Chapter 1
The Recruitment Landscape
Why finding sales talent is hard, and what to do about it.
In short
- Hire to Retire is a six-step process: identify and attract, recruit and select, onboard, develop, recognize and retain, then transition and off-board well.
- Use three interviews: values and culture fit, a goal-setting session, and a selection team panel.
- Move quickly on the right candidate, make the offer by phone and in writing, and agree mutual commitments before day one.
- Onboarding is more than orientation: a welcome, role-specific training and clear expectations.
Finding top talent is harder than ever
- Many companies report talent shortages and difficulty hiring (source: ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey).
- Many people who are currently employed are open to a new job (source: CareerArc).
- Voluntary quits have run at historically high levels in recent years (source: SHRM).
Chapter 2
Hire to Retire: The Six-Step Process
The six steps that take a rep from first contact to a graceful exit.
Hire to Rehire Process
- Utilize & Implement Steps 1-3 of Quantum’s Hire To Retire Process to Locate, Hire & Train Top Talent
- 1. OBJECTIVE: Find the Right People who are the Right Fit for the Right Seats
- 2. RECRUITMENT & SELECTION: Get Creative so you can be Selective
- 3.ON-BOARDING: Create a Welcoming Environment and Set Clear Expectations
- Utilize & Implement Steps 4-6 of Quantum’s Hire To Retire Process to Develop & Retain Top Talent AND Establish Your Company Culture
- 4. DEVELOPMENT: Development is Ongoing and a Daily Practice
- 5. RECOGNITION & RETENTION: Company Culture is the Key to Employee Retention
- 6. TRANSITION & OFF-BOARDING: Make Transition a Smooth and Positive Experience
What each step includes
- Identify and attract: the right people, the right skills, the right seat.
- Recruitment and selection: core values and culture fit, goal setting, a hiring assessment, a selection team panel interview, then the offer and mutual commitments.
- Onboarding: a smooth transition, a signing day and celebration, signed mutual commitments and comprehensive training.
- Develop: daily goals, a daily team check-in and training, a weekly one-on-one and professional development resources.
- Recognition and retention: milestone celebrations, weekly surveys and 360 feedback, and quarterly reviews.
- Transition and off-boarding: an exit interview and feedback, a smooth transition and wishes for future success.
Chapter 3
Locate Top Talent
Where good candidates are, and how to reach them.
Where are candidates looking?
Online job boards, professional networks and word of mouth are the three channels candidates use most (source: LinkedIn Recruiting). Work all three.
Job Board Recruitment Solution Option
Features:
- Digital Optimization
- Jobs Distribution
- Efficient Hiring Platform
- All applicants flow into one centralized database
Cost:
- Unlimited postings
- Annual subscription priced by company size. Confirm current pricing with the vendor.
Jobs Distribution: Your jobs are sent to the job sites that matter most, including Google for Jobs, ZipRecruiter, Monster, Facebook and Indeed.
Best Practices for Job Boards According to HIRECLICK
Highest Performing Ads Have:
- Culture description
- Interesting work
- Few bullet points
- Multiple instances of coveted key words (think about what job seekers are searching)
High Performing Ads Do Not Have:
- Misrepresented job title
- Company acronyms
- Slang like “Rockstar” or “Superstar”
- Copy/pasted formal job description
Professional Networks & Social Media
- Most recruiters report hiring successfully through social media (source: HireHive).
