Methods for a Great Reference Check When Hiring Salespeople

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If you were to ask how lots of people conduct a research check when you hire sales people, about half your audience would raise their hand. When I ask exactly how many get six references of individuals who will in truth talk for you about the candidate, almost no you might raises their hand Security Clearance Recruiters in DC. The most frequent reason given for skipping this important sale recruiting step is, "People just won't talk to me about the candidate since they are afraid of being sued."

Because of this, I allow us a technique for getting 6 or even more references who'll speak to me about the candidate when hiring salespeople.

My philosophy in asking for references is completely different from the normal process.

I give candidates a research check assignment to check them for a number of traits. One, if they're successful in completing the assignment in an appropriate manner, their success shows work ethic and responsibility. Two, when the assignment is carried out properly, I'm guaranteed to find least 6 people who'll talk to me about the candidate.

I let them know, "I need you to supply me with six references, the names and telephone numbers of six people who'll talk to me and will say good reasons for having you when I call them. I need two former bosses, two former co-workers, and two former customers." If they cannot yet have any sales experience, I ask for two business owners or successful business people they know locally that could attest to their character.

When asking for a co-worker, inform you that you do not want someone who has worked for the candidates, or someone for whom they've worked; you want a peer, someone who's knowledgeable about the challenges they've faced, and how they work and handle themselves.

Initially, this assignment appears that I'm setting them up for success, and that a lot of any candidate could complete this assignment without the challenges. Most candidates fail in another of several ways. They give fewer than six references. They give six, however not in the three correct categories. Cell phone numbers don't work. They haven't called the mention of alert them that I will be calling. I need to conclude that if they're not willing to put forth great effort on this exercise, they almost certainly won't put forth great effort to take care of my customers.

Strong salespeople call their references beforehand and let them know I'll be calling, and let them know to state good things when I call. Often times I have been on the fence with a candidate and that one exercise helped me make a simple decision. Sometimes you receive really lucky, and they give you the name of a research that you know. That is ideal for you in getting information regarding a candidate, but not necessarily so ideal for the candidate.

Many managers who take this advice relay stories to me about the fantastic information they get about candidates from references, dispelling their initial doubts about this task in the process. The majority of the time the referral source says good reasons for having the candidate, and often can give additional information regarding a few of the challenges the candidate has. These may possibly not be challenges which can be significant enough that you'd not select the candidate for the work, but the info from the referral source is information that you will importance of coaching and training.

A manager once said that a reference source distributed by the candidate by using this assignment said, "I think I must inform you this. She worked hard for just two weeks. Then, her work tailed off, and I couldn't get her back around full steam." WOW! Surprising things happen when you get six people who'll speak to you.

Asking for these references is somewhat comparable to the recommendations someone might post on the LinkedIn profile. Strong salespeople quickly come up with the requested six references in each category. Weak and moderate salespeople struggle with this exercise

Once I was working with a consumer company to hire a fresh sales rep. We thought we would hire her. I was hopeful and so was the organization management. Then, one of many references she provided was someone I knew really well. I thought, jackpot! I'm about to obtain confirmation that we are creating a great hire. I called our mutual friend, and the first words out of her mouth were, "Oh, you are interviewing crazy Kathy!"

Another time, I was interviewing a sales manager candidate, and two of the six people whose phone numbers HE had provided did not work. He did not get the job. I'd to assume he must not have wanted it badly enough.

Once you do speak to the references just take 5-8 minutes to ask the reference questions. Don't grill the reference source. Use this time for you to ask the reference source additional questions regarding concerns you could have discovered through the process. Ask the extra questions within an "Oh-by-the-way" fashion. "Oh in addition, is Richard well organized? How does he do at multi-tasking" ;."Oh in addition, how can Cathy do in managing her time? How driven could you say she's?" "Can you trust everything Tom tells you?"

I learned this next technique from a manager who formally worked for the US Government giving people top security clearance. He explained that after talking to a research, at the end of the decision, ask, "Please tell me about two more people who when I call will say good reasons for having Tom." "Please tell me about two more people who if I were to call them might indicate that they did not go along well with Tom." Whether you call these people or not, the degree to that your referral sources struggles to come up with two names of individuals who'll speak positively and to the degree with that they easily offer you two names of individuals with whom the candidate did not go along well may give a great indication of the candidates character.