Industry know-how, or not?
Many companies looking to hire sales people recruit only from their sector.
They believe this will accelerate the time to peak performance, as the recruits will already know their industry.
Below, I explain why such companies might be missing a trick.
Sector knowledge is quicker to learn
But which is quicker to learn: your industry or brilliant consultative selling skills?
An A-player should have natural inquisitiveness, drive and a propensity to learn. Given that, they should be able to learn your sector in six months or less.
By contrast, an excellent sales skill set takes years to develop (five to be good, fifteen plus to achieve mastery).
We are talking about skills, behaviours, habits, and mindsets which can’t be learned overnight; some of them are intrinsic. You can’t read them in a book. They take practice, failure, learning, self-reflection, mentoring and coaching. That all comes at a cost and it takes time.
You can save yourself both if you hire people with the right competencies.
Bigger net = more fish
If you choose to hire only within your industry, you’re limiting your choices. Many company’s sectors are very niche. If that’s the case for you, the pool that you’re fishing in will be small.
If you’re hunting in the same (small) pool as your competitors, you’ll be recycling the same flawed talent as them.
You’ll probably end up paying a premium for someone whose sales skills may be limited (and you might also have to wait for their restrictive covenant period to end before they can even start seeing clients or bringing work in!).
Pitfalls of hiring from your competitor
Hiring the best performer in your closest competitor, for example, may sound like a great idea. You assume that they’ll know your sector and have strong client relationships which they can bring to you.
The reality may be a far cry from this:
- Their top performer has been in role for 10+ years.
- They sold originally but have sat on the “best” accounts since then.
- They are now highly-paid order takers. They haven’t needed to sell.
Is this the type of person you want in your team? Wouldn’t you prefer a hunter who will win you new work?
Breaking the repetitive cycle
If you do what you’ve always done…You miss out on innovation, of both thinking and of approach. Different industries try things in different ways. Bringing outsiders in enables you to stretch the breadth of innovation within your business.
I have seen many “out of industry” hires who have been revelatory in their new role.
I believe the right sales people love the challenge of a new sector as it fuels their curiosity for learning. Some examples:
- Advertising > Fin-tech
- Recruitment > Cyber Security
- Restaurant Manager > Banking
Things change
Your business and its sector might (have to) change. Businesses merge, technologies develop, and products fall in and out of favour.
Having someone who is agile and willing to try new things will be more valuable in the long term, particularly if radical changes occur.
An expert at selling your now otiose technology or products/services might become a burden if they don’t have transferrable skills.
Having it all
Of course, the ideal is to have both a person who is amazing at sales AND from your sector.
Read my 10 tips on the perfect sales hire – Toggle Switch Consulting and keep an eye out for my forthcoming blog on Building your Sales A-team for tips on how to find them.
Or contact me to discuss how I can help you using Objective Management’s Group’s Sales Candidate Assessments as I helped Neil and Celcat.
““It was brilliant. It really narrowed down the quality candidate.””
Neil JordanGeneral Manager of Celcat