 | | | Welcome Business Managers | Vol 1, No 1, May, 2002 | | | |
You hold in your hands (more or less) the first edition of "Framing The Issues." The focus of this monthly message is on helping you grow your business profitably by giving you unique insights into finding, hiring and keeping great sales people.
Our lead off issue focuses on the tricky question of recruiting from a direct competitor.
Oftentimes clients will ask us to find them a salesperson who has a "book of business" or a "rolodex." Of course, this is sign language for finding them a salesperson from a direct competitor. While this is a widely used strategy, especially in the world of technology, we can't help but question it. Read on for more.
Thank you for your interest; please don't hesitate to click "reply" and send us your comments.
Betsy Harper
Managing Partner
Sales and Marketing Search
P.S. This E-Newsletter is being sent to you because you have a prior relationship with Sales and Marketing Search. If you would rather not continue receiving it, simply click the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every newsletter, and we'll take your name off the list.
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| | | If They'll Steal For You, They'll Steal From You | | |
(Or, everything I learned about recruiting I learned from the nuns.)
When a hiring manager asks for someone with a "book of business," or asks us to recruit directly from a competitor, what he's saying is that he's looking for a salesperson with pre-existing contacts. The expectation is that someone who has already sold into desired accounts will be able to bring in instant business.
They want someone who doesn't need to be trained in their products (After all, if they've been selling against them, they should know the products!). They want someone who has all the names of buyers and good relationships with these buyers.
Hypothetically, when you hire this salesperson he introduces and sells your product quickly. So, no ramp up time, no muss - no fuss - eureka - instant sales. Somehow, this always leaves me a bit uneasy. Two reasons: - From the perspective of the target accounts, the salesperson's sincerity is now suspect. What would you think of a salesperson who calls you one week selling for ABC Software Company and six months later, calls you from XYZ Software Company, a direct competitor?
If you bought from the salesperson the first time, you are completely baffled. What has changed? Wasn't this salesperson standing behind his first product (and company)? Why is he offering you a new, different and competitive solution? Did you make a mistake the first time? It's very confusing to the buyer, and does nothing but call the salesperson's integrity into question.
In terms of providing a short cut to instant sales, it may have just the opposite effect. Now the salesperson must explain why he's suddenly jumped ship to a competitor, and despite the open door that his rolodex represents, the closed sale may not be forthcoming.
- From the hiring manager's perspective, there's a credibility problem as well. A salesperson who can easily rationalize a switch to a product and company that he's been selling against may not demonstrate the kind of loyalty you're looking for in the long run. Sure, it's nice to bring in somebody who's up to speed, but if this person's willing to leave a direct competitor to come to you, you better believe that he won't think twice about leaving you for the next better offer.
All that said, this doesn't mean that hiring from a competitor is never a good idea (even 007 said, "Never Say Never"). There may be legitimate reasons for a quality salesperson deciding to leave his company and go work for a competitor (such as a more comprehensive solution, a better technology, etc.).
But in general, if the motivation behind the hire is to capture his book of business (rather than capture him) it tends to do more harm than good, and may only bring somebody on board who in the end you don't really want.
At the end of the day, the best way to fill a sales position is to hire a quality candidate, period. As Sister Bernadette SND counseled so long ago, "Remember dears, if someone will steal for you, they'll steal from you too. Class dismissed."
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| | If It's Spring, Get Me A Coach! | | Jack Derby, of Derby Management Consultants, has been coaching CEOs and senior managers since 1990.
And, this month you can catch Jack on April 30 in a morning program of "Coaching Leadership in Business" sponsored by
SBANE at the Microsoft corporate office in Waltham.
Jack brings enormous credibility (having been the CEO of four companies) and energy to the subject of leadership. If you can carve out the time, you won't be disappointed. Click here for more information about the event |
| Summer Reading List -- it's not too early! | |  In the Harper household, the extra large LL Bean canvas bag is already out in anticipation of our Maine summer reading - part business, part pleasure, always fun.
August is not that far away friends. Start your summer reading list with this one:
Even though it's only four years old, we think "Hire with Your Head: A Rational Way to Make a Gut Decision" by Lou Adler is a classic. Lou gives simple, easy to follow tips for recognizing great candidates and interviewing techniques (his trademarked POWER Hiring System.) A real gem is Lou's "20 Minute Rule." Check it out! (Or, I suppose you can sneak a call to me on the 20 minute rule-but you'll have to buy the book for the rest!)
There are also some very easy to use interviewing forms you can use as a template. This is an excellent book. Click here for more on, "Hire with Your Head: A Rational Way to Make a Gut Decision" |
| Nothing Succeeds Like Success | | And, we're very pleased to be part of the success of our client, Genalytics in Newburyport, Mass.
A provider of next generation predictive modeling technology, Genalytics has just raised $1.5 million in a round of financing from Egan-Managed Capital. And, very wisely, they invested some of those funds buying themselves a top-notch Sales Manager to start and grow their sales department.
Congratulations to Genalytics. We look forward to watching them grow -and being a part of it too!
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