According to Peak Sales Recruiting, the cost of adding the wrong salesperson to your team can total nearly seven times the annual salary for the position. Yikes!
How can sales leaders mitigate the danger of making an unwise hiring investment? One of the best ways to find out what’s really behind a stellar resume and great interview skills is to talk with people the rep has actually worked for or with.
That’s why some companies are now using confidential electronic surveys to gather feedback on candidates from multiple sources (such as managers, peers, and direct reports).
Many sales leaders might have felt burned in the past by glowing recommendations that turned out to be pie-in-the-sky endorsements, but the confidential nature of such surveys inspires candid feedback, say the folks at SkillSurvey. They have long believed that traditional phone reference checks are outmoded and insufficient to give sales managers a truly objective look at a candidate’s past performance.
Their automated survey is designed to provide a “360-degree” assessment of a candidate’s behaviors, skills and developmental needs — and the confidential request for feedback works: more than 85 percent of references respond to a reference request when the request guarantees anonymity.
When soliciting feedback from references, SkillSurvey asks about a candidate’s:
- Ability to consistently meet or exceed sales goals.
- Persistence when faced with objections or other setbacks.
- Competencies in managing post-sale relationships.
- Determination in locating qualified sales opportunities.
- Ability to leverage technology (like CRM) for productivity.
To learn more about how how to efficiently and accurately assess potential sales hires for your team, join us on Wednesday, October 25 (2-3 PM Eastern) for a live Webinar, “How to Avoid the High Cost of a Bad Sales Hire.” Selling Power founder Gerhard Gschwandtner will be hosting, and panelist Jack Kramer, Vice President of Field Operations at SkillSurvey, will be sharing insight and expert tips.