Hiring new sales reps can significantly impact the growth and success of your B2B business. As a founder, it’s crucial to understand the key performance indicators (KPIs) and set the right benchmarks to ensure your new hires are set up for success. Here’s a detailed guide based on my experience in the industry.
Experience Matters
Tangible Results
When hiring, look for candidates who can demonstrate tangible results. Good sales reps maintain a history of how they helped companies grow, whether that was through closing deals in a shorter period, bringing in new business, or managing significant deal flow. These tangible results are key indicators of their potential success in your company.
Beyond Connections
While having connections or a network in your specific business type is valuable, it shouldn’t be the top priority. Your business should be responsible for booking the appointments. Instead, focus on finding someone with a track record of tangible achievements and case studies that showcase their worth.
Asking the Right Questions
Good sales reps should ask a lot of questions about your pipeline. They need to understand if they can make a substantial income, typically in the range of $15k to $20k per month for top reps. They should inquire about your pipeline, lead generation methods, closing timeframes, follow-up systems, and daily expectations. This shows their seriousness and experience.
Setting the Benchmarks
Before making a hire, ensure your company has at least 90 days of consistent new appointments being generated daily and that you can close at a minimum rate of 30%. This must be from a scalable, predictable channel, not from referrals or personal networks. If you haven’t achieved this consistency, you may not be ready for a sales team.
Focus on Sales, Not Prospecting
Your sales reps should spend their time communicating with prospects, not finding their own appointments. While they should do some of their own dials and appointment setting, this should come from an existing pipeline, not from prospecting new business. Marketing should handle new business generation.
Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
The critical KPI for new hires is that after 30 live demos or strategy sessions with sales-qualified leads, they should be able to close at least 20% of them. If they fail to meet this benchmark, it’s a sign they may not be the right fit. It’s essential to make data-driven decisions and use AI call analysis to review performance and identify areas for improvement.
Onboarding and Training
Automate as much of the hiring process as possible. Use video presentations to evaluate candidates’ on-camera presence. Ensure new hires have access to all necessary tools and systems, such as Slack, Google Drive, company email, CRM, and a structured training portal. This preparation will help them understand your sales process from day one.
Continuous Support and Management
Provide ongoing support and regular check-ins. Sales reps need guidance to stay motivated and on target. Use AI call analysis to review performance and make data-driven decisions to ensure that your sales processes are effective.
By following these guidelines, you can make informed decisions when hiring new sales reps and set them up for success. This approach ensures that your sales team is well-equipped to drive growth and achieve your business objectives.
Remember, stay curious and sell more.
