to receive a wave of people? Just open the vacancy in the traditional media. 210 people will show up for your commercial vacancy. If you've got a good fixer-upper, I'd say around 400.
Of those how many are actually solvers? 5%? Let's say 5%. We're talking about 20 people who really have the profile to fill the vacancy.
What kind of interview will bring you that 20? I don't know.
See, I'm not saying go around grooming employed people (I do, hehehe) but go hold on to the cards of those who impress you and put them in your range.
These people are worth GOLD and may indeed want a change of scenery or even be unemployed due to some misfortune. Be ahead of them as an alternative.
A guy like that comes into your company and transforms you. I've seen it happen. A few times.
And if you have some of those at home, buddy... take care of them.
