6 Tips For Hiring
A Payroll Salesperson
(By Glenn Fallavollita, President - Drip Marketing, Inc.)

• Word count for this issue: 563
• Approximate time to read: 2.3 minutes @250 words per minute

My studies show 50% to 60% of all newly hired payroll salespeople (at a small independent’s payroll service) will quit or be discharged in their first 12-months of employment. Nationally, studies have shown all sales teams turnover 20% to 25% each year. 

Since the process of recruiting and training new salespeople is a significant expense, you will want to be sure that you 1.) Hire the right salespeople to begin with and 2.) Do what it takes to retain your top performers.

6 Tips To Help Hire The Right Salesperson At Your Payroll Service.

Tip #1: Be Specific – The first step to making sure you hire the right salesperson is to ensure you attract the right talent. This means you need to define the role and parameters of success in a job posting. This will require you to know exactly what you are looking for; therefore, take a moment to reflect on your company’s needs before you begin your search.

Tip #2: Manage The Interview – You will want to ask the right questions during the interview process. Interview preparation will allow you to be ready to ask the most poignant and revealing questions. I recommend using a candidate’s resume to build open-ended questions you can use during the interview.

Tip #3: Have The Salesperson Give You A Presentation On What They Are Currently Selling – Step outside of the typical interview questions, such as what are your strengths and weaknesses, and instead conduct a pragmatic interview by playing out a mock sales situation. Better yet, ask them to give you a presentation on their current/last employer’s product line. Pay particular attention to the candidate’s sales pitch and their ability to answer your questions and concerns about the product.

Tip #4: Play Your Hand Close – A common mistake made by some less experienced interviewers is they reveal what they want from an employee at the beginning of an interview. A clever candidate will use this to his/her advantage and respond with what you want to hear. Maintain the power dynamic by asking instead of telling.

Tip #5: Perform A Candidate Assessment – Throughout the entire interview process, you will want to assess the candidate through a specific lens. Decide what components make up the ideal salesperson and determine if this candidate matches those criteria. If they do not seem like a good fit now, they probably will not be a good fit down the road.  

Tip #6: Do Your Research – It is not uncommon for salespeople to exaggerate their accomplishments during the interview. While flat-out lying is entirely unacceptable, exaggerating achievements can be problematic. So, it is in your best interests to jot down their claims and check their accuracy during your reference checks.

Executive Summary: To help put the odds in your favor when hiring a talented salesperson, create a list of all candidates and how well they match up to your organization’s culture. Process their responses to your questions to make sure they are the right fit. Finally, do your due diligence by calling their list of references (do not accept a "friend" as a reference) to ensure their claims of success are accurate. By the way, turnover in your sales department can and will cost your business a large chunk of change. To avoid this from happening to you, work on hiring the right salesperson from the start (hire slowly and fire fast).