While taking a contrarian view is not always the best mechanism of persuasion, it often highlights gaps in pre-conceived notions or conventional wisdom. There has been much written on ways to identify high-quality sales talent. This article looks at what is often typical basis for making a hiring decision in favor of a particular candidate. This critique assumes that there is a solid business reason for adding sales capacity, i.e. the business and market are both ready and available for the associated costs and additional capacity. Each of the attributes below, taken alone, may be helpful or consistent with the requirements for a specific sales role. Used in isolation, however, these are faulty reasons for a positive hiring decision as described below:

Performed Well at the Last Sales Job

One great year does not a great sales person make. A year of quota-busting performance is an insufficient metric to employ alone when considering a candidate. We’ve seen sales people who enjoyed a single year of spectacular success – having a ‘W2’ in excess of $1MM - to do very poorly in subsequent years. Contemporary with the rise of the Internet bubble, the 90’s were replete with these cases, especially in the tech sector. Times have certainly changed in the early 21st century as markets are more competitive and focused on value-for-money invested. Not detracting from success, if even only a single year, there can be mitigating circumstances as to why a sales person greatly exceeded quota last year alone.

Is From a Competitor

Hiring your competitors’ people may or may not be a valid strategy as you may be taking a problem off your competitor’s hands. Knowledgeable of the industry, product or service is clearly important but these can usually be taught to the bright, aggressive sales person who is willing to learn. Beyond the obvious question of the candidate’s long-term track record, we must carefully weight the person’s reasons for leaving as it is entirely likely he will encounter similar conditions in your company. High quality sales talent can be found in many places and may not necessarily even be in formal sales positions currently. We find that there are many people in sales who should not be, and there are also many individuals not currently in sales that should be.

Is a “Hunter” or Is a “Farmer”

Here “Hunter” is synonymous with someone who can identify and close deals, preferably the sooner the better. A “Farmer” in contrast develops customers for the long-term, has more of a consultative sales method and is usually associated with the nascent role of “Business Development”. We’ll see Job descriptions that will stipulate that a “hunter” or “farmer” is required. In fact, “hunting” and “farming” are as a much of a reflection of the state of a given account in regards to their internal recognition of need as they are the style and method of the individual sales person. The effective sales person recognizes that his/her accounts are all at various stages of development and manages those accounts for maximum yield, as would any good portfolio manager. Consequently, “hunting” and “farming” are simply different points in the sales process and must both be exercised concurrently and commensurate with the requirements of each account. Simply stated, the effective sales person must know how to close sales early and how to build long-term relationships.

Has a Deep Rolodex of Contacts We all want sales people who have extensive contacts and can ‘hit the ground running’. Companies selling large, enterprise-wide solutions will typically desire prior contact with ‘C’ level executives in the territory. Having a large number of business cards is insufficient, however, as a basis of forecasting the quality of sales talent. We prefer someone who has a proven methodology of account development that includes a repeatable model for obtaining the fleeting attention of ‘C’ level executives. Having won the brief attention of ‘C’ level executives, the effective account executive must (1) thoroughly understand the current state of his accounts; (2) align with his customers’ vision and (3) be able to cogently outline the value proposition of his offering.

Is ‘Affordable’

We recognize and caution that adding professional sales people is a significant investment with risks. On the other hand, no company has grown to any appreciable size without some group performing the sales function well. “Affordability” is a relative term, of course, and is heavily influenced by the business and competition for sales talent in that industry. Naturally, the higher quality and experienced the sales talent, the greater their expected level of total compensation. A reasonable indicator of the person’s confidence in their own selling ability is indicated by the amount of commission vs. base salary they are willing to accept. The hiring company is well advised to think in terms of total ‘on-plan’ earnings or OTE, which is sales plus commissions. OTE should be significantly weighted towards commissions earned, of course. When considering expanding an existing sales staff or adding that first professional sales person, good sales compensation benchmarks are available from a variety of sources for virtually every industry.

Looks the Part

While this attribute may seem almost silly to state, it is human nature to heavily weight our opinions based on initial appearance. We encourage seeing the individual as your customer will frequently over time. There are many other attributes that your customers will soon recognize – for better or worse – once they are past the superficial appearance of the individual representing your company. Are they driven to succeed? Are they able to empathize with and understand customers’ needs? Do they have a sufficiently strong ego to take the normally high rate of rejection? Is the individual articulate, able to communicate verbally and in writing? Are they conscientious, systematic and persistent in their work? These attributes have been proven to be more closely correlated to success in sales.

Is a Friend or Family Member

Working with friends and family can be personally rewarding and there are many successful teams. The specific role of sales, however, is a complex and demanding challenge. The successful sales manager must be at once be a coach, mentor and at times an enforcer of structure. It is no coincidence that top performing sales people are also independent and sometimes difficult to manage. While a positive, supporting and collegial business atmosphere is best for certain functions, leading sales is more akin to conducting an orchestra – requiring very talented and often independent-minded individuals to contribute both individually and as a whole at the desired place and time.