Interviewing people is an art. To some, that art is paint-by-numbers, but for others, it is neo-realism. I’ve long said there is no magic bullet to make a dealership profitable, but bringing aboard quality talent is about as close as you can get. That is why learning how to hire salespeople is one of the most crucial things a sales manager can learn. What they look for varies entirely by the manager doing the interviewing.
Many seek to hire those with previous experience. Some simply look for a likability factor and the ability to make eye contact. Others just look for a anyone that reminds them of themselves. When it comes to salespeople, I like to look for a candidate with “the get-go”.
Hiring based on an applicant’s experience in the job can be entirely hit or miss. Why are they available to work in the first place? What is it about their current (or recent) employer that has sent them shopping for a new organization to call home? Why didn’t it work there, or are they not able to thrive in their current environment? Was it structure, support, knowledge, understanding of process, attitude, or something more basic such as pay or hours? Is that all it takes to steal them away and earn their loyalty?
I’ve said before, one of the biggest problems in the auto industry is that someone who has sold vehicles at one dealership for as little as a month or two can typically go to any other dealership, interview on the spot, and get hired before they leave the store. Any experience at one store ostensibly makes you a shoe-in for a sales job at another dealership… but why? When training how to hire salespeople, making the decision to hire based on first initial interview is an issue in its own right. We are often recycling each other’s worst employees and are making the hire based on the selfishly lazy reason that the manager thinks “well they already know the job, so it won’t take as much of my time to train them.”
As someone who trains sales professionals, BDC agents, and sales managers for a living, trust me when I say it is far easier to train someone that is a clean slate than it is to break someone of any bad training or habits they received prior to your dealership. It is easier to paint the picture you want onto a blank canvas than it is to correct a painting already covered with all the wrong brushstrokes.
When interviewing, I take many variables into consideration as to who may or may not be a good hire. One new quality I seek is what I refer to as “the get-go”. It involves everything from enthusiasm for the craft, excitement for the opportunity, a positive attitude toward the challenge, a need for the job (or career) that doesn’t stink of desperation, and a genuine desire to do right by the customer and the company. That’s the get-go. An applicant comes to you with those characteristics (and the right interview questions can help you uncover if they do), and you hire them. Experience be damned.
Sure, having a strong sales management team that understands their role is just as much about staff support and training than it is about desking is always a need. A good orientation program that doesn’t involve throwing someone to the wolves is important as well. Regardless, someone with the “get-go” will find a way to succeed, with or without you. They hunger for it. Having those two elements in place at the time of the hire certainly increases the likelihood they make you proud.
Have you trained your sales management team how to hire salespeople? Do you give them concepts of what to look for or just trust them (without even being trained how to interview) to make the right decisions? Do they know the right questions to ask? Is there an interview process in place that goes beyond a 15 minute sit-down?
Before an artist takes on painting a new piece, they don’t discover what it will end up looking like until they apply those last drops of paint. They know how to use the materials from the on-set. They’re familiar with the tools. They have a plan and a vision for how it can be. The rest of the work is on the material. Seek clay that’s ready and willing to be molded, not one that has already been damaged in a kiln. Look for “get-go” over experience, and you just may bring a masterpiece to your showroom floor.
Want to know what else to look for in a salesperson: Check out these 10 salespeople traits.
