Reynand E.’s Post

Last week I had a conversation with a Sales Leader about how are we able to consistently find way better Sales candidates than their internal team. If you you want better Sales candidates you need to provide your HR/Talent Acquisition team with better training and the tools they need to succeed. Let the recruiter responsible for hiring Sales candidates shadow a SDR for a few hours a week. Have them go on a few calls as a silent observer. Explain the KPI'S the SDR has and what they will earn if they meet or exceed them. Have them shadow some Account Executives for a few hours a week. Let them see what their onboarding and training looks like. Have them on some discovery calls/demos/webinars as a silent observer. Explain the territory and KPI's the Account Executive has. Have them shadow a Customer Success person and join them on some calls. Do the same with Rev Ops. Have them spend some time with a Sales Leader. Get them familiar with RepVue, PeerSignal, Glassdoor, Payscale and Indeed. I promise you if your Recruiter spends time with people that are actually doing the position that they are recruiting for they will have a better understanding of the position and the chances of them finding better candidates will increase significantly.

I was not a natural born sales person. I had to learn. The starting point was as a rookie recruiter being a told to do stuff that made no sense.  It made no sense to take a candidate to market, when most of the roles I was picking up were hard to fill. It seemed clear that what i needed to do was pick up easier to fill roles - and that meant having my clients see me as more than a cv factory. So when i built the Resonant Outbound method (it wasn’t called that back then but it always resonanted with people who value recruitment) it had to achieve three goals: 1. it had to communicate the true value of a good recruiter - more than just filling roles 2. it had to quickly deliver enough value for employers to trust someone they’d not worked with 3. it had to deliver more placements than taking candidates to market I saw that the value i wanted from my clients was greater than they were typically willing to give: I wanted their help to make filling all their roles easy so that I made more placements and they kept using me. So it was clear the value I added had to be greater than anything they’d ever received. Thar meant finding an approach that delivered huge value as well as productising my offering so that it was a no-brainer for them. The first version of this process was built and shared with hundreds of recruiters back in 2018. Since then it’s had several major overhauls and now, 6 years on, represents a full sales operating system. it works for both new business and expanding existing clients. And I’m prepared to suggest it’s the most effective and sophisticated approach to sales being delivered in recruitment…but you’d have to check it out to be sure. What’s more, all that work has lead to it becoming a simple, scalable systematic approach. But it came from humble beginnings. just me, trying to figure out why I was slogging my guts out for 15% fees and contingent terms whilst solving my clients biggest, most valuable problems. And being certain there had to be a better way. 

🔎 Identifying Junior Sales Talent: Mindset Over Experience 🔎 How do you spot promising junior talent during the hiring process, especially when they lack demonstrated experience? Here are some tips and tricks to help you identify top-notch junior sales talent: 🔎Focus on Soft Skills🔎 Look beyond their CV and have a conversation. For entry-level candidates, their soft skills are the biggest indicator for sales potential. Pay attention to resilience, adaptability, empathy, proactiveness and ability to ask meaningful questions and listen. Junior candidates with strong interpersonal aptitude and a natural ability to connect with others often make excellent salespeople. 🔎Assess Attitudes and Key Drivers🔎 During interviews, delve into candidates' attitudes and motivations. Do they demonstrate determination to learn and grow? Are they driven by goals, rewards, and targets? How do they react to or overcome obstacles? Seek candidates who display a positive attitude, a competitive spirit, and a willingness to go the extra mile to achieve results. 🔎Explore Life Habits and Past Successes🔎 While direct sales experience is valuable, don't discount candidates' past successes in other areas of their lives. Look for evidence of persistence, initiative, and achievement, whether it's in academics, sports, extracurricular activities, or volunteer work. Candidates who have overcome obstacles and achieved goals in the past are likely to bring the same drive and determination to their sales roles. 🔎Role Play and Scenario-Based Questions🔎 Use role-playing exercises and scenario-based questions during interviews to assess candidates' problem-solving skills and sales instincts. Present them with hypothetical sales situations and observe how they respond under pressure. Look for creativity, strategic thinking, and the ability to think on their feet. 🔎Seek Growth Potential🔎 While junior candidates may lack experience, they should demonstrate a willingness and ability to learn and grow. Inquire about their aspirations and how they wish to grow their career in sales. Look for candidates who are hungry to put in the work to develop their expertise and knowledge, to get to the next level. By focusing on mindset, soft skills, attitudes, and growth potential during the hiring process, you can identify junior sales talent with the potential to excel in your team. Consider that it’s not just about what candidates have done in the past, but about who they are and what they're capable of achieving in the future. If you find yourself in need of expert guidance in identifying and hiring sales talent, remember that the Hunter Campbell S & M team is here for you. With our extensive networks and deep expertise, we're primed and ready to assist with all your sales recruitment needs, no matter the level. Get in touch - Sindy Ward | Rose Buffalo-Snell | Bethany Taplin | Erin Donkin | Eloise Braithwaite | Daniel Pinto

