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Hello, I am Steve Suggs, sales recruiting expert and author of the book, Can They Sell.
Welcome to my sales recruitment video blog where you learn to hire the best sales people.
Is your candidate an overcomer or somebody who has a pattern of bad decisions? A manager
is excited about a candidate. While he’s describing this candidate, I’m looking at
the personality profile and tying all the pieces of information together in order to
get the real picture. So I ask him, “What is it about this person that makes you think
that you’re looking at a top performer?” He said, “This person is a real overcomer.”
He said, “Although this candidate has had several challenging relationships, and the
last two bosses were challenging, they bounced back and stuck with the job.” He was impressed
with the last six months of sales performance at a new job and was convinced this was a
good predictor of future performance. I encouraged him to look at this picture through a different
set of glasses. I asked him, “What is the longest period of time of sustained productivity
in this person’s life?” As he thought back through the history, he struggled to
find the evidence of sustained success, and finally saw a track record of high peaks and
low valleys. While looking at all the pieces of this picture it became evident that the
candidate was too trusting and overconfident in the ability to make bad situations better
with only a small amount of effort. Finally I said, “I’d like to encourage you to
see the pattern in this candidate’s life. This person is not a true overcomer. This
candidate chooses to not use lessons learned from past mistakes when making decisions about
the future. And, they choose to use their time trying to change overly challenging situations.
People with this pattern usually spontaneously jump into situations, not because the other
person or job brings a win-win scenario for both parties, but because they think the situation
could use their help and perceived expertise. At the beginning of the situation, they’re
productive, but when the situation gets too big for them to handle, it takes so much time
and energy for them to overcome that their productivity suffers. The productivity of
the team also suffers because too much time is spent focused on fixing personal challenges.
He then said, “But what about these good references?” I encouraged him to get three
more. The candidate left off the references from two recent jobs. I was afraid the references
to whom he spoke were holding back and only telling him the good points. Good examples
of overcoming are things like: working hard to get a good education, taking classes and
certifications that advanced one’s career, overcoming an unexpected illness, advancing
in athletics, music, academics. Other good examples include reading books, attending
seminars, paying for coaching, finding a mentor and other examples of seeking wisdom. Sustained
years of success after being knocked down show that candidates have learned from their
mistakes. Remember to look at all the pieces of the puzzle. Don’t choose one area of
success to predict future performance in sales. I once hired a guy who was a marathon runner
and thought he would bring that level of discipline to the sales position. Wow, was I wrong. Thank
you for joining me. See you next time on the Can They Sell video blog for more sales job
recruitment training. As always, please leave your comments below and forward this video
to anyone who will benefit. Now go enjoy recruiting the best, and use these interview techniques
to help you recruit the best.