One of the biggest challenges facing ISOs and agents is hiring talented, skilled and dependable salespeople. One of the most critical components in the hiring process is determining the type of salesperson you’re looking for prior to starting your job search.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with many salespeople over the years, and I’m always in awe of the vast variety of experience, skills and backgrounds that I encounter. The agents you thought would never make it end up out producing the ones you considered to be super star material.
Although, I believe there are key characteristics that top performers share, finding the perfect profile for the bankcard processing representative is still a mystery I have yet to solve. One thing I have observed is that salespeople, like human beings, come in a variety of flavors; some are born hunters while others are farmers, the later category being the largest.
In order to avoid hiring mistakes, it’s important to determine what type of person you’re looking for based on the job you expect them to perform. Here are 6 things to consider before you start the hiring process.
What does your perfect salesperson look like?
It’s important to create a profile of what the qualities, experience and attributes your perfect salesperson must possess. Do you want to hire someone experienced in the industry or someone new that can be mentored and developed from scratch? I’ve worked with organizations that are on both sides of the fence. Some feel experienced agents can occasionally bring habits and expectations with them that hinder their success at a new ISO, so they focus on new industry players.
While others feel experienced salespeople can hit the ground running and can quickly contribute to the bottom line. Whatever strategy is employed ensure that the resources required to the help them succeed are in place.
What type of merchants will they be targeting?
The type of prospective merchant that will be targeted will dictate the sales skill set required for the position. If you’re focused on merchants processing larger volumes you’ll need a much more experienced salesperson that possess superior communication, presentation skills and that can rapidly build rapport and trust within all levels of the organization. If you are targeting new or existing small to midsized businesses you can afford to take on a less experienced salesperson and invest the time to develop a well rounded skill set.
How do you expect them to generate leads?
Your method of lead generation is critical when hiring salespeople.
If you are looking for a salesperson to generate their own leads you will need to hire a person that has a background in cold calling, networking, telemarketing or independent lead generation. If providing preset appointments then you’ll require a person that can build trust, rapport, close quickly and won’t burn the opportunities created.
What products will they be focused on selling?
Your product mix will also be a key factor in the hiring process. If they’re going to focus on basic bankcard processing, debit and check products then you can hire a person with a more limited background or less experience. If, for instance, you are selling a niche product like; medical benefits verification, point- of-sales systems, WiFi access or specific wireless applications, you may want a salesperson with a stronger technical background or who is familiar with managing longer sales cycles.
How are you going to compensate them?
Your compensation plan will directly affect the type of person that will apply and that you will be physically be able to hire. Straight commission opportunities will generally attract a different type of salesperson than a mixed compensation plan which includes some type of base plus commission. I’ve worked with a variety of compensation plans in the past and the ones that I have found to be successful are a combination of base or draw coupled with bonus, residual and commission. If you’re looking for an excellent account representative they will require a realistic 100k per year opportunity.
What are your expectations?
And finally what are your expectations of this salesperson? Do you expect them to hit the ground running and make quota immediately or do you have the resources to let them grow into the position over time? If your budget requires an immediate producer you should direct hiring toward experienced sales reps, you may have to pay them more, but the odds of them producing out of the gate will be greatly enhanced.
Hiring quality salespeople can definitely be a challenge but if you have a clear vision of what you expect and what you are looking for prior to starting your search you will be way ahead of the game.
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