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BedTimes, Feature, May 2005

Superior sales force
Picking the team: Hiring the best

By Barbara Nelles

Whether you're a bedding manufacturer or supplier, you're in the business of selling. Be it single-side mattresses, soft-touch tickings, serger-flangers or springs, you're selling something.

And that means a foundation of your company's success is the vibrancy and strength of your salespeople. BedTimes interviewed an experienced group of sales and management consultants with the goal of divining guidelines for hiring, training and motivating a winning sales team.

We were a bit surprised when our first question-"Is there a 'sales' personality?"-caused a slight gasp. The mythical link between "selling" and the darker side of the human condition exists even among the enlightened, it seems.  

"Sales has gotten a bad rap over the past 100 years and with good reason," acknowledges Len Foley, sales trainer and consultant with 21st Century Sales Training in Atlanta, "but we're changing that now. Certainly, the most successful salespeople today are really like good doctors. They sit down, ask the right questions, really listen to answers and then make sound recommendations."

So Death of a Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross stereotypes aside, let's thrust false notions from our collective unconscious and examine the best practices of reputable selling organizations.

Scouting report: Good profiling
Finding and hiring good people are arguably the most difficult-and the most important parts-of creating a crack sales team. Getting hiring right means doing your homework and creating a precisely defined profile of the successful candidate.

"I advise companies to study their best salespeople," says Susan Onaitis, president of New York City-based Global Learning Link. "Look not just for personality characteristics, but specific behaviors they use to be successful and then create a profile around these two factors."

Kerri Schmidt, director of recruiting and education at Glendale, Wis.-based Hunter Business Group, conducts a "position definition" workshop where she assembles a team of "key players to define all aspects of the job." The team may include someone currently in the job, the immediate supervisor and the human resources department.

"We'll start with a list of about 25 behaviors and then narrow it down using a voting and scoring process," she says. "Somewhere between six and 10 traits will fall out as being critical."

Determine minimum thresholds for each of your profile elements and then, during the screening process, use the elements to knock candidates out of the running, says Andris Zoltners, chairman and founder of ZS Associates in Evanston, Ill., and professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

"If high energy were a profile dimension, you would not use it as a selector; but you can conclude that if a candidate lacks high energy he or she probably will not be a good sales candidate," Zoltners explains.

Schmidt agrees. During the interviewing process, she says, "you're trying to knock a person out, and when you can't knock them out anymore, it's time to go ahead and hire them."

In some cases, smaller companies may have to do some selling of their own to attract top candidates, Zoltners says. This is especially true when "everyone is competing for the best people."

"Market leaders can attract more easily. Other organizations might have to do more in order to attract the people they want. (For instance,) have the CEO call the candidate and say, 'Hey, we want you.' "

Character counts
When it comes to sales, snakes and sharks are considered "out" and thoughtful, confident, good listeners are "in." Other than that, can we generalize about desirable personality traits? Yes and no.

"In my experience over the past 25 years," Onaitis says, "almost any personality can learn to sell effectively. I've had accountants who turned into extremely effective performers-and very outgoing people who have been terrible."

But top performers tend to share some qualities.

"In my personal opinion, empathy and integrity are critical," Zoltners says. "If you're not empathic you shouldn't be in sales. For long-term success, you have to care about your customers, and you have to create trust."

Foley points to empathy and curiosity as vital. "The ability to understand other people and their motives and to care about them are key to being able to figure out what a customer wants and needs."

And there is nothing wrong with having a good ego and self-assurance-as long as you match it with fairness and the ability to be a team player, adds John Egger, chief executive officer of the Profitability Consulting Group, which has offices across the country.

"Certainly, the very best salespeople have personal power; they're magnetic," says Foley, upping the ante. "When they walk into a room, they command attention. It's a positive kind of attention. You feel you're with a friend. You feel better in their presence."

If your sales job requires lots of travel, you'll want to make extra sure you screen for intensity and high energy, the experts say.

"Look for people with active hobbies," Schmidt recommends. "Try to assess stamina. Find out how many hours per week they're accustomed to working."
But, she warns, bear in mind that a great strength can also be a greatest weakness: "If a candidate has a really high 'mission of service'-very customer focused-the negative aspect is that they may never get around to closing a deal. Watch for people at the extremes."

Starting line: The interview
How do you match your expectations to a flesh-and-bones person? Start with a good pool of applicants-although this may seem easier than it actually is. 
"The best source is referrals: People within your company referring other people-it's been shown to have the highest success rate," Zoltners says. "Then tweak your interview tactics to force applicants to 'act out' their skills."

