How do I Find the Right Sales Person?

Finding sales reps is always a challenging task! What industry are you in?

Here are some source ideas:
- I agree with the advice you received to consider your current vendors. You have had an opportunity to work with these reps and know how they perform. Be cautious though, you don't want to negatively impact your relationship with a vendor.
- Ask any current employees for recommendations (see the article on Employee Referrals on the site).
- Also ask friends/colleagues for referrals. Send an email message out to your network asking for referrals. Consider offering a referral bonus to those contacts as well as any current employees.
- Look for opportunities to network with sales professionals. For example, you could attend a meeting or event for the Sales and Marketing Executives professional association in Cleveland (www.smecleveland.com).
- Keep your business cards handy when you are going about your own personal business around town. If you meet an employee at a retail store, restaurant etc. that you think shows some sales potential, hand them a card and suggest they contact you.
- Depending on your industry/type of sales, consider recent college graduates. This approach will require more training likely, but you may find many recent college grads with sales experience. It is free to post to colleges. Check out Cleveland State, Baldwin Wallace and John Carroll's career websites to start.

I know that you prefer to get someone experienced, but you may want to consider the benefit of hiring someone with less experience that you can train to work in your style.

Anyone else have some ideas?

I can tell you a mistake I have made in the past. That is hire someone who is like me. I am not a good sales person and so the person I hire is infact just like me and not a good sales person.

Good sales people are worth their weight in gold and I would sure like to hear more ideas on how to find them.

Is there any type of test?

Yes, your selection process is very important. I suggest doing a behavioral interview where you ask for some specific examples of past behaviors. Questions such as these may help you assess how someone will actually do:

- Tell me about a time you had to cold call a potential customer.
- Give me an example of a time you brought in a new customer to a previous company.
- Give me an example of a time when you successfully overcame a customer’s objection.
- Tell me about a creative technique you’ve used to make a sales pitch.
- What was the most difficult sale you have made? How did you do it?

And yes, there are tests out there as well. An assessment test can provide you with additional information to help you select the right candidate. Just make sure you thoroughly check out the assessment to ensure that it is valid and reliable. Look at the research that the publisher has done on the test to ensure it really does what it says it does.

Here are a couple of examples to check out: Pradco’s Sales index at http://www.pradco.com/products.html or Vangent’s Sales Aptitude Test at http://www.vangent-hcm.com/Solutions/SelectionAssessments/SkillsAbilitiesAssessments/SAT/.