Filling a new sales role can be challenging and often feels like playing Russian roulette. Candidates say all the right things, and you only find out the real story long after they’re on your payroll and underperforming. Outfits like the NFL figured this out long ago and run annual combines and camps designed to select top talent through drills designed to separate the wheat from the chaff. What about the rest of us?
For years we’ve managed to nail down pretty decent psychological profiles on most of our roles save one: sales hunter. Most custom installation businesses have one hunter (usually the owner) and others passing as hunters (see my blog about funting). We’d all love as many hunters as we can find, and my experience has been they tend to be rare. Rarer still are hunters who are going to be solid culture fits. These personalities tend to be lone wolves with anti-authority attitudes. There’s nothing wrong with either of those traits unless you need them to fall in line and row together with the rest of the group.
Also by Henry Clifford: Leveraging FUD For the Win
Figuring out who is and isn’t a true hunter has long stymied our sales management. Since we don’t have the luxury of having our candidates run a 40-yard dash or throw tractor tires around, we’re left with the myriad personality assessment tests designed to pair candidates with the best role. We’ve used tools like DISC, CTS, and a few others over the years, but it’s a conversation I had with Partner Technology’s Chris Cunningham earlier this week that triggered me to write this blog.
We recently began searching for a Specifier Sales Consultant at my CI business, Livewire. This is a new role aimed squarely at bringing in someone with a design background and passion for technology who can hopefully partner with architects, designers, and builders to lead with a “lighting-first” mindset. I want this person to walk into Livewire without knowing anything about audio, video, or control, and partner with other members of the sales team to close a new business.
We’ve had a few false starts with similar attempts over the last few years. The last go around was in 2018 when we built out our lighting and shading design center. We were early to the party with lighting and not yet a master electrician. This time around we’ve built a solid foundation with a killer design center and amazing high-voltage experts in-house. Still, all of that and a nickel will buy you a cup of “jack squat” without someone to effectively sell it. That’s where Cunningham comes in.
Also by Henry Clifford: Do You Have a Co-CEO?
“We’ve found our successful design sales professionals are high in ‘WOO,’” said Cunningham. “WOO?” I said. “Tell me more.” “Woo” immediately made me think of the cover of a bodice buster with a guy who looks like Fabio fresh from an “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” ad gracing the cover. Cunningham quickly brought me back to earth. “‘WOO’ (Winning Others Over) is part of the StrengthsFinders assessment,” he said. CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinders) identifies a candidate’s top five talent themes out of 34 total. If someone scores high in “Woo,” they tend to exhibit the following traits:
- Loves meeting new people – They find social settings exciting, not exhausting.
- Can break the ice easily – Knows how to start conversations in any situation.
- Seeks connection – They get energy from gaining people’s approval or interest.
- Charms quickly – Often makes strong first impressions.
- Moves fast – Doesn’t necessarily seek deep, long-term bonds right away. —more focused on that initial connection.
Cunningham also cautioned me that WOO isn’t a silver bullet. It does have some pitfalls to avoid or manage around:
- May focus on breadth over depth (lots of contacts, fewer strong relationships)
- Might prioritize being liked over making the hard ask
- Can move on too quickly after winning someone over without nurturing the relationship
I don’t know about you, but I’ll take any edge I can in the pursuit of top talent. A bad hire doesn’t do anyone any good. It’s not fair to the candidate because it puts them in the wrong seat on the bus and arrests their development. It’s not fair to the company because it hinders growth, kills culture, and is a huge distraction (especially in a small business).
Have you mapped the sales hunter genome? Where does WOO fit in for you?
Stay frosty, and see you in the field.
