The Perfect Hire: A Tactical Guide to Hiring, Developing, and Retaining Top Sales Talent

Book excerpt: STOP THE REVOLVING DOOR How many sales candidates have you hired for their technical skills only to fire for their bad attitude? How many experienced sales hires have you had to let go for poor on-the-job performance? Whether you’ve experienced such scenarios or you hope to avoid them, the takeaway is simple—the perfect hire requires more than technical skills and experience. Sales strategist Kathi Graham-Leviss invites you to stop the revolving door of sales hires and arms you with the critical steps to choosing the perfect hire—every time. Utilizing proven best practices—revealed from the latest research in sales performance drivers—learn how to assess soft skills, problem solving abilities, and behavioral attributes, in addition to technical know-how, to select candidates who are well matched for the job, not just well qualified. Uncover the secrets to creating a successful hiring methodology that enables you to: Attract quality candidates Screen for high performers Predict on-the-job success Select the perfect hire Increase productivity Reduce turnover Increase Profits Be it time, money, opportunities lost—the cost of finding and hiring a new sales employee is significant. Stop spending on poor prospects and start profiting with the perfect hire! Praise for The Perfect Hire "The Perfect Hire...is there such a thing? Kathi Graham-Leviss's book has made me a believer! This step-by-step path to success should be required reading for a world class sales organization or those desiring to attain such a competitive distinction." Loretta Penn, President, Spherion Staffing “The Perfect Hire is a comprehensive guide detailing how to actively hire and cultivate the most effective sales force by using meaningful assessments that capture employees’ competency, critical thinking and core values. The book employs Graham-Leviss’ 25-years of experience and research findings to ensure employers are able capable of developing the best sales talent as possible.” Troy Vincent, VP Player Engagement – National Football League "Poor hiring and development practices have a devastating impact on a company's bottom line as valuable customer data is lost and relationships damaged. Kathi Graham-Leviss's book can help any business dramatically improve their hiring and development process and lead to a more profitable future". EVP, Morris Publishing "Finally, a sales handbook that brings together the art and science of recruiting top sales talent. Belongs on the bookshelf of every sales VP!" Rebecca Callahan, President, SourceRight Solutions “As a how-to guide, this book contains everything you may need to know. Brimming with straightforward strategies anyone can use to overcome the pitfalls of hiring, developing and retaining top sales talent.” Anne Szostak, President/CEO, Szostak Partners LLC "A brilliant book that will help ALL levels of management maximize the potential of their organizations most powerful resource – their people. This book is built around the unique perspective that hiring top talent is the number one priority, and often times most frequently lost opportunity, of every company, no matter their size. A truly important book for ALL sales leaders.” C. Preston Bowen, Senior Vice President, Overhead Door Corporation