Tim Grassin’s Post

After managing multiple 30-member sales teams... Here are two of the biggest lessons I learned:

One of the biggest reasons that slows down a company’s growth is the large number of mediocre sales reps working on highly potential deals. From my perspective, there are several reasons why this is happening: 1️⃣ Mediocre sales leaders hire mediocre sales reps. 2️⃣ Sales leaders rely on the recruitment departments to find A-players. 3️⃣ Sales leaders can't objectively spot underperforming sales reps. 4️⃣ Sales leaders just fear firing mediocre sales reps. Let's discuss this in greater detail. 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐬. It happens everywhere. Mediocre sales leaders don’t know how to hire A-players. Mediocre sales leaders are afraid to hire someone who can potentially outpace them. 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐀-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬. Very often, sales leaders are so overwhelmed with their current activities and deals that they can’t dedicate enough time to searching for talent. Sometimes, they don’t understand that hiring top sales reps is their direct responsibility. 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐬. The easiest way for most sales leaders to gauge performance is by closed revenue. This is important, no doubt. However, this one metric can’t shed light on different nuances. I’m sure sales leaders should use what are called performance passports (my term) for employees to compare their efficiency. Imagine, you can easily compare sales reps by creating for each employee their performance card, including such metrics as: ▪ Closed Revenue, ▪ Close Rates, ▪ Win Rates, ▪ Sales Velocity, ▪ Average Deal Size, ▪ Average Sales Cycle Length, ▪ SQL to Opportunity Conversion Rates, ▪ and Conversions by Pipeline Stages. Having such cards can help sales leaders spot weak employees in a more effective way. 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐬. 'If I fire them, who is going to work on those deals?' It’s a typical fear and a mistake I made myself. My answer will be: the best reps will eagerly work on those deals. What are other reasons why many companies keep B- or even C-players on their teams ❓ #b2bsales #salesperformance #salesoperations #salesleader

When you're hiring sales leaders, here something that confident hiring managers do that insecure hiring managers do not. I used to think I needed to be the smartest person in the room. I was wrong. What I learned (the hard way) is that when you're building your sales team, ✅ it's way better to hire people who are better than you—and then learning from them. Simple, right? But poor sales leaders can’t do it. Why? Ego. Insecurity. Control. Here’s where I see sales leaders getting stuck: Insecurity – It's hard to admit when someone’s more skilled than you. You think it makes you look weak. Control – Hiring weaker talent feels safe, but this will hinder your growth because, well, you hired weak talent. Fear of being challenged – A-players will call you out, but you’ll be better for it. B/C-players won't have the guts to call you out. At one of my last companies, I saw this leader hire nothing but yes-men/yes-women who weren't that talented and were too afraid to manage up to the leader. The leader eventually was "redeployed." 👍 When you hire people who push you and challenge you, your team will grow even faster. It's also really cool to be playing the game with people who make you think differently about what you're trying to accomplish. It's super stimulating. ✴️ Bottom line: always look to be up-leveling your team by hiring people who are way better than you. It sounds counter-intuitive to your career but trust me, it will actually HELP your career when you can remove your ego and spot that kind of talent. PS: Want to figure out if your new Head of Sales is going to work out or not? Check out my free guide: https://lnkd.in/gSCChePg

Ever notice that it only takes 1 bad sales hire to send your sales team into a tailspin? I’ve seen it happen. One crappy salesperson can drag down productivity, sour the culture, and drain the energy of even your top performers. The cost is massive. On the flip side, one exceptional sales hire can change everything. They raise the bar, inspire their peers, and create unstoppable momentum. The impact is immeasurable. So, what’s the lesson? 👉 I've learned to be patient and intentional in my salesperson hiring process. ⛔ Don’t rush to fill a seat. I’ve learned that it’s far better to wait for the right fit than to settle for someone who isn’t. 🔥 But when you realize you’ve made a mistake, act quickly. Don’t let a poor fit linger and fester. Hiring is one of the most critical decisions we make as sales leaders. The difference between a lousy hire and a great one is the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

