What is the #1 problem in sales? A recent article I read talked about key reasons Sales Manager fail in their job. At the top of the failure list was the “lack of process” in key aspects of the Sales Managers day to day activities.

While reading this article I could not help but think back to the many clients we have worked with where this lack of process was clearly seen when new sales reps were being hired.  A typical Sales Manager will show up to an interview and “wing it”. Ask questions and take very few notes. When asked by other managers how the interview went the typical response is “I like (or didn’t like) the candidate”. Over the many years we have determined that a conservative estimate of Sales Managers who follow little or no hiring process would be over 80%.  This is a hard number to swallow when we consider that one of the highest priorities of a Sales Manager is to hire good talent.

We hope not to paint all Sales Managers with the same brush but the intent of this short article is to bring attention to any problem Sales Manager who may want to improve their odds of hiring better sales reps. Find a hiring process that works and then stick to it. Follow each step with all candidates. Track your success. See what is working and what needs to be tweaked and keep doing it.

Hiring Simulation Assessments with it weighted scorecard has brought process to hiring sales reps with clients throughout North America since early 2002. If you are looking for a different way to hire and you want to follow a proven hiring process, come for a TEST DRIVE and see why we are changing the way sales people are being assessed and hired.