How Do We Recruit And Onboard “A” Players?

The cost of a bad hire in sales can be millions of dollars.   We can’t forget the hiring and salary costs are the smallest part of our investment in sales people.  The biggest part is the opportunity costs—-lost business and opportunities— if we make the wrong choice.

Too many managers are pretty cavalier about the process, the interview someone, see if there is “chemistry,” then make a hire.  Too often, they settle for what they get, not invest the time in finding the right high performers.

Al Drucker has a completely different approach.  He has a rigorous screening process—first he’s very clear about what he’s looking for, he builds a “competency model,” against which he evaluates candidates.  He leveraged behavioral tests and assessments.  Finally, he has a rigorous interview process, invoving everyone from his assistant, presales support, other managers and sales people.  He expects people to prepare for and go through role play and presentation scenarios.  Through this rigorous process, he does everything possible to make sure he is recruiting “A” players.

But the job doesn’t stop there.  Al recognizes that even the best people will fail unless they are onboarded correctly.

Join Al Drucker and me in a fascinating discussion about what it takes to recruit and onboard “A” players.

Thanks Al for a great discussion!