148 | Hiring and Managing Sales Rep Series 2 of 3 With Joe Koufman
Today is all about the hiring process for your first or your next sales rep. Don’t take this lightly. Hiring the wrong person will derail you in many ways. Be smart about bringing in the RIGHT person. Our guest today is Joe Koufman with AgencySparks. Joe didn’t start out as a master of sales. It took years of work and likely a kick in the pants too. Joe shares insights on what characteristics make for high performing salespeople. Joe shares one book that he recommends to all businesses, especially digital agencies. Listen in to this episode to be enlightened on what it takes to hire right when it comes to sales.
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Joe’s Target Audience: Includes marketers and vetted, specialist agencies.
Joe is the CEO and founder of AgencySparks. The mission at AgencySparks is to ignite relationships between brands and specialist agencies. Joe felt there was a need for this type of service because he found that there is a sort of “lie” that exists within most agencies. It’s common for clients to expect agencies to be perfect at everything and so agencies take on anything and everything thrown at them (they fail to say “no”).
What agencies then often do is outsource so they don’t have to give up the revenue to another marketing agency. Joe felt this was a disservice because the client wasn’t getting the best expertise. He wanted to start focusing on connecting clients with agencies who have an expertise. AgencySparks helps agencies to find prospects who they can provide a specific service for, develop relationships with them and ultimately, convert them into new clients. Clients are then appreciative of these agencies who are really specialized in the problem area they are trying to solve and grow in.
Joe enlightens us in this episode by sharing that the #1 trait to look for in a new hire is their level of curiosity. It is a trait that is important because it means they are willing to put time and energy into new things and creative solutions to problems. A recommended book around this is “The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation.” The main idea in this text, is about bringing an insight to the new prospect that is not obvious to them and how to explain the pain. You want the prospect to acknowledge that pain too. The punchline is- that a solution exists. The value in this is you set yourself up as the best possible solution to the problem.
“The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation” is really a life book and a philosophy about taking control of the customer conversation. If you think about it, we are all selling in a sense all the time
So, what’s the biggest mistake people make in hiring a sales rep? Joe says that people expect to get a “rainmaker” -meaning- they believe there’s some magic pixie dust that when sprinkled on, a magical business conversion occurs. But the real value in a salesperson is whether they’ve got the courage to ask the right questions, and their willingness to go deep.
The archetype of “The Challenger” as explained in “The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation” is the person you want because this is someone who is going to challenge you. This is what creates a long lasting relationship: tenacity and persistence.
In this episode we’ll cover:
- Why clients are often disappointed by agencies
- Why that provoked Joe to be the founder of AgencySparks
- The archetype to look for when hiring your sales rep
- Why you should read “The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation” ASAP
- Why a “Challenger” is the person to hire
- Why curiosity is an invaluable trait
Practical and Actionable:
Go and buy the “The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation.” Read the book and look out for that person who is a challenger, possesses tenacity and follow up skills. That’s all you need in a sales person!
Resources and Links
- AgencySparks Website
- Joe’s Website
- “The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation.”
- Harvard Review of The Challenger Sale
- Reach out to Gene for your biz concerns
- Join Momentum Mondays
- Join Mastery
- Ready to take the STAGE? Get more info here!
- Leave a review on itunes
- Share the LOVE and TWEET about this episode.
Connect with Joe on Twitter me too on LinkedIn or Twitter @genehammett.
Do you have questions about today’s episode!?
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