Do not rely on an applicant's list of references: "References only tell you the good stuff. You really have to figure it out through the recruiting process," he adds.
But the traditional face-to-face interview may not be a good predictor of job success either.

"Anyone who can think on their feet can create answers you'll want to hear," Onaitis says. "Don't ask hypotheticals. Ask experiential questions, which typically begin with, 'Tell me about the time you were faced with an angry customer,' for example. The interviewer listens for clues to the characteristics that match up with what they're looking for. Certainly, people can make up answers to experiential questions once or twice, but not consistently. Continue to ask those questions and probe for details: 'What did you do?' 'What was this customer like?' 'How did it get resolved?'"

Schmidt uses two phone interviews-an initial knockout interview then a behavioral profile-before inviting remaining prospects in for face-to-face conversations.
Part of the face-to-face interview consists of open-ended questions because "the first thing out of an interviewee's mouth is usually a primary behavior they use," she says.

"For example, if 'mission of service' is critical, a good question to ask is: 'What criteria do you use to define success?' Good responses would be, 'When my customers are satisfied' or 'If I like my job' If the candidate responds, 'The amount of money I'm making,' that's evidence of a different trait."

For salespeople, in particular, role playing is a good interviewing test, says Kelley Robertson, president of Robertson Training Group in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
"Tell them they may be working through a mock or an actual sales interaction," he suggests. "You are looking for candidates who are confident in their ability to sell and in their ability to attract customers."

Zoltners agrees: "You want to test for the behaviors that are required. Have them sell you something. Tell them, 'Sell me that corner of the room.' (Role playing) correlates about 53% with our ability to predict job success."

The right experience
Contrary to what may be a prevailing practice, our experts say industry experience is just not that important and can even be a drawback. When it comes to sales, selling experience is the thing.

"Many industries have a myopic view," Onaitis says. "They feel if they steal a competitor's salesperson, he or she will have an immediate understanding of the business, as well as the competition's, but it's a huge assumption. Does this person have the selling skills to go along with their industry knowledge? Are they burned out on the industry? Will they be bringing bad habits and lack of vision to your organization?"
"Industry experience helps," Foley says, "but selling is not about the product, it's about connecting with the customer."

Schmidt puts experience at the bottom of the list when it comes to hiring sales staff.
"Frankly," she says, "most turnover comes from people not fitting into the organization. The chemistry is not right. (It's) not from lack of experience." 
                                                                        
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Training table: Educating your staff
By Barbara Nelles

Now that you've found your new salesperson, how do you get her the training and education she needs-and quickly-to sell your products?

"Mentoring is a powerful tool to bring new hires up to speed," says Len Foley, sales trainer and consultant with 21st Century Sales Training in Atlanta. "It's like an apprenticeship." A mentor can be a co-worker or the sales manager.

"But it must be someone with the best skills for mentoring; someone patient who asks questions and provides feedback," says Kelley Robertson, president of Robertson Training Group in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.

"Don't throw recruits into the fire, saying 'Here's your region, go sell,' " he advises. "Resources may be tight, but it pays off to invest in a structured orientation."

"Ideally, (orientation training) is a combination of things that will touch on all the different learning styles people have," says Kerri Schmidt, director of recruiting and education at Glendale, Wis.-based Hunter Business Group. "You provide some opportunity to shadow seasoned salespeople, offer some 'classroom' element with more formal teaching, provide materials for individual self-study and provide close monitoring and feedback."

When to hire an outside trainer
Often, consultants say, they get called in to perform sales training when the actual problem may be of a completely different sort.

"The phrase I like to keep in mind is, 'You can't send a duck to eagle school,' " Zoltners says. "It may be that they just don't have very good people and over time must replace ducks with eagles. (Or) they may have a structure problem or an inadequate performance management system and they figure, 'Let's go train everybody.'"

Outside sales training can be a waste of time and money if your company and the sales organization don't use some quantitative analysis to measure training results.
"Training without analyzing the results and holding salespeople accountable are nothing more than entertainment," says John Egger, chief executive officer of the Profitability Consulting Group.

On top of that, "selling skills, unlike intellectual knowledge, are learned behaviors and you really can't change people's behavior with a three-hour training event," says Susan Onaitis, president of New York City-based Global Learning Link. "Companies must be willing to coach, reinforce and provide feedback in order to change behavior."

Andris Zoltners, chairman and founder of ZS Associates in Evanston, Ill., and professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, says there are two basic times for you to use an outside trainer: "When new products come out and when market dynamics change or shift. Are you dealing with bigger buyers, different buyers, etc.?"

