Acceleral

A couple of years ago I met a CEO who was lamenting that his new sales guy was putting everyone offside. And after I listened to this tale of pouting presales and indignant implementation consultants, I complemented him on hiring the best type of gung-ho BDM.

Why? Because a strong sales person is very likely to poke and prod at the status quo, questioning the reasons behind your take-to-market and rejecting any answer that includes “because that’s how we do things around here”.

Which is not to say that hiring a troublemaker translates into a good sales person because every sales manager has any number of self proclaimed  “stars” in their career who ranted, raved and were generally repugnant...and yet somehow never closed a deal to save themselves.

Given that hiring sales staff is never easy, sorting the wheat from the chaff is critical, so here are three suggestions to help lock in the best new Business Development Manager during your interview process:

Referee customers:  This should not be a radical suggestion, but it’s rarely acted upon because it is seen to overstep the bounds of confidentiality. But really, who is better placed to both prove sales credentials and validate the BDMs approach than someone who they’ve already sold to?

Mock Cold Call:  The heart and soul of a rainmaker is their ability to cut through to decision makers and spark interest. So why not have your candidate put the moves on you? After all, they’re going to be calling on your behalf it’s better to know upfront if they’re a stumblebum who hates to pick up the phone.

Corporate Contacts: It’s very likely that your aspiring BDM has included the names of companies they have sold to in their CV. So do a little corporate research and put them to the acid test. Pick a recent company off their CV and map the hierarchy. Now, in the interview, ask the applicant to name the CEO and senior executive that they engaged with. If they can’t, it suggests that they’ve been creative with their CV!

None of this if foolproof of course. But that old saying, “People buy from people”, means that a Top Gun should have left good relationships in their wake. Your job is to confirm this...before you hire them!