Geoff Alexander over at Geoff Alexander & Company is today's guest blogger. He is kindly sharing an excellent post on "How to hire a superstar inside salesperson".

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Even though my specialty is putting together effective inside sales training courses, one of the most frequent questions I get through my website is "How do I hire a superstar inside sales person?" I could write 10 blog posts on this, but a recent job posting crossed my desk, generated by Marc Cook, Director of Sales at 8x8 Inc., and it represents a terrific way of ensuring that a hiring manager knows exactly what he or she is getting, in advance of the interview. Many very good reps are looking for telesales jobs these days, and if you're one of them, what follows may be of interest.

What did Marc Cook do that pushed him above the hiring techniques bar?
He posted his job posting on CraigsList and provided a scenario in which prospective telesales reps had to call him, and, armed with company data that Marc gave them, sell him on his technology!

I'm listing his entire ad here verbatim, because I like the way he positions his company and the job requirements, benefits, and pay.
Many companies are posting job ads online without even telling the prospective rep the name of the company, and Marc obviously believes in full disclosure. I interviewed Marc about the efficacy of this approach, and he told me that this technique provided him with less of an attrition rate than referrals (15% vs. 50%), and that those hired through this manner have 15% better performance than reps who were directly referred. Are there better ways to post an inside sales job and hire a rep from the action required in the posting? If so, I haven't seen them. And no, Marc's not my customer, so this is an objective perspective. Without any further commentary, here's Marc Cook's ad. While reading it, ask yourself if a similar approach would work for hiring at your company:

(Geoff here again) OK, there you have it. Thought-provoking, isn't it? If you're an inside sales manager or director, I'd recommend adding this to your Best Management Playbook. OK, let's hear from you managers out there. What do you think of this approach?

I have shared my thoughts on several occasions on the characteristics of a great Inside Sales Rep.  Most recently in Top 10 Competencies for Inside Sales Reps.

Garth Moulton of Jigsaw recently wrote on the very same subject: Profiling the Perfect Inside Sales Person-Part One.  What follows is his Myth #2.

There is no doubt that Inside Sales has to be an integral part of every technology company's strategy - see IDC's Sales Barometer and Top Ten Predictions for more on why. 

Our 2009 Inside Sales Metrics & Compensation Study shows that the average level of experience when hiring an Inside Rep is 2.8 years.

Companies are hiring experienced Reps who have been individual contributors and successfully generated revenue for previous employers. 

So, how do you make a good hire? To hire successfully, it is imperative that in the hiring process you determine:

• Similar functional experience
  Do the functions they performed previously match the functions you would like them to focus on now?  For instance: if you are hiring a Rep to generate new business revenue, you may not want to hire a Rep whose sole experience was selling maintenance into a customer base. 
  
  
• Similar strategy experience
  If you are building a team that is focused on selling to the SMB space, you would be ahead of the curve to hire Reps that have sold into that space before.  They would understand the buying cycle of the space and be more attuned to the shorter sales cycles and how to effectively move a prospect through the sales process.
  
  
• Similar activity experience
  Finally, will the role be primarily inbound or outbound focused?  Make sure to probe for similarities in overall go-to-market strategies.  If your organization will be required to do outbound calling as well as inbound inquiry conversion, make sure that your candidate has that kind of experience under their belt.  Inbound Reps sometimes struggle with altering their style and process to accommodate outbound cold calling.  You just need to identify the issue and get it on the table during the interview process and not at the end of a disappointing quarter!

So, thanks for listening and feel free to share your golden rules of hiring.  Happy Selling!

Introduction:  This is the 2nd post in the series "How to Successfully Build an Inside Sales Team in Technology Companies". 

Part 1 - Your Inside Sales Strategy

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When building a new team from the ground up, or even expanding your current team, here are 6 best practices for hiring that will ensure success.

1. Build out a Rep Profile that details the core competencies of the perfect candidate. Take the time to think through personality traits, required past experienceand desired skills. For a rule of thumb, create 4 bullets for each of the 3 categories. Documenting your thoughts will force you to think through the attributes of the ideal candidate and can later be converted into your job description. 
   
   Sample:
   Personality: Detail oriented, articulate, happy as an individual contributor, not deterred by change
   Past Experience: Carried individual quota of over $600K, sold software in the SMB space, minimum 2 year stay at all previous jobs, 3rd job out of college
   Skills: Understands SaaS, comfortable with intensive use of CRM, uses the phone as primary communication vehicle, great writing skills
   
   
2. When building a new group, don't skimp on compensation. Find out industry standards and set your target incomes at that level or a tad higher. In this very competitive market, trying to save $20K now will cost you in the long run. We typically suggest you over-hire (at least your first 2 Reps) in terms of skills and compensation - this will pay off in spades for you down the road.
   
   
3. Start to outline the sales process as soon as possible. You should document the sales process whether Reps will be responsible for qualifying leads or closing business. Then, when interviewing, you can ask about their past experience and compare it to your anticipated process.
   
   For example: if you assume your process will include technical demos but the Rep you are interviewing has no experience with presenting that type of information to prospects, are they really a good fit?
   
   
4. Right from the get-go, think about career path. Inside Sales Reps often leave a company because there is no room for growth. Think through the logical next step for them in your organization and communicate your expectations as to the timeframe and qualifications for promotion. This will differentiate you in a competitive hiring market.
   
   
5. Always conduct your first interview over the phone. You want to hear how articulate they are, how they think on their feet, their speech patterns, etc. You also want to gain an understanding for their command of grammar and vocabulary.
   
