#279: How To Find, Hire and Retain a Rockstar Salesperson

Does the thought of hiring a sales rockstar give you a stomachache? If so, you’re not alone. The anxiety can be a result of a huge variety of reasons; brand and reputation risk, paying people what you think is “too much”, designing the right compensation plans, company cash flow issues, and we can’t forget - the thought of dealing with the difficult personalities of the stereotypical “salesperson”. These are all valid reasons to have anxiety, but it doesn’t have to be this way and is not a good excuse to figure out what to do about it.

On today’s show, we have Doug C. Brown on the show who talks about how to find, properly hire and engage top performing sales people. He draws on an extensive background and experience as the CEO of Business Success Factors where he has coached, consulted and advised thousands of people in business, as well as companies like Enterprise-Rent Car, Nationwide, Intuit, Proctor and Gamble, CBS television, and others. He has also served as an independent President of Sales and Training for companies run by Tony Robbins, Chet Holmes, and Russ Whitney.

What You Will Learn

Doug’s view on how sales and marketing work together
Why it’s GOOD if your top sales performer makes more money than anyone else in the company - even you, the owner!
What to do with the salesperson’s resume during the interview process
Why a top performing salesperson wouldn’t be happy with 20 hour weeks and $175,000
How listening to your top sales performers can help you identify your next product or service
The key features a top performing salesperson has and how to identify them in the hiring process
What can make a top performing salesperson frustrated and how to deal with it
Why it’s important to make room for the “mavericks” in your company processes and procedures
Why you shouldn’t have to motivate a salesperson to get up and grind
Why it’s so important to keep consistency in your process of hiring salespeople
What “Will to Sell” is and why it’s such an important characteristic to understand when hiring
How to identify emotional resiliency with a sales person
The measurable characteristics of a great salesperson who is able to close a deal
Why it’s important to NOT hire your top producer as a manager
Doug's strategic angle to find good, confident salespeople

Bio:

Doug C. Brown is a highly acclaimed Sales Revenue Growth Expert and international bestselling author. He has coached, consulted, and advised thousands of people in business as well as companies including Enterprise-Rent Car, Nationwide, Intuit, Proctor and Gamble, CBS television, and others. Doug served as an independent President of Sales and Training for Tony Robbins, Chet Holmes, Russ Whitney, and others.

Doug is a 12-year veteran of the US Army and a proud father of two wonderful daughters. His mission is to help companies grow their sales revenue and to have better performing sales teams. Additionally, he instructs B2B coaches and consultants on how to build a more profitable business.

Quotes:

06:11 - “I’ve succeeded or crashed and burned in about thirty-five companies at this point, helping others as well as myself.” - Doug C. Brown

08:47 - “I like to look at it as, ‘It’s a customer journey from beginning to end.’ So if marketing is starting that journey, the congruency of the messaging needs to be consistent, all the way through.” - Doug C. Brown

10:33 - “Mistakes aren’t a problem as long as we don’t continually focus on trying to fix the problem but if we fix the cause of the mistake then all of a sudden the problem doesn’t exist again.” - Doug C. Brown

13:17 - “You’re dealing with people and people want to have a trust level and confidence in what they’re buying.” - Doug C. Brown

16:08 - “Playing win-win through the process will never hurt somebody. It will only enhance.” - Doug C. Brown

21:10 - “I like to use sales specific assessments as well. Things that will be able to measure sales personality and sales DNA as well. A lot of people call themselves a hunter but they don’t know how to hunt.” - Doug C. Brown

21:45 - “All resumes are embellished upon. They are a bunch of lies.” - Doug C. Brown

32:45 - “If [sales people] do it [during the interview], they will definitely do it in the field.” - Doug C. Brown

35:14 - “The reality is that all of this can be measured, it can be quantified, especially if we have a systematic process for doing it. And you can save yourself a bunch of time if you have the system set up.” - Doug C. Brown

39:00 - “If you want to ruin two positions, hire your top producer and make them your manager.” - Doug C. Brown

46:20 - “A top producer, like yourself, gets up every single day and says, ‘I gotta go do this.’” - Doug C. Brown

47:05 - “A top producer does two things. One, always desiring to get up and do something. Two, never being satisfied with their current level of production.” - Doug C. Brown