Newbies in Sales
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 9:49 am
If you decide to attract new employees and train them yourself, it is important to develop from scratch or adapt an existing training system so that it meets the specifics of your company.
In this process, it is worth paying attention to the desire and readiness to learn, a positive attitude, courage, and the ability to cope with stress. The work of finding a B2B sales manager can be carried out either by the head of the department or HR specialists.
Newbies in Sales
Source: shutterstock.com
If you are about to form your first sales department, it is area code philippines mobile recommended that you not only review all candidate responses, but also actively search for new employees. This will help you better understand current market conditions, assess the competitiveness of your offer, and identify what exactly applicants are looking for.
Don't limit yourself to hiring one manager: have at least two people on your staff so that they can cover for each other during vacations, illnesses, or layoffs. Competition within the department will also have a positive effect on results.
The problem with recruiting is its unpredictability: it is impossible to know in advance whether a candidate with extensive sales experience will be better than an inexperienced but motivated young specialist.
Recommended articles on this topic:
9 Types of Customer Loyalty Programs
Marketing Department KPI: 11 indicators and calculation example
B2B Marketing: Key Features, Promotion Channels
Stages of hiring a B2B sales manager
B2B sales are a delicate matter that require long, complex processes with multiple discussions and trial projects. Let's consider the search for a B2B sales manager for a company that sells a complex technology product. A specialist who decides to sell in the corporate segment is expected to have deep knowledge of the product, the ability to identify customer problems, sometimes hidden even from the buyer, and offer appropriate solutions.
Step 1: Analyzing the resume of a candidate for the position of B2B sales manager
When studying the document, it is important to pay attention not only to the candidate’s previous places of work, but also to the length of his or her tenure in different companies, as well as the date of entry into the labor market.
The minimum transaction period in the enterprise segment is six months. It can take a year or more from the first contact to the signing of the contract. His large deals are often completed by the end of the year, with bonuses accrued from December to February.
Now imagine that such a specialist comes to an interview in January, and his resume shows that he worked at his previous place for a year or less. He probably was not able to sell anything.
It is also worth considering if the candidate has not stayed in one company for more than two years - this may indicate failures in sales. The conclusion suggests itself: if it sometimes takes about a year to understand the specifics of a complex product, is it worth hiring a person who is not ready for such a long process of immersion?
Read also!
"How to get contacts from a client: the most effective methods"
Read more
Step 2: Interview with a B2B Sales Manager
In addition to studying the experience and achievements of a candidate for the position of sales manager, it is also important to understand what kind of person this is. After all, this employee will represent your company at meetings with clients. Sometimes you only have one chance to make a good impression. You would not want to hear from a client: "We had an incompetent person who knew nothing about the product."
Interview questions:
"Describe a product you sold." A true professional must have a thorough understanding of the product they sell. It is important that they be able to clearly and logically explain the value of a product or service and its benefits. A confident and enthusiastic account of past experience may indicate that the candidate will be able to easily master your product.
"What volume of transactions have you worked with?" The answer will give an idea of the person's readiness for large-volume activities, including transactions worth millions and tens of millions of rubles. If the candidate confidently claims that there will be a large sale in six months, this may indicate his inexperience in working with corporate clients.
Stage 2 conversation with a B2B sales manager
Source: shutterstock.com
"How was the sales process organized at your last place of work?" If the candidate's answer clearly does not comply with the law or sounds like: "We agree on motivation, but how I find clients is none of your business," do not continue the interview. Also ask how he conducted a specific deal. Avoiding an answer or concealing details is a warning sign.
"What resources do you need to be successful in sales?" An answer like "I only need a laptop, and tomorrow I'll start working on my database" indicates a lack of desire to understand the market and the product. Experienced sales managers expect to hear that the candidate needs a specialist who has a deep understanding of the technical details of the product, since at the initial stages the manager himself will not be able to explain these points to the client.
"What are the criteria for failure? How will we understand that something is going wrong?" In the technology-driven B2B segment, deal cycles are usually long. If everything is going well, the first sale can be expected in 10-12 months. But realizing a year later that the result is zero means wasting time. Therefore, it is important to define markers by which the employer and the new employee can monitor progress. Such markers can be targeted meetings with new customers organized by the manager, or pilot projects with clients.
"Here is our website, it describes our products and lists our clients. Where will we offer our solution next? How do you assess the market for our products?" The answer to this question will show how prepared the candidate is for the interview. Some candidates will immediately suggest irrelevant industries or say something like "I'll call here and there." Such managers are called "super notebooks."
"What questions do you have for me?" An interview is a negotiation where the candidate also evaluates the employer. It is important to hear questions from a potential employee. For example: what are the company's strategic goals, priority tasks, decision-making process, performance evaluation. Answers in the style of "I understand everything" may indicate the superficiality of the candidate, which may negatively affect work with clients.