7 things I wish I knew as a new Sales Leader: 1. You don't need to know everything Know where you can get answers. Continually educate yourself. Admit when you don't know something (don't BS your salespeople). 2. Recognition goes a long way Sounds obvious but many sales leaders forget the positive impact a kind word or hand-written note can have on a salesperson. 3. Holding salespeople accountable is not micromanagement Set expectations of behavior and performance in advance, then hold your reps accountable. HOW you do this is also important. Don't be a jerk. 4. Better to start tight, then get loose Change is hard. So it's better to have tighter policies at first and then loosen them over time than have loose policies and have to tighten them up. 5. Your salespeople are not your friends Many of you disagree with me. When you're managing salespeople, nothing good can come from being friends with them. Nothing but downside. 6. Explain the why Anytime you're making a change, go overboard, in detail, to explain the why and address questions. "Just do it" doesn't work when leading modern sales teams. 7. Hiring is the most important leadership skill So much becomes much easier when you put the right butts in the seat on your team. Educate yourself. Read a book. Develop a thorough but quick hiring process. I'm happy with how my sales leadership career has turned out but I sure wish somebody would have told me these 7 things long ago. I could have avoided a lot of pain. 😡 What am I missing?

It's hard to overstate the importance of hiring successful salespeople. To attract and hire successful sales reps is an enormous competitive advantage. Sales hiring is your chance to pull away from the pack. A-players often have these traits: - Resourcefulness - Smarts - Competitiveness - Coachability - Persistence - Termination - Likeability - Leadership skills - Positivity if you're able to find and hire intelligent, self-directed individuals, the results can be magical. 🎯🌟

Sales Leaders: STOP focusing on hiring the best sales reps (it's a waste of time). The real goldmine? Training the reps you already have to smash their quotas. Listen... How likely are you to find that "perfect" rep who solves all your problems? You won't. Because they don't exist. Or they are extremely rare. The real opportunity? It's sitting right in front of you. Your current team has untapped potential waiting to be unleashed. Here's what most leaders miss: Even top performers hit a ceiling without proper coaching. But guess what? AI is becoming the great equalizer in sales. It gives your existing reps the tools to perform like veterans. The math is simple: Training current reps costs LESS than the constant cycle of hiring and turnover. Plus, reps who receive coaching stay longer. Want better results? Stop searching for unicorns. Start investing in the talent you already have. And watch what happens.

Transform your sales team from underperforming to exceeding targets 🚀. Discover how strategic hiring and culture change can boost your sales. https://lnkd.in/epbCwgrU #salesteam #strategichiring #salesleadership

If you are hired by a small company, look at the background of the CEO. If you are a salesperson, it matters that the CEO is a former sales person and is running a "sales led" business. All organizations have "potential" to make money. The speed, drive and focus to generate revenue that is built around the sales team in a sales led organization is like no other. For starters, success and accountability will be highly driven by measurable KPI's. As a sales person, that matters greatly. The competitive advantage derived from a sales led environment is not negligible either where the organization will be highly responsive to customer changing needs, again, enabling the sales person to be competitive in most of their opportunities. As a strong salesperson, this would be something you'd need to understand before engaging with your new home, new employer. You do research on every client you call on to understand what motivates them, what are some of the challenges they face day to day to see how and if you can help them. The same goes here. If there is no real sales experience within the leadership team, make sure you understand how they plan to enable you to be successful. Otherwise, it might be a short stop in a long career of success. #sales #salesrecruiting #saleshiring #salesleadership #salescoaching

The Power of Hiring Happy People for Sales Teams Throughout my career spanning over 30 years, I've had the privilege of building and leading numerous sales teams. One fundamental lesson I've learned is the importance of recruiting individuals based on their personality and attitude, rather than solely on their technical skills or experience. In a company I worked 16 years for.across the globe, we honed in on three key characteristics when hiring for our sales teams: cool, worldly, and passionate. These traits formed the foundation of our recruitment process, with little consideration given to anything else. And you know what? It worked wonders. We prioritized a winning attitude above all else. Why? Because attitude is contagious. When you have a team filled with individuals who exude positivity and enthusiasm, it creates a ripple effect that energizes the entire organization. Sales is as much about mindset as it is about strategy, and having a team of happy, motivated individuals can make all the difference. But it wasn't just about being positive; it was about finding that "something special" factor in each candidate. We looked for individuals who brought their unique blend of skills, experiences, and perspectives to the table. This diversity of thought and background not only enriched our teams but also allowed us to better connect with a wide range of customers. The result? Teams whose energy was simply out of this world. They didn't just meet their targets; they exceeded them. They didn't just sell products; they built relationships. And most importantly, they didn't just work together; they laughed, learned, and grew together. Work never felt like work but hanging out. So to all those in the hiring seat, I urge you to prioritize personality and attitude when building your sales teams. Look for individuals who embody positivity, passion, and that indescribable spark. Because when you hire happy people, you're not just building a team; you're creating a culture of success. #Leadership #Sales #Teams #Loveyourteam