Sales Clinic:
First Steps in Hiring
Great Salespeople
By Joe Rickard
Founder of Intellective
Solutions
Joe Rickard is the founder of
Intellective Solutions, (www.intellectives.
com), a printing industry
consulting and training company.
They work with digital printing
organizations to improve their
sales, marketing and operational
effectiveness. Contact Joe at
(845) 753-6156.
Find this article at
PrintingNews.com/12421110
With an expanding economy and rising optimism, many printing companies are adding new
salespeople. Th ere is no greater frustration for printing company owners and sales managers
than to hire a new salesperson, only to see them quickly fail.
Since most printing companies have limited time
and resources to manage the hiring process, there
is little room for mistakes. Even with a robust web
presence, e-commerce capabilities and a sophisticated
digital marketing program, complex printing
solutions do require direct salespeople.
Planning Must Come First
We fi nd most hiring mistakes are caused by inadequate
planning. Both small and large companies
should begin the hiring process by completing the
following steps:
What exactly is the job being offered?
Since there is no “one size fi ts all” salesperson, it is
very important to determine the type of salesperson
required and what specifi c role they will take.
Create a job description with as much detail as
possible. Here are some questions that will help
create a tailored job description:
• Exactly what products and services will
the salesperson be selling and who will they be
calling on?
• Will the salesperson be responsible for new
accounts, existing accounts, or generating leads
through prospecting?
• Does the candidate need printing industry
experience?
• How will the candidate be managed? What is
expected on a day-to-day basis? Will they work
under close supervision or be expected to work
independently?
• How will the salesperson report their activities
to management?
• Will the salesperson be involved with estimating,
proposal development, pricing, project
management, and customer service?
• How much new business and total revenue
will be expected in the fi rst three, six and twelve
months?
Build the perfect salesperson prototype
Listing the important skills, knowledge, attributes
and traits of an ideal salesperson may be
time-consuming, but will save time and energy
when the recruiting process begins. List these
attributes on a spreadsheet in four categories.
1. General Industry Knowledge. Record the
product, industry, customer and technical
knowledge necessary to do the job. For instance,
does the salesperson need printing foundational
knowledge of fi le formats, applications, and substrates?
Does the salesperson need to be knowledgeable
about specifi c markets or customers?
2. Sales Skills Needed. Has the candidate
been successful managing large and complex
accounts? What prospecting or presenting skills
are required? Does the salesperson need to write
complex proposals?
3. Personal Attributes. Oft en overlooked, in the
end, this may be the most important. Some key
attributes to consider are honesty, work ethic,
timeliness, creativity, confi dence, follow-up and
attention to detail.
4. Other Attributes Th at Will be Important.
Th ese could include willingness to travel, social
media literacy, education level, valid driver
license and web researching skills.
Rank the attributes needed to be a high performer
With the four job categories listed, rank each
one as: essential, important or helpful. If the
candidate does not have a specifi c essential skill,
knowledge or personal attribute, is the company
willing to provide the training or mentoring
required? Too oft en employers settle, or discount
essential or important job dimensions required,
and make a bad hire.
Determine how the required attributes
will be measured
Perhaps the most diffi cult part of the process is
determining and gaining agreement among those
interviewing that the candidate does actually
possess the required attributes. Th is is when
candidates are asked probing questions by the
interviewer(s) to determine if and how well they
possess the required attributes. Using examples
from their education or work history, candidates
will need to skillfully and convincingly demonstrate
that they possess the required skills and
behaviors needed to be successful in the position.
Taking the time to execute these specifi c steps
will help minimize the pain and expense of a
poor hiring decision, save time since the employer
will know exactly what they are looking for, and
make the interview process more productive.
Every company, whether large or small, can move
to a path of higher sales goals by managing these
hiring steps successfully.
PrintingNewscom August 2018 Printing News 33
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