- Maximize your presence on social media, especially LinkedIn, to connect with passive job seekers
- Increase connections and followers
- Daily posts (individuals & company pages)
- Posts should deliver meaningful content
- Utilize video, customer testimonials, and real people in your posts
LinkedIn Recruiting Tips & Tricks
- Import .csv file of current customers and contacts for common audience across all platforms
- My network
- Add more contacts
- Upload file
- Click to add individual contacts
- Utilize LinkedIn Sales Navigator to locate and message ideal candidates
- Use plugins to export search results and enrich contact data
- Utilize Boolean search
- AND narrows your search to include only results that contain required keywords
- OR expands your search to include at least one or more of your required keywords
- NOT limits your search by excluding defined keywords or phrases from your results
- QUOTATION MARKS “” around a phrase returns results with the phrase included in that exact order
- PARENTHESES ( ) give priority to keywords contained within over the other elements around it
- Run paid recruitment ads on LinkedIn
LinkedIn Automation Tool
Kennected works with LinkedIn Basic & Sales Navigator to make your lead generation efforts simple & automated
Lead generation for today utilizing AI to speed up the process of sourcing candidates
Send your connection requests with ease & follow up automatically one-by-one as if you were sending them manually
Customize Messaging & Nurture Relationships:
- I saw you work for Company XYZ, I’m always looking to connect with individuals with your skill set and experience and would like to add you to my network.
- I was looking over your profile and what you’re doing over at XYZ is impressive.
- We are looking for talent like yours within our organization. Let me know if you would be interested in making an initial connection and learning abit more about the opportunity to work with us here at (your company name).
- If you are hiring locally, invite the candidate to meet you for coffee to discuss the opportunity in person.
- If you are hiring for another location, send the candidate the opportunity to enjoy a cup of coffee on you for when you talk through the opportunity www.reachdesk.com.
Word of Mouth: Build a strong network
Most candidates will research a company’s reputation before applying to a job opening. Source: LinkedIn
- After finding a job opening, many candidates research a company online, and some will move on to another job opening if they can’t find information on the company. Source: CareerBuilder
- Modern candidates rank company culture as one of the most important factors when considering career opportunities, and they can spot a bad company culture from a mile away. Company culture is a set of attitudes, values, beliefs, goals, and other characteristics a company or organization follows to create a gratifying working environment. Source: Builtin.com
- Define and promote your company culture
Chapter 5
The Interview Process
Three interviews, each with a different job to do.
INTERVIEW 1: VALUE & CULTURE FIT Sample Questions
- Why do you want to work for us?
- What was the biggest mistake you have ever made at work and what did you learn from it?
- What is the last book you read?
- What does work-life balance mean to you?
- Describe your ideal day at work.
- Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer. What was the outcome and how did it make you feel?
- When is the last time you took a risk professionally?
- Describe the type of work environment in which you are most productive.
- What would make you quit a job in the first month?
- Which of our core values resonates most with you and why?
Interview 2: Goal Setting Session
Ask the candidate to write down 3 to 5 goals for each of these areas:
- ·Personal
- ·Professional
- ·Health & Wellness
- ·Financial
- ·Development
- ·Family
Ask probing Questions
- Why are each of these goals important to you?
- What goals have you recently accomplished and checked off your list?
- How often do you write down your goals?
- What has been holding you back from achieving your goals?
- How could you achieve your goals faster?
Final Question
What does a successful life look like to you?
Sales Aptitude
- Between the second and third interview, we recommend doing a sales aptitude assessment to help determine fit for the position
- Different sales roles require different skill sets and personalities
- These tests should be used as a guide and considered as one more tool to help determine fit for the position, in conjunction with all other information you gather about the candidate throughout the recruitment process
- Make sure you work with a trained professional who understands how to read and interpret the results
Interview 3: Selection Team Interview
SELECTION TEAM
- Recruiter
- Hiring Manager
- Team Member(s)
- Leadership Team Member(s)
INTERVIEW LENGTH
- 1 to 3 Hours
INTERVIEW GOALS
- Identify driven & talent
- Identify team fit
STRUCTURE
- Prepare selection team members in advance by providing each of them with a set list of questions to ask
- Provide instructions on question flow
- Make sure all selection team members arrive early and are prepared to start the interview on time
- Make sure each team member understands their role and objective for the interview
Questions to Identify Drive & Talent
- Tell us about a time the cards were stacked against you, but you still managed to come out on top. What happened?
