The squirrels at my birdfeeder must be the most
well-fed in our entire town. Fed a steady diet of
sunflower hearts, I have visions of them sitting in the
trees late in the evening, lighting a cigar and
boasting what gastronomic feasts were enjoyed at
the Harpers today! But they do have to work for
it.
They spend hours each day on the grass inspecting
the feeder. They attempt to climb the feeder from the
ground hundreds of times during the day, apparently
thinking that one of those times the baffle will turn
itself upside down and actually help them up
the pole. And then finally they go up a tree that's next
to the garage and jump, quite literally, a full 20 feet to
the feeder, bang into the pole and
somehow manage to hang on.
The squirrels in my yard are, along with being
well-fed, persistent. Actually, they are well-fed
because they are persistent!
Watching the squirrels from my kitchen window last
week, I was reminded of my good friend Julie and her
idea for a sales seminar, "The Squirrel School of
Sales." Julie has spent her career designing and
implementing some of the best executive education
programs and seminars that are available today. And
years ago, when we used to work together, Julie
was designing a day-long seminar on sales.
While there were a number of sales basics like
time-management and lead generation to be
covered during the day, Julie wanted to
incorporate the element of persistence and its
importance in the sales process into the day. "I
think I'll call this part of the seminar the 'Squirrel
School of Sales'," she laughed. "I just cannot keep
the squirrels from my feeder, no matter what I do.
They are so damn persistent."
WHO SAID PERSISTENCE IS PASSE?
Times have changed since Julie and I worked
together. Now many of the popular sales
methodologies taught do not incorporate persistence
into their curriculum. And, while I am a fan of more
sophisticated and consultative sales methodologies, I
think that persistence in sales is still what separates
the successful salespeople from the mediocre ones.
So, if you're in agreement, how can you find out
whether that salesperson you're about to hire has that
valuable ingredient? Here are four suggestions:
- Cold Calls to
Appointments Ratio — In the
interview, get a clear picture of phone activity at
the beginning of the sales process. This is
important to determine how many calls your
prospective salesperson makes in order to get
the important in-person or web demo. Find out
how many times they call a prospect before
they move on. If they only make
two or three calls per prospect, you could be hiring
someone who's going to blow through
lots of valuable leads to get his sales results.
- Length of the
Sales Cycle — Ask your
candidate to give you an example of the shortest
time, and the longest time, it's taken him to make a
sale. Get an idea of the activity in between first
call and wrapping up the deal. If it's a large deal
and a long sales cycle, watch for indications of how
persistent your candidate was in the situation.
- Ask for an Example
of Persistence — That's right
— just ask! Tell your candidate that
persistence is a virtue you look for in a salesperson
and ask him for an example where his
persistence paid off. If he has to think longer than
two seconds, he may not have a good example.
- Watch What He Does
During the Hiring Process — Good
candidates know that finding a new job has the
same dynamics as making a sale. Good
candidates ask what the next step is and get one.
They follow up. They are persistent. Watch
for this persistence in your own dealings with them. If
they call you a day or two after the interview, that's a
good sign. If you tell him you'll get back to him in a
timely manner and you don't, he should be
almost hounding you for a next step.
My mother was showing me her fancy new bird
feeder last week. The bottom of the feeder is rigged
so that when something heavy, like a squirrel, jumps
on the feeder, the feeding holes shut. "What," I said to
her, "No food for our flying rodent friends? Now,
where's the fun in that!"
