Three Factors to Measure in Your Sales Hiring
Posted July 22, 2019
An excellent sales hire can benefit a company for a long time. On the other hand, a bad hire can be a considerable blow to the profitability of a business and a strain on the sales team.
Because of these stakes, company leaders ought to be capable of evaluating the success of sales hires and using that information to make better hires moving forward.
First and foremost, it is important to establish the timeframe for gauging success of a new sales hire. It may depend on the sales cycle, the kind of product or service, and the various price points. Some businesses outline specific metrics, a probationary period and anticipated results for a set period of time. Some businesses have a sink-or-swim mentality, while others are more flexible and offer new hires a grace period that is based on projections and events.
An equitable sales hire assessment should consider investments of time and energy necessary to get the person up to speed. However, given the challenge of securing a good salesperson, businesses sometimes stick with middling performers because of the potential for improvement. Trying to avoid having to replace a recent hire can put blinders on those making personnel decisions.
Fortunately, there are indicators that can reveal if a new sales hire is working out. Think about the three tracking factors when gauging the success of your sales hiring process.
1. Lead Flow
A growing number of sales supervisors are finding that boosting sales doesn't require more salespeople, just more leads. Therefore, the number of new leads generated by a new hire is a major factor to consider. Track both the overall number of leads and the source of each lead to get a sense of the new hire's effectiveness and approach.
2. Sales From Existing Network
If a new hire has a track record of success, they ought to have a number of contacts ready to call. If a major point of hiring a candidate was a solid sales record and existing relationships, you ought to expect activity from their network inside a 4- to 6-week period of time. Clearly, there are many factors to consider, but the value of a new hire's preexisting network ought to be quite apparent in 3 to 6 months.
3. Embrace of Phone Work
At some point, new reps have to dive right in to cold calling and get on the phone. Some new hires get started more quickly than others. Some sales reps are very resistant to the idea of cold calling. In general, there is a strong correlation between the time it takes for a new hire to get cold calling and revenue achievement. Those that embrace the phone quickly are more prone to start providing a faster return.
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