In this process, it is worth paying attention to the desire and readiness to learn, a positive attitude, courage, and the ability to cope with stress. The work of finding a B2B sales manager can be carried out either by the head of the department or HR specialists.
Newbies in Sales
Source: shutterstock.com
If you are about to form your first sales department, it is area code philippines mobile recommended that you not only review all candidate responses, but also actively search for new employees. This will help you better understand current market conditions, assess the competitiveness of your offer, and identify what exactly applicants are looking for.
Don't limit yourself to hiring one manager: have at least two people on your staff so that they can cover for each other during vacations, illnesses, or layoffs. Competition within the department will also have a positive effect on results.
The problem with recruiting is its unpredictability: it is impossible to know in advance whether a candidate with extensive sales experience will be better than an inexperienced but motivated young specialist.
Recommended articles on this topic:
9 Types of Customer Loyalty Programs
Marketing Department KPI: 11 indicators and calculation example
B2B Marketing: Key Features, Promotion Channels
Stages of hiring a B2B sales manager
B2B sales are a delicate matter that require long, complex processes with multiple discussions and trial projects. Let's consider the search for a B2B sales manager for a company that sells a complex technology product. A specialist who decides to sell in the corporate segment is expected to have deep knowledge of the product, the ability to identify customer problems, sometimes hidden even from the buyer, and offer appropriate solutions.
Step 1: Analyzing the resume of a candidate for the position of B2B sales manager
When studying the document, it is important to pay attention not only to the candidate’s previous places of work, but also to the length of his or her tenure in different companies, as well as the date of entry into the labor market.
The minimum transaction period in the enterprise segment is six months. It can take a year or more from the first contact to the signing of the contract. His large deals are often completed by the end of the year, with bonuses accrued from December to February.
Now imagine that such a specialist comes to an interview in January, and his resume shows that he worked at his previous place for a year or less. He probably was not able to sell anything.
It is also worth considering if the candidate has not stayed in one company for more than two years - this may indicate failures in sales. The conclusion suggests itself: if it sometimes takes about a year to understand the specifics of a complex product, is it worth hiring a person who is not ready for such a long process of immersion?
Read also!
"How to get contacts from a client: the most effective methods"
Read more
Step 2: Interview with a B2B Sales Manager
In addition to studying the experience and achievements of a candidate for the position of sales manager, it is also important to understand what kind of person this is. After all, this employee will represent your company at meetings with clients. Sometimes you only have one chance to make a good impression. You would not want to hear from a client: "We had an incompetent person who knew nothing about the product."
Interview questions:
"Describe a product you sold." A true professional must have a thorough understanding of the product they sell. It is important that they be able to clearly and logically explain the value of a product or service and its benefits. A confident and enthusiastic account of past experience may indicate that the candidate will be able to easily master your product.
"What volume of transactions have you worked with?" The answer will give an idea of the person's readiness for large-volume activities, including transactions worth millions and tens of millions of rubles. If the candidate confidently claims that there will be a large sale in six months, this may indicate his inexperience in working with corporate clients.
Stage 2 conversation with a B2B sales manager
Source: shutterstock.com
"How was the sales process organized at your last place of work?" If the candidate's answer clearly does not comply with the law or sounds like: "We agree on motivation, but how I find clients is none of your business," do not continue the interview. Also ask how he conducted a specific deal. Avoiding an answer or concealing details is a warning sign.
"What resources do you need to be successful in sales?" An answer like "I only need a laptop, and tomorrow I'll start working on my database" indicates a lack of desire to understand the market and the product. Experienced sales managers expect to hear that the candidate needs a specialist who has a deep understanding of the technical details of the product, since at the initial stages the manager himself will not be able to explain these points to the client.
"What are the criteria for failure? How will we understand that something is going wrong?" In the technology-driven B2B segment, deal cycles are usually long. If everything is going well, the first sale can be expected in 10-12 months. But realizing a year later that the result is zero means wasting time. Therefore, it is important to define markers by which the employer and the new employee can monitor progress. Such markers can be targeted meetings with new customers organized by the manager, or pilot projects with clients.
"Here is our website, it describes our products and lists our clients. Where will we offer our solution next? How do you assess the market for our products?" The answer to this question will show how prepared the candidate is for the interview. Some candidates will immediately suggest irrelevant industries or say something like "I'll call here and there." Such managers are called "super notebooks."
"What questions do you have for me?" An interview is a negotiation where the candidate also evaluates the employer. It is important to hear questions from a potential employee. For example: what are the company's strategic goals, priority tasks, decision-making process, performance evaluation. Answers in the style of "I understand everything" may indicate the superficiality of the candidate, which may negatively affect work with clients.