Hiring your team whether to replace or add is one of the most important steps of a sales manager. To reduce the risk there are some key steps that can result in a successful hire.
- Take the time to put together a hiring process. Identify questions ahead of time and score the applicant on their answers. This makes sure that you ask the same questions for every applicant. Otherwise you might be comparing “apples or oranges” or miss a key question that may have swayed you a different way.
- Try to look past personality. It is important to find someone you “like” but doesn’t mean they are a good fit. Look deeper than just that initial impression. Some candidates are really good at interviewing and others need a bit of time to warm to the situation.
- Have someone from the existing team also interview to help get buy-in. Trust your gut if your existing team member’s feedback is negative. They may feel threatened or competitive with the individual. Rotate who is assigned to assist with interviews so everyone gets an opportunity. Make that person their peer coach when you hire. They will want them to succeed.
- Think outside the obvious box. Having variety on your team is good. If all members of the team are the same personality profile you will magnify both their strengths and weaknesses. A great team is balanced. Think of the big picture when hiring. Ask yourself what skill is missing and how that new employee can help jump start getting your team to the next level.
- Ensure that you have a rock solid onboarding/training plan in place. Many new hires fail during the first 90 days. You need to make sure that they feel welcomed and that legacy employees share the tribal knowledge. If you have built a successful team they should welcome and assist new individuals.