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Hiring and managing sales guys

by Michael Nguyen
12 replies
Hi there,

I'm nearly at the stage in my business that I may need to hire sales guys. I just need confirmation.

Does one need to be good at sales in the first place to know how to hire / manage sales guys?

E.g if I want to hire a telemarketer, then I must be a good telemarketer myself. Practice what you preach right? I think I answered my own question.
#guys #hiring #managing #sales
  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    I'm positive you'll get conflicting opinions on this but I do believe that you need to be somewhat 'good' at sales in order to hire and manage them.

    In my opinion, the best way to hire salespeople is to hire people with no sales experience and train them the way you want.

    If you hire an experienced salesperson, they're going to come with a lot of drama, they'll want lots of money, and sooner or later they'll probably stop respecting you because you don't sell but want to tell them what to do. If you let them run free, I can almost guarantee disaster.

    Hiring them from scratch means you'll be looking for hardworking, motivated, positive go-getters who you can train to do things exactly the way you want. This is by far the best way to do things. If an experienced salesperson comes to me I almost always turn them away immediately.
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    • Profile picture of the author thet
      Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

      I'm positive you'll get conflicting opinions on this but I do believe that you need to be somewhat 'good' at sales in order to hire and manage them.

      In my opinion, the best way to hire salespeople is to hire people with no sales experience and train them the way you want.

      If you hire an experienced salesperson, they're going to come with a lot of drama, they'll want lots of money, and sooner or later they'll probably stop respecting you because you don't sell but want to tell them what to do. If you let them run free, I can almost guarantee disaster.

      Hiring them from scratch means you'll be looking for hardworking, motivated, positive go-getters who you can train to do things exactly the way you want. This is by far the best way to do things. If an experienced salesperson comes to me I almost always turn them away immediately.
      You like untrained monkeys you can use like puppets. I understand why you wouldn't want a professional
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      • Profile picture of the author bob ross
        Originally Posted by thet View Post

        You like untrained monkeys you can use like puppets. I understand why you wouldn't want a professional
        Give me an untrained but highly motivated, driven, and hungry individual any day over a seasoned professional.
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        • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
          Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

          Give me an untrained but highly motivated, driven, and hungry individual any day over a seasoned professional.
          Be honest..why should we listen to someone who has successfully hired and trained salespeople for years?


          Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

          Tiger Woods has and has had multiple golf coaches. None of them are as good as he is at the game. But each one knew how to make him better.
          .

          And they were all originally golfers. None of them were chefs, that decided one day to coach Tiger Woods on golf.


          Everyone seeing a pattern here?
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    Yes, because you'll lose money trying to train them and you'll have no clue why it works or doesn't work. And as bob said, if you bring in someone experienced and they see you can't sell, they won't respect you one iota.
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  • Profile picture of the author origin
    Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen View Post

    Hi there,

    Does one need to be good at sales in the first place to know how to hire / manage sales guys?
    No, you do not have to be good at sales, you have to be good at hiring. As a business owner / manager you cannot be an "expert" at everything and "do everything". Do you need to be an accountant to be able to hire an accountant? That is a business function that you need and you are not 'expected' to be an expert in it before you hire someone.

    Same with hiring a sales manager / sale guys. It helps if you understand the basics of it, but no, you do not have to be "good" at it. You have to be good at hiring the RIGHT person and good at managing them. Then you "should" not have any problems. If you know when the difference in whether they are working / not working for you then you do not need to be "good at sales"
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  • Profile picture of the author thet
    Oh by the way. I am terrible at programming but as a recruiter, I know how to find a good programmer.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joel
      Here is a 'key' salesperson hiring truism .... attitude/persistence is much more important than sales experience. It is much easier to teach product knowlege than attitude/persistance.

      Joel
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    Sales and Management are two separate skills.

    But to be a Great Sales Manager you need to be Great at Management (leadership, training, motivation) and also have a good grasp of Sales.

    Your best Sales People should be better at Sales than you but if you don't understand sales you can't coach them to be better.

    Think about it this way.

    Tiger Woods has and has had multiple golf coaches. None of them are as good as he is at the game. But each one knew how to make him better.

    You have to be able to do that long term to be a great Sales Manager.
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    Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Gylseth
    While I agree that you can, and probably should, hire sales people that are better than yourself, you need to know how to sell. This is especially true for an early stage company.

    First, you need to be able to sell your product/service, or you don't have any company.

    Second, people looking for sales jobs want to know that the product can sell, preferably with a track record, or an established method. They like to know what to expect, meaning; how much work do I have to put in, and what kind of outcome ($$$) can I realistically expect. And yes, this holds true for both seasoned and new sales reps.

    Third, nothing is as powerful to a young team as the leader actually being out there 'fighting the sales war' with them. Not that it really is a war, but if you lead the way not only will you be able to understand their challenges, you will also be able to set a higher expectation.

    I could add more points, but I believe these three cover the most important reasons. Other people may think otherwise, I just speak from my own experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    I'd think you want to hire people more talented at sales than you are. And if you've figured out HOW to sell your services, which I hope you have, then you can show them what you've found effective. And I think they should be able to do better.
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  • Profile picture of the author matty123
    I believe the most effective way to sell something is for the person/sales person who is doing the selling is to ask the right questions in order for the potential customer/ person who is being sold to convinces themself that they need what is on offer to them and then they are likely to want to take that step in order to buy from you. The worst experience is being forced to buy something or feeling as though there is no other option other than to buy- more often than not it back fires.
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