Only an Engineered Process can Deliver Consistently Superb Results Hiring Sales Reps
It was clear when Brisa was a young child growing up in Mexico City that she was destined for entrepreneurship.
What wasn't immediately clear was how she would come to focus on sales. But she did. From a stint selling cars to becoming a Sandler Sales trainer, sales become Brisa's passion. She couldn't get past the fact that many companies had a number of reps who would never perform well no matter how much training they had.
She realized companies often hired mediocre talent.
After a career interruption bravely fighting cancer, Brisa established her business, which helps B2B companies recruit, hire, and onboard top sales talent. She has a process for hiring sales reps and guides companies through her system, which is built around a predictively accurate sales candidate assessment.
Enjoy our conversation, which covers a wide range of topics and repeatedly returns to the critical role of the sales manager.
Connect with Brisa for more tips on hiring sales managers and top-performing sales reps.
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The Critical Role of Sales Managers and Importance of a Sales Hiring Process - Brisa Renteria on Industrial Growth Insitute Episode 17
Episode Recap
Summary
In this episode, Ed Marsh interviews Brisa Renteria, a sales expert and CEO of Improved Growth, about the challenges of hiring and training sales teams. The discussion covers a variety of topics including:
- the high cost of sales hiring mistakes
- importance of behavior in sales success
- need for sales managers to provide proper training and accountability
- the misconception of sales being pushy
- the value of phone calls in today's digital age
Brisa touches on the challenges of scaling up a business and the importance of hiring the right people, and how training salespeople compares to raising children, and how her commitment to donating a portion of her revenue to a nonprofit focused on children's cancer originated from her personal experience with cancer.
The conversation then shifts to the common mistakes companies make in sales hiring and the importance of having a strong hiring process. Brisa emphasizes:
- the significance of onboarding, training, and coaching in retaining top sales talent - the value of using assessments to inform the hiring and development process
- the importance of attracting and hiring the right salespeople
- the need for companies to be clear about the responsibilities and requirements of the role, as well as the skills and qualities needed for success
- the value of creating job postings that describe the ideal person rather than just listing duties and responsibilities
- the personal approach that female leaders often bring
Takeaways
- Sales hiring mistakes can be costly, with expenses exceeding two to three times the salesperson's salary.
- Behavior is a crucial factor in sales success, and accountability is key
- Sales managers play a vital role in training and holding salespeople accountable.
- Phone calls are still an effective sales tool, as many salespeople have abandoned this method.
- Training salespeople can be more challenging than raising children, as many salespeople are not coachable and resistant to change.
- Common hiring mistakes include hiring based on personality, hiring from the same industry, and lacking a structured hiring process.
- Sales onboarding (vs. orientation), training, and coaching are crucial for retaining top sales talent and setting them up for success.
- Assessments provide valuable data to inform the hiring and development process, helping identify strengths and areas for improvement.
- Job postings should focus on describing the ideal person rather than just listing duties and responsibilities.
- Female leaders often bring a personal and caring approach to leadership.
- Companies should embrace AI as an opportunity and explore how it can enhance their sales hiring process.
Takeaway Quotes from Brisa Renteria
- "No matter how perfect your strategy or how brilliant your marketing or how genuine your focus on the customer, if your sales team can't execute, the rest of it's wasted."
- "If I had to choose one, I would say behavior is the most important in sales success."
- "We want to help the salesperson through the sales leader."
- "You have to understand what would it take for someone to be successful in your business."
Outline
00:00 Introduction and the Crisis in Sales Execution
02:33 The High Cost of Sales Hiring Mistakes
16:30 The Importance of Behavior in Sales Success
23:34 The Role of Sales Managers in Training and Accountability
28:04 The Journey of an Entrepreneur
33:56 Challenges of Training Salespeople
38:03 Common Hiring Mistakes
46:23 Importance of Onboarding, Training, and Coaching
49:49 Using Assessments in Hiring and Development
56:09 Helping Salespeople through Sales Leaders
59:08 Understanding Success in Your Business
01:03:00 The Impact of AI in Sales Hiring
01:09:19 Balancing Business and Personal Life
01:15:49 The Five Interview Questions Companies Miss When Hiring Sales Reps
01:22:30 Improving Sales Hiring to Change Your Business