- Tell us about a time you failed. What happened? How did you respond?
- What would you consider to be your biggest success and why?
- What is a recommendation you have made for an improvement in your previous job? Was your idea acted on and implemented? If yes, what was the result?
- Why do you like sales?
- What scares you about sales?
- What motivates you?
- What is your ultimate career aspiration?
- What results did you achieve in your last sales role?
- What motivates you more, money or praise?
- Why did you leave your previous job?
- What is the most creative thing you have done to close a deal?
- What do you do when you have a bad day?
- Tell us about a time rejection really got to you?
- How have you stacked up against your peers in your previous roles?
- How do you handle disappointment?
- What was your greatest sales win?
- When you lose a deal, how do you follow up with a prospect?
- Are you ready to jump on a sales call right now?
- Would you rather close a $10,000 deal or have a shot at a $100,000 deal?
- How did you perform against plan in your last job?
- Is it more important to achieve your quota or keep current customers happy?
- What is your least favorite part of sales?
- What is your favorite part of sales?
- How did you prepare for this interview?
Questions to Identify Team Fit
- Give us an example of a time you received constructive feedback. How did you respond?
- What do you know about our company or product?
- Tell us about a time when you collaborated with other sales team members.
- Tell us about a time when you collaborated with other department team members.
- What your former coworkers say are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
- Why did you leave your last job?
- What do you do for fun?
- How would your past coworkers describe your work style?
- Tell us about the best job you’ve had so far.
- How do you feel about the companies you worked for previously?
- What will you bring to the team?
- Describe a time when your team members resisted an idea you shared. How did you handle this situation?
- How do you like to be managed?
- How do you structure your day?
- Who have your mentors been and what have you learned from them?
- Have you ever had to work with a difficult manager or coworker? How did you handle this?
- How would you define teamwork?
- If you won a million dollars in the lottery, what would you do with the money?
- What personality traits do you butt heads with?
- What are you passionate about?
Chapter 6
Evaluate, Offer and Commit
Decide quickly, make the offer, and agree commitments in writing.
Candidate EVALUATION
- Require team members who participated in interviews to complete and return a standardized candidate evaluation form within 24 hours following the interview.
- Throughout each interview
- Gauge the candidate’s interest in the position
- Ask questions to evaluate relevant experience and skill set
- Make sure the candidate understands the requirements of the position and the products being sold
- Get a feel for how well the candidate understands the company and the company culture
RIGHT Candidate?
Move Quickly
- Call the candidate to review the offer over the phone
- Be direct and up front regarding the compensation package
- You should have discussed the candidate’s expectations throughout the interviewing process to make sure you are on the same page
- Confirm and explain the base + commission and make sure the compensation plan has been thoroughly reviewed and makes sense to the candidate
- Include popular benefits
- Highlight culture and growth opportunities
- Ask the candidate for their initial reaction
- If the candidate expresses hesitation or begins negotiations, ask them specifically what it would take to get their commitment and whether making those adjustments would secure their interest in the position
- Remember it’s not always about the compensation, ask the candidate what would make them happy to work for you
- Set a time for a follow up conversation
Send the offer in writing
Mutual Commitments
- Set mutual commitments and expectations prior to the candidate coming on board
- All parties will sign off on these commitments during the onboarding process
- As the employer, you are committing to providing the following (customize for your organization)
- Comprehensive training
- Access to tools and resources needed to successfully perform the job
- Ongoing support, training, coaching, and mentorship
- Daily and weekly team meetings
- Weekly 1 to 1 meeting
- A happy work environment
- Etc.
- The future sales employee should be committed to the following (customize for your organization)
- Adherence to your company’s core values
- High level of participation and engagement
- Completing work in a timely manner
- Appropriate use of tools and resources, such as the CRM
- Commitment to achieving sales targets and hitting quota within the outlined ramp up period
Chapter 7
Onboarding Your New Rep
The first days that decide whether a rep stays and succeeds.
