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Hiring A Sales Superstar: The Position Contract

“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.”
Sir Francis Bacon

Part 3: Details, Details, Details

We spent the first 2 posts laying out the pieces of the Hire-Right System. Today we are going to start digging into the specifics.

Let’s begin at the beginning… the job description or what I call the Position Contract. The mistake that most companies make is a not defining the specifics of the job. Sales management, as a general rule, thinks that they should make the Position Contract as simple as possible. The problem is that they confuse a lack of needed detail with simplicity.

I am a outer space junkie. Reading everything from Stephen Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time’ to sci-fi and watching all things Star Trek. Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies in this genre’ and I have seen it countless times. I loved the way they paid attention to the most minute detail of space travel. In particular, how they showed that there was not one detail that was too small to be left to chance. Everything they did had a checklist and spelled out process to complete the task.

So the question I ask is “why does sales management think they can or should skimp on the details of a Position Contract?“ Are sales, the life blood of any company, any less important? How many lives are dependent on a sales person doing their job right and effectively? With that in mind, below are some excerpts from a Position Contract I developed
for a client. I will be posting a link with the entire document in a few days until then feel free to call me with any questions.

Position Contract Excerpt Begins

Position Specific Standards: List all quantity, quality and behavior standards which this position is accountable:

  • total number of calls and visits responded to, generated and converted into buying activity will be recorded, measured and reviewed using GoldMine reports
  • your personal lead conversion success will be recorded, measured and reviewed using GoldMine reports
  • new customer dollar quota____ defined as business that is not currently with (__________)
  • Scheduled work hours for this position are: As needed

Sales will:

  • develop & maintain an “at-a boy file”
  • develop & maintain a competition file
  • deliver weekly & monthly synopsis of concerns to Sales Manager in the form of 1:1 meeting
  • maintain & develop database of minimum 100 suspect companies at all times
  • be a resource of information to help the customer continually improve their overall business operation
  • fax/e-mail/mail to minimum 25 prospects per week, 100 per month, 1200 per year
  • follow up telephone contact and fax within 5 business days
  • continually analyze lead generation process and measure for consistent results, any revisions in the process will be documented and presented to Sales Manager for decision on implementation
  • conduct sales interviews according to sales strategy process
  • prepare proposal to address item(s) of dissatisfaction or needs
  • rehearse presentation in full in front of sales Sales Manager or at his prior approval, another sales associate or video tape (if video taped must be reviewed by Sales Manager)
    present proposals
  • arrange and orchestrate customer site visits
  • present actions necessary to advance and finalize the sale
  • arrange for implementation of ____ services
  • follow up on any lead or referral within a 24-hour time frame or forfeit that lead to the Sales Manager.
  • They will also document source, strategy and success of that lead in GoldMine database and reward the source through appropriate company procedures
  • continually analyze sales/marketing strategy and measure for consistent results, any revisions in the process will be documented and presented to Sales Manager for decision on implementation


Position Contract Excerpt Ends

I think you get the picture. There is no detail too small or insignificant to be left out. Don’t take anything for granted. When you pay this amount of attention to detail there is also a great by-product. Think of the message you are sending your potential hire. You are not only telling them that they will be held accountable, you set the standard BEFORE they come on board. All ambiguity is removed and it allows for the beginning of clear communication between you and your next Sales Superstar!

That’s all for now, Monday, 4/07/08, we will be digging into the setup and tracking of the Hire-Right System.

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