Who Is Your Draft Pick?
Watching the 15 hours of the NFL Draft coverage in late April got me thinking about how much drafting a football player is similar to hiring a sales professional for your organization. The NFL teams put so much evaluation into picking their players and they always have a "backup plan" just in case their players get drafted by another team. The teams also have a "draft board" of possible candidates and are knowledgeable about the strengths of each candidate. Decisions about who to draft are not made by one individual; instead, the players are interviewed by many representatives of the organization.
Who makes your decision?
It has been proven that the fastest growing companies in the shredding industry are the organizations that have a dedicated sales professional or sales force.
Just like the NFL teams, we need to evaluate the available talent in our markets that can help us to become a "winning team." Have others in your organization interview candidates; they are the ones who will be working with these individuals on a daily basis. If you are a one-person show, have someone whose advice you value interview the prospective professional, even if it is over the phone. Do you have a personal "board of directors" that you can bounce ideas off of? It is great as an entrepreneur to have trustworthy people who would be glad to help you in your "draft."
When you are ready to hire a sales professional or draft your "franchise player," here are seven suggestions on what qualities to look for in the candidates on your draft board:
1. Team Player—In sports, we learn the art of teamwork and how
nothing is accomplished by individuals. Winning teams have
superstars and "role-players."
2. Self Motivated—Develop their own programs and processes and
keep themselves motivated.
3. Persistent—How do they follow up? How they follow up after
the interview reveals how they follow up with a customer.
4. Sales Student—How often do they read something to improve
their skills? Do they have a thirst for knowledge that can
improve their job performance?
5. Goal Oriented—They write down their goals, which have associ-
ated deadlines, and keep them where they can see them daily.
6. Questioning Skills—Have the candidates perform a Needs Analysis
during the interview. (It should be 80 percent listening, 20 percent
talking.)
7. Coachability—Don’t hire age and experience, hire coachability
and attitude. If the person is 60 and coachable, hire him! If she is
25 and coachable, hire her!
Ray Barry is the president of Total Training Services, which operates Shred School in Spartanburg, S.C. Ray can be contacted at raybarry@total
trainingservices.com.