The Great Hiring Mystery — Recruiting & Hiring Quality Salespeople

by Brad Huisken

Have you ever hired someone that you thought was going to be great, only to find out later that they couldn’t close a door, much less a sale? On the other hand, have you hired someone out of desperation that you thought would take up space until you found the right person, only to be pleasantly surprised that he/she ended up being an incredible salesperson? The answer to both of these questions, if you have been in retail for more than a New York minute, is probably yes. Thus the great mystery — recruiting and hiring salespeople!

In my opinion a successful sales staff is:

Completely trained, working toward objectives, held accountable for performance and rewarded based on results.

Toward that end, furniture store owners and managers need to hire high-quality sales professionals. In order to hire quality people you need to:

1. Have a large pool of people from which to make your decision.
2. Maintain a constant recruiting effort.
3. Be prepared for unforeseen staff changes.

Recruiting and Finding Applicants
There are numerous sources for a sales manager to find applicants to fill a sales position. Keep in mind that you are not looking for the so-called “qualified applicant.” There is no such thing as a qualified applicant unless they have worked for your organization in the past. The only thing that would pre-qualify one applicant over another is through him/her having some product knowledge within the furniture industry. However, as you know, product knowledge can be learned in time just as sales techniques, operations and customer service. The following are a few sources for applicants:

Offer a Recruiting Bonus to Your Existing Staff – I would suggest you offer a dollar amount of $250 or greater. Pay half upon hiring the candidate and the other half after they have been with you for six months. If a staff member recruits an applicant, you know that they have shared with them the truth about the position.

Have a recruiting poster in your place of business or a bag stuffer. You never know when a customer, a friend or a relative of your customer may be looking to make a career change.

Print a Recruiting Statement on Your Business Card – Quality people can be found at any number of places. I would suggest you carry your business cards with you and whenever you meet someone who is personable, confident, enthusiastic, etc., give them one of your cards and tell them you would love to talk to them about a career opportunity.

Steal Them – There are great people working in other industries or at other stores within the furniture business. I would suggest that you look at waiters or waitresses, shoe store salespeople (where they put the shoes on the customer), high-end clothing stores (where they sell over the dressing room doors) or behind the cosmetic counter.

High Schools, Junior College, College or Tech Schools – Make an appointment with the career counselor at your local vocational schools or traditional schools. You may be able to find quality, entry-level people where you won’t have to spend months breaking bad habits — they won’t have them yet.

Help Wanted Ads — Online and Traditional – Don’t run a help wanted ad in the classified section. People that don’t have jobs read the help wanted ads. I would suggest that you spend a few extra dollars and place an ad in the fashion, business or entertainment section of the newspaper. With online ads, you will know that the applicant knows how to operate a computer. I would suggest with both online ads and traditional ads that you have the applicants respond for an application via email — have them complete the application and email it back to you. You can then do a telephone interview or schedule and in-person interview to those that respond.

Interviewing
A common mistake made by sales managers is giving the applicant the answers to questions before they are even asked. For example, if you say that you are looking for an aggressive, motivated, self-starter in your help wanted ad — chances are that when you ask them to tell you about themselves they will tell you that they are aggressive, motivated and self-starters.

Your interviews must be designed to find out as much about the applicants as possible. Through effective questions, you will find out all you will need to know to make your decision. Your goal throughout the interview process is to make them comfortable enough to open up and give you the valuable information you’ll need. Come out from behind the desk and make the interview into a conversation rather than a pressure-packed interview. The end of the interview is the time to sell the applicant on working for you and to ask their questions. Stay in control of the interview process and remember, you ask the questions until the end of the interview.

First Interview
The first interview with an applicant should be designed to eliminate applicants rather than to make a final decision. You will need to bring your possible choices down to three to five people for second interviews. I don’t believe that you should ever hire an individual on the first meeting — if you have to reschedule a second interview for later that day or the next day.

Through the course of the first interview, you will be asking general questions to see if the applicant can carry on a conversation, is self-motivated, has had problems with past employers, is reliable, stable and will fit in with the rest of the staff. You will also want to let him/her know the generalities of the pay plan and benefits that are offered in addition to what is expected of him/her from a performance and accountability standpoint.