Onboarding
On-Boarding includes everything from welcoming the new employee to providing role specific training to easing the new employee into the transition to their new role. It is the full process.
- Set your new hire up for SUCCESS!!!
- Integrate the new employee into your workplace
- Do not confuse on-boarding with employee orientation
Warm Welcome!
- Welcome signage
- Designated greeter
- Make sure the office space for your new team member is clean, organized, set up for a productive work experience, etc.
- Include a welcome gift or note welcoming the new employee
- Allow your new employee a bit of time to settle in
- Provide a tour and introduction to the staff
- The first day should be fun and inviting!
- Tip: A similar experience should be created for remote employees!
- Planned welcome
- Tools and resources provided in advance
- Welcome gift or note
- Virtual introductions to coworkers
- Etc.
Companywide Welcome
- Email announcement
- Social media announcement
- Provide the new hire with an opportunity to share their new position with their network
- Gives you an opportunity to highlight your growing team and company culture
- Develop a unique celebration to welcome new hires that fits with your company culture
- Invite all staff members to welcome the new employee
- Provide the new team member with a company branded swag
- Take pictures for social posts and for fun!
- Make sure the new hire feels like part of the team!
- Provide the new employee with a company pen and have them officially sign a Welcome to the Company document
Mutual Commitments Agreement
- Provide in writing
- Company’s commitments to the employee
- Job performance expectations
- Signed and dated by both parties
- Signed copy provided to employee
- Signed original retained for employee records
Sample Mutual Commitments Agreement
Daily:
Write & Send Goals
Train
- Build Queue
- 100 Contacts (Minimum)
- Set 2 Appointments (Minimum)
- Document all sales activity in CRM
- Post on LinkedIn
- Comment, Like or Share Colleagues’ Social Media Posts
Weekly:
- Attend Sales Meetings
- 3 Cadences in Kennected
- 2 Videos Created for Social Media
Monthly:
- $10,000 Incremental Recurring Revenue Added
- 40 Appointments Set
- 2 Software Sales Closes
- Signature lines: the new team member and the manager, each dated.
Comprehensive Training, Tools & Resources
- Training schedule
- Fully developed curriculum, lesson plans, videos, self-paced learning, etc.
- Engaging and fun learning environment
- Encouragement and recognition for progress and success
- Any red flags addressed openly and honestly with the new hire in an appropriate setting and environment
Chapter 8
Bonus Training and Next Steps
Extra training resources, and where to go from here.
Quantum BONUS Offer
- Relevant for all new sales reps, as well as for your existing team
- Grant Cardone Sales Training University offers a large library of courses with 24/7 access
- Users can leverage the expertise of Grant Cardone for their business
- Courses on prospecting, sales, negotiation, closing, money and finances, and motivation are just some of what’s offered inside this premier business training platform
Next Steps
- The Quantum team is available to provide further assistance with customization and implementation of your sales hiring program
- Further information is available upon request regarding our comprehensive Hire to Retire program
- Looking to transform your sales organization? Contact us to discuss implementation of the Quantum Growth Model
Related resources
- Prospecting Playbook for Office Technology: scripts and a ramp plan for new reps
- Sales Blitz Playbook: coaching and call review once your reps are live
- Go-to-Market Playbook: where hiring fits in the larger revenue plan
Keep reading: the other playbooks
- Sales Blitz Playbook: How to run outbound calling blitzes that book meetings.
- Go-to-Market Playbook: A five-step plan to assess, systemize, optimize, automate and improve your go-to-market.
- Sales Sequences Playbook: How to build follow-up sequences that earn replies.
- Prospecting Playbook for Office Technology: Prospecting scripts, objection handling and cadences for office technology sales.
- ZoomInfo as a Service Playbook: How to turn ZoomInfo data into revenue with the RevEfficiency Model.