Anthony Camacho- Sniffing Out Excellence When Hiring Salespeople

The average annual turnover in sales is 25 to 30%. That is the equivalent of hiring & training the entire Sales organization every 4 years! How do you know you are hiring a good salesperson? Why you look for evidence of success that is transferable to your organization. Today we are going to really help you sniff out the correct information to hire the right talent.

Today’s Quote:

"There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?"- Woody Allen

Guest Background:

Anthony Camacho is the Founder & CEO of Top Producer Factory. Having worked with start-ups to $40 million ‘small businesses’, Anthony is a sales and performance mentor to everyday entrepreneurs as well as Fortune 500 companies. He has personally cold called millions of dollars in sales, using techniques and strategies which he freely shares from the stage. A former Dale Carnegie Coach and certified sales coach through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching, Anthony, 37, has 20 years of experience in cold calling, generating new prospects, bringing in new business, closing deals and managing sales teams.

Working with corporate clients, executives and small business rockstars; Anthony is currently on tour in the United States and Australia, delivering sales and leadership seminars and keynote talks.

Based in Southern California, Anthony – a father of four girls – is also a yogi, pursuing the lifestyle of Bikram Yoga in his downtime.

Anthony is the Author of 3 x best-selling books (Buy them on Amazon.com ») Anthony Camacho® has presented at more than 500 live events including TedEx style talks, workshops, seminars, Expos & industry-specific conferences. He has been a speaker/emcee for:

• Habitude Warrior Conference (Erik Swanson)
• Evolution Seminars (Matt Brauning)
• Free to Bounce (Paul Cummings Worldwide Enterprises)
• Guest lecturer (University of California, Riverside)
• Miss West Coast Beauty Pageant
• Corporate America including Fiesta Insurance Corp and Excellence Real Estate Empire
• REEMA Beauty Charity Events
• Various Chamber of Commerce

Show highlights: 

• How to identify great salespeople
• How to sniff out the frauds
• What to do in the interview process

Problem:

How do we identify great salespeople

Both parties need to be prepared. The interviewee should be asking about growth, opportunity, and professional development. Rate people on the quality of questions they ask.

How they interview? No structured interview process. Sometimes they just want a body… mentality about hiring the right person… run on Turn & Burn. Companies don't consider how much how much they really lose by making the right hire. Ultimately, hurts the company morale and customer base. Referral hires - no shortcuts.

Managers take a Narrow view or let complacency set in

• Unrealistic High bar…. Looking for “rock stars”
• Status quo is a business killer

***Sales management -The reason bad sales hires are made, bad leaders hiring bad people. The biggest challenge is Mid-level Management. Mid managers are delegated.

*** Making people managers without training. How do I duplicate myself?

• Letting middle managers learn & grow… giving someone a shot. (hope strategy)
• Clarity on job description/expectations or even a clear compensation plan (not defined or clear)
• How they get paid…. They lose their enthusiasm

Is the C- level is setting people up for failure?

Rick’s Two Cents:

• Be wary of Stars!
  • Research indicates an A player at one company doesn't necessarily transfer to another
• Train your leadership before they start hiring. I failed miserably when I was promoted to manager
• Test answers

Solutions:

What to do in the Interview process

• First prepare people & be prepared
  • What to bring, and prepared questions to have for us
• Show the person that you are serious.
• Private office, punctual (preferred early),
• Observe how they present themselves, time frame.

Note: Starbucks & Denny’s are for MLM pitches.

What to look for:  Anthony’s Ingredients of a good salesperson

• Integrity- trust with the customer
• Above and beyond in serving the customer
• prior job experience/history
• Loves door to door salespeople- most grueling job ever
• Manual labor- if they know how to sweat, making a phone call is easy
• Life goals, financial goals/aspirations = hungry for themselves
• Closing ratio/formula to make a sale. Day to day sales activities break down (know their numbers, how do you get to that?

Hiring Management:

• Promoting managers- good salespeople need to be trained to be a leader.
• Training received before becoming a manager. Time to learn before accepting the responsibility- learn how to delegate, motivate, lead
  • Get a curriculum for leadership 
• Companies managers/ not leaders

Rick’s Insight

• Focus on behaviors- Look for evidence
  • Understand how customer relationships are developed
  • Hire for core Values Alignment
  • Cultural fit
• Look for transferable skills to provide growth opportunity
  • Locating transferable skills requires creativity
• Training

Key Takeaways:

• Benchmarks  •Know your closing ratio and understand the closing ratio for your team
• Desire  •Does your sales professional and the team have a “BIG WHY” You can teach everything but you can’t teach desire
• Buy-in  •Sell the objective to your sales team