My husband, Don, spent a good part of his career in Western Europe. While he was there, he drove high-performance German cars (You know, the ones that don't have a name — they have a number!). When he moved back to the states, he promptly bought a Japanese car. I asked him straight out, "What'd you do that for?" Here was his reason. He argued that high-performance cars are made to drive on certain types of roads and under certain conditions — like great roads (think Autobahn here) and high speed (think in excess of 100 mph). He argued that it's impossible in the United States to drive this type of car the way it is meant to be driven — thereby frustrating both car and driver. He further argued that it is, quite frankly, a gigantic waste of money to buy an engine that admittedly is the best in the world but one that you will never fully utilize. Better to put your money into a car that is designed for roads here in the U.S. It gives you fine enough performance and physical comfort when driving marginal roads. You know, I think he has a point. I can think of dozens of things I own that aren't used to their full capacity. What You Need Vs. What You Want I see this same situation in companies every day. I see companies who hire very high performance sales or marketing talent when they have a solution or a product that does not require the level of performance that they've hired. I know what you're thinking — you think it's always best to hire the best! Certainly in many situations that may be true (start-up companies with investors looking over their shoulder, breaking into new markets with new products, etc.), but for most situations, it simply ain't so. The "best" for you may not be the most high-performance model at all. Just like the Japanese luxury car, what you may need is good, solid performance in the environment you are in. This is important. Let me make myself very clear. I am not saying that you should hire marginal talent — ever. You should always hire the best person for the job to be done — always. That being said, here are a few ways you can avoid paying for performance you may never fully utilize: Define the job to be done Make sure you have a complete position description with clear deliverables. If you have a "Star Trek" situation (you're going where no man has gone before), then you may need high-performance. If, on the other hand, you have a model that has been replicated before, or have existing sales or marketing people who are doing a similar job, solid skills may suffice. Define Your Budget I've seen it time and time again. Companies describe what they really want in a salesperson. They are clearly defining the high-performance salesperson (read BMW 540 here). Then, I ask what the compensation is. The budget is more like a Ford Focus. There's a disconnect between what they want and their budget. Sure, I'd like to pay $15,000 for a BMW myself. But, unfortunately, the dealer won't let me! Remember the "Drive Away" Factor That high-performance car sitting in your driveway can't drive itself away in the middle of the night. But the high performance salesperson, if not fully utilized, will do just that. (i.e. he'll leave for a position where his skills are fully utilized.) If you keep these points in mind when hiring, the marriage between job performance and candidate, like car and driver, just might be a match made in heaven. Click here to tell us whether you agree or disagree — and what you drive!