Role plays in sales recruitment... We recently had a candidate withdraw from process for a VP of Sales role with a Series A backed SaaS company. Why you ask? He felt insulted that he was asked to do a role play by a CEO/Founder with zero sales experience. How was this doode supposed to benchmark sales ability with no experience of his own to go on? Was the impeccable CV - with career revenues of plus £400Mn and 2 successful exits not enough? Role plays for junior telesales people - to some degree I get it. Roles where you know you will need to coach your front line staff - I get it. But some companies also use the role plays to fuel their own laziness. For example - they'll take a candidate few severals rounds of interviews - to then ask the candidate to do a role play. Now for whatever reason, the candidates role play doesn't meet the clients expectations (bare in mind - they are offering just £40k base lol) they just bin the candidate off and say 'Sorry - not for us!' It's wank behaviour by the client - let's be honest. So I ask the question - do you still back role plays? If so, why? And at what stage of a sales persons career does it become offensive to ask them to do a role play? SDR -> AE -> EAE -> VP Sales? What do you think?

Day 5/21: Building a winning sales team... 🔍 When Hiring, 6 Key Characteristics you must look for... In the fast-paced world like SaaS Sales, hiring the right talent is more than just matching skills and experience on a resume. It's about identifying individuals who bring a dynamic mix of qualities that contribute to both their success and the success of your team. Here are six key characteristics to look for: IQ (Intelligence Quotient): This goes beyond academic achievements. Look for candidates who show analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to understand complex concepts quickly. EQ (Emotional Intelligence): Equally important as IQ, EQ involves self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to navigate interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. See how they handle a socially awkward situation! Drive: You want team members who are self-motivated and ambitious, individuals who demonstrate a strong desire to achieve and go above and beyond. Look at face and body language as they are talking. Coachability: The best candidates are those open to feedback and learning. They adapt and grow, constantly refining their skills and approaches. Ask them to share their understanding of something, offer an alternative perspective and see how they respond! Inquisition: Curiosity is a sign of a lifelong learner. Candidates who ask insightful questions often bring fresh perspectives and a proactive approach to problem-solving. Not just pre-canned questions, conversational questions Energy: A certain level of enthusiasm and vigor is contagious. High-energy individuals can boost team morale and drive. Do you feel energised or sapped in their company? When interviewing, delve into these areas. Ask questions that uncover these traits and look for examples in their past experiences. Remember, skills can be taught, but these intrinsic qualities are often what make someone a standout addition to your team. Are you a top performing SaaS sales professional looking for your next exciting career move?Are you a start-up/scale-up SaaS vendor looking for top talent? Book a consultation!

Top 5 Reasons to Approach Recruiting with a Sales Mindset 📈 1.)Recruiting as a Sales Cycle: Understanding the hiring process as a sales cycle illuminates the essence of recruitment - it’s about selling the company and the role to potential candidates, just as they present their skills to you. This perspective emphasizes the mutual exchange of value, mirroring the dynamics of a sales transaction. 2.)Value of Qualified Leads: In sales, the focus on qualified leads is paramount; this principle is equally critical in recruiting. Investing time in candidates who match the company’s needs and culture is akin to targeting potential customers who have a genuine interest and the means to engage with your product. It ensures efficiency and higher success rates in both fields. 3.) Nurturing Prospects: The importance of relationship-building is a cornerstone of both sales and recruiting. Engaging candidates with the same dedication as potential clients fosters a connection that could be decisive in their decision-making process. Nurturing these relationships can set the stage for a successful hire, much like it closes deals in sales. 4. )Metrics and Data-Driven Strategies: Adopting a sales mindset in recruiting involves leveraging data and metrics to guide your strategies. This approach allows for a more structured and outcome-focused process, enhancing the ability to track progress and make informed adjustments along the way. 5.) Closing with Conviction: The goal is to progressively move candidates towards accepting a job offer. Each interaction is an opportunity to reinforce the value proposition, ensuring candidates remain engaged and interested. Treating recruiting as a sales process not only streamlines the hiring workflow but also enhances the quality of hires by applying proven sales techniques. This mindset is particularly advantageous in the fast-paced, resource-constrained environment of startups, where each hiring decision can have significant impact. By embracing these sales principles, recruiters can optimize their approach and contribute to their company’s success more effectively.

Stop hiring salespeople based on their experience in sales. Why? "The Will to Sell" is the # 1 predictor of a high-performing salespeople. Our Sales DNA Test has assessed over 2.5 million salespeople. The Sales DNA Test is 72% predictively valid in selecting top-half-performing salespeople and 100% predictively valid in identifying bottom-half performers! You read that right - seven out of ten times it will identify the right hires. More importantly, it will identify the wrong hires ten out of ten times! So what should you do to hire for "The Will to Sell"? Dig deeper to uncover their: - Desire to become a world-class sales professional. - Willingness to do the things that make them uncomfortable. - Motivational drivers (are they extrinsic, intrinsic, or altruistic) Ask targeted interview questions like: "When things get tough in your life, how do you motivate yourself to push through?" "Describe a time when you weren't great at something. How did you master it?" "Do you have a vision for your sales career? What keeps you on that path?" "What does success in sales mean to you and how does that drive you?" "How do you approach learning new skills?" Skills can be taught. Will cannot be. Hire salespeople with the "Will" to win. Then provide them with the training to develop their skills. The right people in the right roles are the foundation of a high-performing sales team. Don't leave it to chance. Winning sales teams are built on data-driven hiring. And that starts with how you evaluate "The Will to Sell." P.S. Want a full copy of our Sales DNA Test template? Let me know in the comments.

