The document discusses the costs associated with mis-hires in sales, highlighting that an average mis-hire costs $1,323,000. It provides insights on interviewing techniques, candidate scoring, and essential components such as drive, competitiveness, and optimism. The document also lists recommended reading materials for better hiring practices in sales.

1. Kevin Gaither
VP of Inside Sales, uSamp
President, Los Angeles
Chapter of AA-ISP
@kevinsgaither
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2. Costs of Mis-Hires
Avg Base Avg Mis-Hire Cost of Mis-Hire
Avg Team Size* Salary** Rate*** Multiple****
14 $63,000 50% 3 6
Cost of Mis-Hires
$1,323,000 $2,646,000
*Phone Works 2010 Inside Sales Compensation Study
** Bridge Group 2010 Inside Sales Metrics and Compensation Study
*** Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again, Dr. Chris Croner
****Topgrading for Sales, Dr. Brad Smart
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3. Agenda
• Begin with the End in Mind – The Benchmark
• Drive! – Components and Sample Questions
• 6 Tips on Interviewing
• Candidate Scoring
• Suggested Reading List
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4. The Salesperson Benchmark
• Do Not Try to “If the job could talk, it would clearly define
the knowledge, hard skills, people skills,
Clone Your Top behavior and culture needed for superior
Performer! performance. “ – Bill Brooks, The Brooks Group
• Begin with the End
in Mind
• Brainstorm &
Collaborate
• Hone & Define
• Develop Your
Questions
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5. The Components of Drive?
• Need for Achievement
– The intense desire to attain excellence and accomplish
challenging goals, found in athletes like Tiger Woods.
• Competitiveness
– The unquenchable thirst to outperform one's
peers, and win the customer over to your point of
view, found in athletes like Michael Jordan
• Optimism
– The certainty and resiliency that will not be
denied, found in athletes like Lance Armstrong.
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6. Sample Qs – Need for Achievement
• What kinds of sacrifices have you had to make to be successful? Looking for substantial past
sacrifices for success at work (time, other pursuits, etc).
• Tell me about a few times where you exceeded expectations or went beyond the call of duty?
• How do you know when you’ve truly succeeded? (Is tough on self in judging accomplishments)
• What’s the toughest goal you’ve ever set for yourself? How do you plan to top it? (has
accomplished a very challenging work goal. Has a plan to top it).
• What is the hardest you’ve ever worked to succeed in your job? How often do situations call for
that kind of effort? How do you feel about having to work that hard? (Has a story about exerting a
tremendous effort leading to a major accomplishment. Has done so regularly. Feels that such
effort is simply par for the course).
• What do you feel driven to prove? (motivated to prove excellence. Wants to be the best or can
rebound from any set back)
• Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of? What about it makes you proud? (takes
pride in hard work, surpassing others or remaining persistent)
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7. Sample Qs - Competitiveness
• When was the last time you were competitive?
Another time? (Has more than one recent example
from work, home, sports)
• Where do you rank on the sales team? May I have
permission to contact your boss to ask about your
rank? (consistently ranks at or near the top of the sales
team and gives permission to verify)
• How would your manager rank your competitiveness
compared to your peers? What makes your manager
see you as competitive? (Manager ranks candidate as
among most competitive)
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8. Sample Qs - Optimism
• Think back to the last time you lost a deal, what did you do to
recover (quickly put the situation in perspective and bounced back
by working on another sale)
• Tell me about a time when you persisted and others gave up. (Look
for specifics. If you get a snow job or an answer that lacks specifics
ask “Tell me about another time”)
• Describe a sale where your persistence really paid off. Another
time. (look for a history of substantial effort to secure a new
customer)
• Tell me about a sale that went wrong. What did you attribute this
to? (Attributes a problem to a temporary unusual situation out of
own control)
• When was the last time a customer got under your skin (rarely gets
upset by customers)
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9. Interviewing Tips
• Conduct a Structured Interview – Don’t Wing It!
• Watch out for “We” or “You” references
• Dig for Gold
• Tell me more, Tell me another time, Ask for
details, When, Where, Who
• Threat of Reference Check
• What’s the name of your current boss?
• When I speak with (boss name), how will she rank your
competitiveness when compared to your peers
• Fly On the Wall
• “Pretend I’m a fly on the wall in your cubicle….what would I see?”
• Encourage Them/Coach Them
• That’s the exact kind of story I’m looking for. Thank you.
• John, I’m looking for a specific story here, a real story…
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10. Candidate Scoring
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11. Suggested Reading
• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
by Jim Collins
• Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and
Keeping the Best People by Ph.D., Bradford D. Smart
• Topgrading for Sales: World-Class Methods to Interview, Hire, and Coach
Top Sales Representatives by Ph.D., Bradford D. Smart and Greg Alexander
• Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again: Selecting Candidates Who Are
Absolutely Driven to Succeed by Dr. Chris Croner and Richard Abraham
• The Smart Interviewer by Bradford D. Smart
• Never be Lied to Again by David J Lieberman
• What Every Body is Saying by Joe Navarro
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