Issue 1 - August 6th, 2007

Greetings! The process is well underway to make Sales Dodo, LLC a powerhouse in the sales consulting and training world.

My sincere thanks to those of you who have already purchased my book. I hope you have enjoyed it. Please provide reviews on Amazon. It is much appreciated. For those of you who have not, fear not! You can still purchase it by clicking on the link near the cover of the book below.

In this issue, I share with you the first of a multi-part series on the sales marriage. This first part is for employers to help them make better sales hires. Later parts will turn the tables on sales people to help them find the right sales home. Enjoy the read!

If you haven't visited www.salesdodo.com, stop by. There is great information to help your sales career today with more to come.

Bests,

-Lee

The Sales Marriage (part 1)
By Lee B. Salz

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of CEOs about their sales recruitment needs. To make a point, I mentioned to them that a friend of mine, named Willie McMoney, had heard that I was speaking to this group and asked that I mention him to see if I could find him a new sales home. I shared Willie's background with the group. Willie has a Bachelor's Degree from a well-respected institution, has a great look, has been selling for over ten years for household name companies that offer low-price products, and has exceeded quota each of the last three years. With that, I asked the group who wanted to hire Willie? Most raised their hands in earnest.

I shared with the group that there was a little more information to share before a decision could be finalized. That information was the profile of their company which included the following attributes: they were a start-up with no name recognition in the marketplace, positioned as a high value/high price provider, and required customization for each client. I asked the group again about hiring Wille. The light bulbs started going off for the group. They started to recognize that finding a great sales person is not a one-dimensional exercise. Rather, it requires that the company look within to determine what it takes for someone to be a great sales person in their environment. The term "great" is what is at issue here. Willie is a great sales person. He has the credentials to prove it, but the question is whether Willie will succeed in your company or not?

Think about this. Companies spend thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, defining their ideal client. They hire firms to help them analyze the approach and identify the audience and how to reach them. When I asked this group to share with me the attributes of their ideal client, I felt like the host of a game show. The group came to life and they were shouting out their answers non-stop. I strategically interrupted them and asked them to share with me the attributes of their ideal sales person. After hearing the deafening sound of crickets chirping, I shared what I often heard as attributes of this individual: someone who is very strategic, solution-oriented, sells on value, experienced, and a strong seller. The group felt relieved as they thought I had let them off the hook. Not so fast! I asked them how they can hire talent to match that scope. How can recruiters translate that criteria into a project whereby they can laser-focus their approach and produce the right candidates? The feeling of relief disappeared from the room and was replaced by angst.

When hiring sales people, it is the business equivalent of formulating a marriage, a sales marriage, that is. Appearance may be enough to initiate the relationship, but without deep commonality of needs and values, the future of the marriage is bleak. Why does that matter? The expense of sales turnover is truly immeasurable. Sure, you can measure cost of turnover, recruitment, or training. But, how do you place a value on the damage caused by sending the sales person of the day into the same accounts over and over again? "Hi, I'm Ben this week's sales person representing Widgets We Make. I'm here to help with your needs."

In the next issue, we'll address how to formulate the ideal sales person profile.

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