What Mark Twain Said About Hiring Sales People
"It ain't what you don't know about hiring salespeople that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
-Mark Twain
Ok, So I used some poetic license, but if Mark Twain were a business owner he would have said it exactly as written above. There are many challenges to selecting, hiring, onboarding and training, compensating, and managing a new salesperson.
One of those challenges is the set of beliefs some have about salespeople and what motivates them. Many of those things that we "know for sure just ain't so." Some of those beliefs expressed often include:
- All sales people are lazy
- Good sales people are motivated by money
- It's better to hire people with sales experience
- A good salesperson can sell anything
- Introverts don't make good sales people
- Salespeople must have great relationship-building skills
- Sales is purely a numbers game
- A salesperson should be covering theirs costs within x number of months
- Salespeople are lone wolves
- And the list could go on...
What evidence do we have that these things are true? We may have an experience with a few anecdotes from our past or the "wisdom" that is passed on to us, but the truth is there is loads of research debunking all these ideas.
Ask yourself these questions before hiring your next sales person:
- What beliefs do you have about sales people - true or not?
- How might these beliefs impact your hiring, onboarding and training, compensating, and managing a new salesperson?
- Who are the best salespeople you know and how do they reinforce or contradict your beliefs?
The Takeaway
Until you examine your beliefs and set aside those that are not necessarily true about sales people, you will be unable to create an accurate profile of the sales person that best fits your opportunity.