Egger ascribes to the philosophy of business-process genius W. Edwards Deming: "Companies with more than a 20% to 30% differential between their best and worst performers have a problem, and it's time to seek outside training." 

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How to hire a sales trainer
By Kimberly L. McCall

If your sales force is foundering, it may be time to bring in a sales trainer. A sales trainer can fire up your team by teaching real-world ways to close more deals. Here are a few tips for finding a superlative sales coach for your team and your budget:

• Put together a list of vendors. As you do with other major investments, ask colleagues in similar industries for referrals. Alex Ramsey, founder and president of LodeStar Universal in Dallas, which provides executive coaching and sales strategies, advises companies to check out the National Speakers Association or the American Society for Training & Development or to contact the author of an admired book on sales.

• Look for relevant experience. Make sure the trainer is a whiz in your field who will take the time to customize a presentation for your needs. Paul DiModica, founder and president of DigitalHatch, an IT sales and marketing training company in Atlanta, warns that some trainers may be using canned content: "Many sales trainers are just re-marketers of other people's materials," he says.

• Be clear about your needs. In conducting due diligence with prospective trainers, make sure the trainer understands what you want to accomplish. Does your sales team need help with cold calling? A confidence boost? Assistance turning technical mumbo jumbo into real language? "Once you understand your goals and expectations, then you're more likely to ask the right questions (and) set a realistic budget and amount of time to accomplish objectives," Ramsey says.

• Don't focus on finding a genius. A highly successful salesperson isn't necessarily a great trainer. "It's not Tiger Woods, but (rather) his instructor (whom) you want to teach you golf," Ramsey says. "Tiger is going to be entirely too focused on how he plays the game." Ramsey adds that a sales manager should seek a trainer who listens and is willing to adapt the sales training to fit the client's world.

• Know the costs. DiModica offers an on-site, one-day program with a 30-day follow-up starting at $5,000. Ramsey's programs range from $2,000 to $20,000, depending on length, objectives and the number of people and programs. Training through a public class with a sales training company runs $600 to $1,500 per participant, though the class will likely include attendees from several different companies and may not be customized. Mark Tewart, president of sales and management training and professional speaking company Tewart Enterprises in Lebanon, Ohio, says his fees vary widely according to the scope of the training. According to Tewart, his range is $1,500 to $20,000 per day, plus expenses and materials, with an average around $3,000 per day.

• Set aside time. DiModica believes training should last one to two days, depending on your needs, with a refresher meeting including role-playing sessions one month after the initial session. Ramsey says that one hour will suffice for a motivational speech, while full training can take three to 10 days over several months.
Tewart offers the following checklist for hiring a sales trainer: 

• Training should provide measurable "hard" and "soft" improvements. Hard improvements can be measured through sales, productivity and higher retention. Soft improvements include an increase in sales staff confidence and improved team attitude. 

• Seek fresh and original curriculum. Salespeople are immediately turned off by old-school, warmed-over sales techniques that everyone has heard a thousand times. Look for a unique trainer, materials or method of delivery. 

• Avoid the "sunburn effect." Too many sales trainers promise the moon but don't leave a game plan on what to do when they're no longer there. Your sales force will experience the "sunburn effect" of training: The training fades-and the trainees hurt.

Kimberly L. McCall is president of McCall Media & Marketing Inc., a business communications and writing company in Durham, Maine. She's the author of Sell It, Baby! Marketing Angel's 37 Down-to-Earth & Practical How-To's on Marketing, Branding & Sales. For more information, check www.marketingangel.com. 

Continuing sales education
Here are some other ideas for how your salespeople can keep up to date on the industry-whether they are neophytes or veterans.

• Manufacturers' and suppliers' reps should spend time on the retail sales floor to learn more about how the end-product is received by consumers.
• Suppliers' reps also should spend time in manufacturing plants learning about how mattresses and sleep products are produced and how components and other products are used.
• Attend the ISPA Industry Conference Sept. 14-16, 2005, in Las Vegas.
• Attend ISPA EXPO March 1-4, 2006, in San Antonio, Texas.
• Attend ISPA SHOPtalks. (For more information about topics and dates, check the Events section www.sleepproducts.org.)
• Study glossary of industry terms and industry overview at www.sleepproducts.org (Glossary available only to members of the International Sleep Products Association.)
• Check out the book Spring Training: A Supplementary Guide to Mattress Sales by Gerry Morris (Inner Spring Inc., 2000). (Its main audience is retail salespeople, but it contains a good overview of mattress terms and concepts.)

The big mo: Keeping them motivated
By Barbara Nelles

You've got your salespeople hired and trained. Now how do you keep them on the team-and motivated to continue doing their best?