First Interview Questions
 Why did you leave your last position(s)?
 Why do you want to leave your current position?
 What did you like the most about your job?
 What did you dislike the most about your last job?
 What are your strengths?
 What are your weaknesses?
 What has been your biggest success?
 What has been your biggest failure?
 What kinds of people do you get along with the best?
 With what kinds of people do you seem to not get along?
 What do you like the most about sales?
 What do you dislike about selling?
 What is your selling background?
 What is your basic sales philosophy?
 What are your immediate professional goals?
 What do you find attractive about working for our company?

The Second Interview
The second interview should be designed to give you the answers that you will need to make your final decision. You will be looking for answers to your questions to determine whether the applicant is willing to work by your rules and regulations, has the drive to be successful in sales, is honest, believes in integrity, has personal goals and is trainable and coachable.

Second Interview Questions
 What do you feel is more important, success or money?
 What are your goals for the next year?
 What are your goals for the next ten years?
 What do you feel it takes to be successful in sales?
 What do you feel would be an appropriate action if you are not reaching your sales goals within three months?
 What kind of formal sales training have you had in the past?
 What are your thoughts about role-playing sales situations?
 What would you do if the prospect was willing to buy our product but was misinformed about its use?
 How often do you make mistakes?
 What do you do when you have made a mistake?
 What would you like to tell me about yourself that may help me make my decision?

Again, at the end of the interview it is important that you allow the applicants the time and opportunity to ask you questions about your company and the job. You must also use this opportunity to tell the applicants exactly what will be required of them as far as training, accountability, coaching and your sales and customer service standards. The second interview is also the time to talk directly about the salary or pay plan that you are offering.

Testing
The second interview is also the time to give the applicant any tests that you feel are appropriate for the position. Sales is one of the only professions where they didn’t have to pass a test in order to get the job. In my opinion this has to change. I have developed sales aptitude tests to see if I want to hire a person or if hired, where I need to immediately train the person. I recently reviewed one of my tests that stated the question: A person comes in who doesn’t appear to be able to afford your merchandise, what do you do? This person answered, “Ask them if they know anyone who can afford our products.” The obvious answer is to never pre-qualify anyone. This person may not work out in sales. Sales aptitude, honesty, handwriting analysis and basic skills are all tests that are tremendous tools in helping to avoid a costly hiring error.

Checking References
Every applicant that makes it through as a potential new hire after the second interview should have references checked. In checking references the main question that you want answered is: Would they be eligible for re-hire?

In addition, you would want to ask questions to verify what they had told you in the interview, productivity and discover any honesty or integrity issues. You would also want to verify any pay information that they had given you.

Many companies won’t offer any information when it comes to checking references, but most will let you know if they are eligible for re-hire.

Making the Decision
The following will need to be considered when making your final decision:

1. The answers to your interview questions.
2. Their ability to carry on a conversation.
3. Whether they maintain direct eye contact with you.
4. Their skills, ability and knowledge.
5. Whether they will fit in with the rest of the staff.
6. Their internal drive.
7. Your gut feelings.

Hiring Don’ts
• Don’t judge all applicants by one great interview.
• Don’t eliminate applicants who may be over-qualified.
• Don’t eliminate applicants who may have to take a pay decrease.
• Don’t eliminate applicants who want more money than you offer.
• Don’t lose control of the interview.
• Don’t waste time with people you know won’t work out.
• Don’t sell the position first.
• Don’t allow any prejudices in your
decision-making.
• Don’t sell the position with unreasonable promises or expectations.

Again, there is no magic pill. The bottom line is if they meet the criteria that we just discussed there is still a risk that they won’t work out — but I assure you the chances have increased tremendously.

Author, trainer, consultant and speaker Brad Huisken is president of IAS Training. Mr. Huisken authored the books “I’m a salesman! Not a PhD.” and “Munchies For Salespeople, Selling Tips That You Can Sink Your Teeth Into.” He also developed the PMSA Relationship Selling Program, the PSMC Professional Sales Management Course, The Mystery Shoppers Kit, The Employee Handbook and Policy & Procedures Manual, The Weekly Sales Training Meeting video series along with Aptitude Tests and Proficiency Exams for new hires, current sales staff and sales managers. In addition, he publishes a free weekly newsletter called “Sales Insight.” For a free subscription or more information contact IAS Training at (800) 248-7703, www.IASTraining.com or fax (303) 936-9581.

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