Moving into my 25th year running a company of for-hire senior level Door Openers®, we’ve learned a thing or two about hiring the right salespeople. Most business leaders want to hire hunters. What they don’t know is that not all hunters were created equally.
Year end is always a time for reflection. What has worked and what has not. Many companies come to the realization that their salesforce needs a boost of new energy. And as they move into the new year, it’s these companies that find themselves on the hunt… for hunters. In this business, we often hear and seek out Closers. What is not often discussed are the Openers. The reality is that some hunters are great at going on meetings and closing sales while others are great at opening doors. In my experience, those that are great at both, the unicorns, are few and far between. If your company needs one type of hunter and interviews for the other, the result can be an expensive mis-hire.
This explains why so many hunters fail in new sales roles… they weren’t the right kind of hunter for the job.
To become better at hiring the right hunters that will get you in the door with your exact right targets, you will need to know a few key secrets. A spot-on job description focusing on pinpointing sellers who are intuitively great and experienced at initiating relationships as well as asking strategic interview questions are the ticket.
A few key questions to ask include:
- Tell me about a time you grew a territory from scratch. What challenges did you face and how did you succeed?
- What’s your approach to starting relationships with new prospects? How do you engage them in conversation and pique curiosity?
- What do you love about sales?
- If a prospect’s assistant blocked you from a decision maker, what would you do?
- If a prospect says, “I am going to continue to work with my current vendor, thanks anyway,” what do you do next?
- If a prospect has not responded to you via email or voicemail after 5-6 touch points, how do you get in anyway?
- When do you give up on a prospect?
Including these questions (and knowing what to listen for) will help you be more successful in hiring the right hunters for the coming year.
Happy hunting!
If your team of hunters are exceptional Closers, but could use help filling their pipeline, consider using Kopp Consulting’s team of highly skilled, senior level Door Openers® to secure initial meetings with executive level decision makers. Together our Door Openers® and your Closers will be the perfect combination of Hunters!