[Founders & Sales Leaders] Find the Essence of Sales Passion to add Precision to Hiring In the dynamic world of sales, the bridge between passion and performance is often built during the hiring process. A recent discussion with Mor Assouline of demotoclose.com illuminated an intriguing approach to uncovering the true capabilities and enthusiasm of sales candidates. When considering a new sales hire, especially one who's already employed, it's crucial to delve beyond the surface. The questions we ask can unravel the depth of a candidate's engagement with their role and the product they represent. It's not just about what they're selling but how deeply they understand the problems they're solving and the people they're solving them for. 🔍 Key Interview Questions to Consider: What are you currently selling, and what unique problems does it solve? Can you describe your typical discovery process and the questions you ask? Who is the buyer persona for your product? These inquiries are designed to spark more than just a conversation; they're a gateway to witnessing the candidate's problem-solving and empathetic approach in action. A mock role-play based on these questions offers a live showcase of their selling technique, revealing their ability to navigate sales dialogues with finesse and understanding. Our goal is to see "what good looks like" in the context of their current role. Are they merely hitting quotas, or are they genuinely passionate about their product and the solutions it provides? A personal anecdote from Mor highlighted a crucial point: even a resume reflecting consistent quota achievement might not fully capture a candidate's practical skills or passion. It underscores the importance of a thorough and dynamic interview process that challenges candidates to demonstrate their expertise and enthusiasm in real-time. In sales, as in many fields, the essence of success often lies not in the answers given but in the questions asked. Let's ensure we're asking the right ones.

Information VS Inspiration in sales. As a recruitment consultant in professional sales environments, it's not only my job to consult with clients about their recruitment needs, but a larger part of my job is spent identifying and filtering through talent who are interested in various opportunities that come through our doors. Part of my sifting process involves roleplays. I've had a few roleplays recently where candidates have said all the right things. Almost verbatim to the latest and greatest sales techniques out there today. Word for word copies of common overturns, of common investigative questions, and even introductions. Although there is nothing wrong about this, there isn't much right about it either. When we are given all the right answers, we lose the ability to ask the right questions. We end up listening for what we want to hear and deafen ourselves to what the person we're talking to wants to say. Whatever is important to you, is not what is important to them. Whatever is important to them is what is important to the sale. People need authenticity. They don't need the "7 pillars to effectively overturning financial smokescreens" or whatever. If you're somebody that has spent thousands on sales mentorships but nothing on personal development, there will a disconnect between what you know and who you are, and you can't be anybody except yourself in sales. "Once conform, once do what other people do because they do it, and a lethargy steals over all the finer nerves and faculties of the soul. She becomes all outer show and inward emptiness; dull, callous, and indifferent." - Virgina Woolf We've been building connections with some of the most authentic sales professionals you could ever come across. If you've got something worth selling, we've got people worth hiring. Let's chat!

“Will to Sell" is the #1 predictor of high-performing salespeople. Now if you see the experience on top of it- you found your match…. Thinking that you can put a junior selling millions is surely not the way to go. But if I have a senior that is slacking, because of their experience, I would pick the sales DNA? Why 💯 The Sales DNA Test is 72% predictively valid in picking top-half performers Yep, you read that right. Seven out of ten times, it nails the top hires. More importantly, it NEVER misses a bad hire. Ten out of ten times, it catches the duds! 🎯 So, how do you hire for "The Will to Sell"? Dig deeper and uncover: 1️⃣ Desire to Become a World-Class Sales Professional: Think of someone who wants to be the Usain Bolt of sales. Do they have that burning ambition to be the fastest, the best? 🏅 2️⃣ Willingness to Do the Uncomfortable: Are they ready to embrace the cringe? Whether it's cold calling at 8 AM on a Monday or presenting to a tough crowd, do they have the guts to go beyond their comfort zone? 🥶 3️⃣ Motivational Drivers: What really drives them? Is it the shiny bonus (extrinsic), the personal growth (intrinsic), or the joy of helping others (altruistic)? Find out what lights their fire! Become that so that they actually stay with you Remember, it's not about who can sell the most ice to Eskimos. It’s about who has the relentless drive, the guts to push boundaries, and the right motivation to keep climbing those sales mountains. Next time you're hiring, try to balance it out: experience is a go, but your gut will tell you more… Sorry companies, but you have to pay for the top notch h talent as well…Investing in the right people with the right set of skills is crucial. But you have to pay it to get it!! #SalesHiring #WillToSell #SalesDNA #HighPerformance #SalesSuccess #sorryexperiencematters #paytheseniors #stiphiringjuniorstosustainyourrole #stopcorporatecontrol #buildcutlures #trustyourpeoplw Thank you credits Steve Heroux ★ for the inspiration. Raw, unfiltered, unplugged wisdom is what we need to make changes that last. VassiliaOrfanou.com ludci