"Salespeople get pigeon-holed for only being motivated by money, but there is nothing further from the truth," says Susan Onaitis, president of New York City-based Global Learning Link.

The three most important employee motivators are 1) recognition for a job well done, 2) the opportunity to develop and grow with a company and 3) ongoing challenge and involvement in new projects, adds Kelley Robertson, president of Robertson Training Group in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.

Contests, prizes and awards can work but not if the same people win year after year. Experts say the key is to know your salespeople as individuals and to devise a reward system that covers everyone.

"One thing that never works after the first couple of times is motivating by fear," Robertson says. "It's not what people respond to. They get tired of hearing threats and stop trying."

Andris Zoltners, chairman and founder of ZS Associates in Evanston, Ill., and professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, identifies five human motivations: 1) survival, 2) social affiliation (we want to be part of a team and we care if people like us), 3) achievement (making something happen through personal effort), 4) power (the power of choice such as calling on who you want, spending days the way you want) and 5) ego gratification.

"You design features and reward programs that cover all these motivators. For instance, hold national sales meetings to satisfy 'social affiliation,' create a President's
Club for 'achievement,' offer choices in the field to empower people, etc.," he says.

Keeping your players happy
People stay at companies for a variety of reasons. It goes back to individual motivation.
"Someone once told me that people stay where they're growing and learning. It's when they feel bored, stale and unappreciated that they leave," Onaitis says. "And they leave for very little. I also believe that how a company treats its salespeople is totally reflected in how salespeople treat customers."

"The best way to attract and keep great salespeople is to have an organization that treats employees well, nurtures and trains, has a success system in place that lets people thrive and gives them room to breathe," says Len Foley, sales trainer and consultant with 21st Century Sales Training in Atlanta.

He adds: "Another big reason many people leave is because of their managers. It's a huge reason to spend time training managers. When promoting people to management positions, teach them to do it effectively, and people will enjoy working for them."
The chemistry between an employee and the company must be right, says Kerri Schmidt, director of recruiting and education at Glendale, Wis.-based Hunter Business Group. "That's actually where most turnover comes from-people not fitting into the culture of an organization."

Paying for performance
Money may not be the only reason your salespeople stay with you, but they want to be compensated appropriately. This means salary or commission or both and, unfortunately, there's no consensus on what works best.

Working on commission is a great motivator for some and a great stressor for others, Robertson says.

But John Egger, chief executive officer of the Profitability Consulting Group, believes most good sales professionals prefer an incentive-based program.

"Certainly many people are afraid of incentive-based pay; they want a guarantee," he says. "We recommend (a salary) for so many months then moving to incentive-based pay later."

Robertson advises offering incentives on profits too because "anybody can sell discounted goods. And, in any case, you won't find a program that works 100% of the time for 100% of your people."

Teamwork or solo stars
How often is sales an ensemble effort? It varies from company to company, but one thing is certain: "You won't have teamwork if a company supports and rewards mavericks who get sales at any cost," Onaitis says. Conversely, Zoltners believes "one mistake companies make is to provide team incentives when it's individual work that counts in most sales situations."

Many think team-building programs such as corporate versions of Outward Bound are fun but most agree they have little lasting effect at companies that do not have that kind of culture to begin with.

Even if teamwork is not an important element within a company's sales effort, individuals do need to feel part of the greater whole. Robertson says employers need to reach out to employees, many of whom "feel starved for communication and for the opportunity to participate and be involved in how the company operates."

In an over-arching sense, Onaitis says, teamwork is essential to every successful sales organization: "You want to create a culture where people realize the importance of sales, the importance of customer service, of credit and collection, of the legal department. If people understand and appreciate the roles of all in servicing the customer, then you're creating a culture of teamwork. Your customers pick up on that; they sense that everyone at your company has the same mission-of supporting them as a customer."

Read more from the experts
Sales Without the Sucker Punch!
By Len Foley
www.21stcenturysalestraining.com

Stop, Ask and Listen: Proven Sales Techniques
By Kelley Robertson
Wiley, John & Sons Inc., 2004

The Complete Guide to Accelerating Sales Force Performance
By Andris A. Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha and Greggor A. Zoltners
AMACOM, 2001

Sales Force Design for Strategic Advantage
By Andris A. Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha and Sally E. Lorimer
Palgrave Macmillan, 2004

Recommended by the experts
Stop Telling, Start Selling: How to Use Customer-Focused Dialogue to  Close Sales
By Linda Richardson
McGraw-Hill Companies, 1997 (revised)

The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits
and Lasting Value
By Frederick Reichold
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2001