How to Build a Success Profile for New Sales Hires

Finding the perfect sales hire is a lot of work. Learn how John Kaplan of Force Management recommends  streamlining the process by building success profiles.

When it comes to sales hiring, many mangers may be basing their decisions too closely on how candidates have succeeded elsewhere, when they should be focusing on identifying strong indicators of success on their own teams. Past performance in a different context almost always comes with caveats, and as John Kaplan, Managing Partner at sales strategy consultant firm Force Management, explains, managers are better off determining exactly what it takes to be successful at their own companies, isolating the individual competencies and behaviors of their own top performers, and then looking for those things in new candidates.
The easiest way to do it? By building success profiles for each of your sales roles. Not only will having them documented help you make more effective hires that yield more impact and better results, they’ll help you do so more consistently as you scale.
To learn more about how to build a great success profile for new sales hires, watch the video below.

How to Build a Success Profile for New Sales Hires

Key Points

• Two key components of a success profile: 1) Competencies: the attributes of success in a particular sales role; 2) Success behaviors: those attributes in action.
• Identify the reliable indicators of success at your company: The best thing you can do is look within your own company and highlight the bright spots. Really dig into the attributes those people have and ask yourself what do those attributes look like in action. Then build out a profile of the competencies and behaviors that can serve as predictors of success at your company.
• Don’t get tempted by “all-stars” who don’t fit your profile: Just remember, sometimes the “best talent available” isn’t the best available for you. Resist the urge to roll the dice and stay true to your profile.

You Don’t Have Time for Bad Hires

That’s why you need to get your interviewing down to a science. Learn how in our free eBook guide:

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Photo by: Pete O’Shea