This may sound like a completely crazy
idea, one that is sure to irk the HR department, but hire your next sales
person before the end of the year. Not only am I suggesting you hire them
before the "ball drops", but get them started. I’m sure you’re already rolling
your eyes and thinking, “what is he talking about”. So allow me to explain this
specific hiring concept.
First of all, this approach to hiring is
specific to sales people only, as I’m not suggesting you do this with an
engineer or accountant. You see, sales people are a bit of a different breed,
and most sales people, especially ‘A’ level sales people, immerse themselves
into their new environment day one. In fact, the learning begins before they
even start their first day, but much of what makes a sales person make it or
not in an organization, is how well they adapt to the company culture and can
represent the organization in the marketplace. There may be no better
opportunity than in November and December to get your new sales person fully
immersed.
The end of the year can be a stressful
time for many sales organizations and sales people. There’s the end of year
push to hit sales figures, ship goods, wrap up services, and work with
customers/clients for their new year budgets. A new sales person can learn by
shadowing the top performers in their day-to-day routines when there tends to
be more deadlines looming than at any other time during the business year.
Believing that one may have an
understanding about the personality of their new sales organization will come
easily, yet somewhat misleading, during a “normal” time of the year when the
sales pace is “normal”. However, learning culture and personality is heightened
when stress sets in, and for many organizations stress sets in with holidays
and the end of year push. The hope, of course, is that each person and the
collective whole of the sales team all rise to the occasion and put their
professional best foot forward. What a truly great learning experience for the
new person.
I just referenced the holidays. Between
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, although rather cliché, sales people
entertain, entertain, entertain. There is an abundance of customer/client
luncheon’s, drop-in’s to deliver sweets, or holiday parties. For a new sales
person, this is the opportunity of the year to immerse themselves into the
organization, meet customers/clients, hear stories, and begin to develop their
own “ways” to pitch the company. Instead of sending the new sales rep on a
sales call here and there, whatever is available during other times of the
year, November and December offer an increased likelihood that the new rep will
get their fill of greetings & meetings.
Lastly, while this time of year is
hectic, there is also a bit of down time that comes with it for the new person.
The new sales rep is not going to be out and about in meetings of their own,
most likely anyway, and so as they’re learning and immersing themselves into
the new organization, this time of year allows the new sales rep to engage in
abundant sales planning. They can use the downtime coming from the
customer/client side of the sales process to ultimately prepare for the start
of the new year, and the start of their own aggressive sales push.
Speaking from experience, hiring and
starting sales people during the 4th quarter may be the best course
of action, especially if you want the ‘A’ level sales person to have a full,
productive year ahead.