   You should prepare for this interview by creating a documented set of questions that covers: duties of last positions, sales skills, their past impressions of management and peers and a wish list for moving forward, long term career objectives, etc. Interviewing over the phone will allow you to focus on these traits as you will not be distracted by body language or appearance.
   
   
6. Create a post interview checklist. There will be multiple people involved in the interview process and you want feedback based on skill sets and not personal likes or dislikes.
   
   Creating a skill set checklist will allow your team to prepare for the interview as well as deliver information back to you that is both consistent and can be used to rate candidates against each other. You can download a FREE Candidate Evaluation Sheet (Microsoft Word file) here.

Hiring decisions are the most important decisions you will make.  Invest the time in executing the 6 rules above and you will be well on your way to building a successful team!

We recently posted an article on Sales Interview Preparation: Candidate Side.  Now I would like to talk about the other side of the coin and offer "5 Rules" for interviewing Inside Sales candidates.

Making a hiring mistake is extremely costly. Consider:

• Dollars in terms of recruitment expense
• Lost revenue in uncovered territories
• Demotivation for rest of the team

We have to get better at identifying the key skills for our teams and then evaluating candidates against those skills.  Here are some rules of thumb:

1. Always do your first interview over the phone. You don't care what the person looks like but you do care about their ability to clearly articulate their thought process. Focus on their use of proper grammar, their ability to think on their feet and their speech patterns.
   
   
2. Hire someone who has the experience to sell what you sell. This is true even when you are hiring Inside Reps to do pipeline development. If you sell a service, hire someone who has sold a service before. If you sell a $150K solution, hire someone who has sold an enterprise solution before. Don't make the mistake of thinking "they are young and eager, they will figure it out." They will eventually but in the meantime you are not going to get the productivity you need to make your numbers.
   
   
3. Have a well defined interview process. If you are going to have the candidate interview with multiple people, have a process for collecting feedback. Create a feedback sheet that details the key skills you are looking for and have each interviewee rate the candidate on a scale of 1 to 4. This will take emotion out of the equation and give you a rating system to compare each candidate you interview against others.
   
   
4. Ask the candidate to send you an email recapping their impressions of the interview process. The objective here is twofold. First, you may uncover some information about them or your own process that you were unaware of. Second, you get to evaluate their writing skills. This is so important! Bad grammar and punctuation are okay when text messaging but not when you are trying to communicate your value proposition!
   
   
5. Ask to see last year's W2. Did you ever get a resume that did not say the candidate was 110% of quota? The whole world is 110% of quota! You know what their target income was at their last job so seeing the W2 gives you a chance to determine if in fact they did over achieve. If it does not substantiate that fact, then you have a bigger issue - one of honesty. PS - If you are uncomfortable asking for the document ask your recruiter or HR person to do it for you.

We hope you find this information useful.  Please feel free to post other ideas you have on identifying "A" players!

Todya's guest blogger, Rose Mauriello, is the President and Founder or RRM Staffing a Boston based contingency search firm that specializes in Inside Sales candidates. Here Rose shares her counsel on how an ISR should effectively prepare for an interview.
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Preparing for a Sales Job Interview:
The most important step in the process is that the candidate takes the time to do their homework.

Company homework:

• Research the company by thoroughly reviewing their website
• Read recent press releases
• Download a product demo and participate in a webinar (if possible)
• Be ready to articulate the company's value proposition
• Research the industry
• Learn who the competitors are and what differentiates them from the company you are meeting with
• Find out who you will be meeting with in advance and read their biographies. Look them up on LinkedIn and Google.

Personal homework:

• Know your strengths and be able to articulate them
• In practicing your responses to standard interview questions, make sure to include concrete examples of what you have done in the past that demonstrates your skills, experience and capabilities
• Know all of the details (you can bring a "cheat sheet" with you) on your past quota numbers and your actual performance as well as specifics on all relevant metrics
• Keep a list of key customers you have sold to and notes about the sales process for each situation

Anticipate and prepare for typical questions that you will be asked such as:

• "Tell me about yourself".
• "Why are you considering leaving your current position"?
• "Tell me about a competitive sales situation you were involved with and what you did to win the deal".
• "Who do you sell to? What is your sales cycle and average deal size?"
• "Tell me how you prospect to build the pipeline?"
• "How do you organize your day? Tell me about what you do from the time you arrive at work until you leave".
• "What are your strengths and weaknesses"?
• "Why are you interested in our company"?
• "Where do you see yourself in five years"?

Plan on asking several key questions such as:

• "What is the greatest challenge offered by this position?"
• "How is success defined for this position?"
• "How many sales reps are currently exceeding quota?"
• "What are the greatest challenges your company faces?"
• "What are some potential career paths within your company?"

During initial interviews it is generally not a good idea to ask about compensation and benefits. You want the company to be sold on you before getting to this point.

Be sure to close at the end of the interview. The best way to do this is to ask: "Do you have any concerns about my qualifications for this position"? This gives you the chance to overcome any potential objections that you can uncover about your candidacy.

Next step is to let the interviewer know that you are very interested in the position and company. Find out what the next steps are and reiterate your strong interest in taking that next step.

Look your best. Even if the company is "business casual", dress professionally as you would for a customer meeting. Wear conservative, but current clothing, shoes, etc. Do not wear overpowering cologne/perfume. Know the location/directions and plan on arriving at least 15 minutes early. Bring a notebook and pen - taking notes definitely shows interest and commitment. Get business cards from each person you meet with. Within 24 hours, send meaningful thank you e-mails that reiterate your interest and why you would be the best person to hire.

Good Luck!

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