b'even if you don\'t have a spot for someone at theInstead, help build your staff through positive rein-moment. Ask for referrals, ask your friends, ask any- forcement. Tell them what theyre doing right every one, and always keep your eye open for new talent. chance that you get. That doesnt mean to ignore when theyre doing something wrong but rather be 2. Interview the Right Way truthful, straightforward, and to the point. They will appreciate your guidance and learn from it because The best way to grow a sales organization is to hireyou\'ve been encouraging them along the way.people who have the innate abilities to do the jobregardless of their experience (or lack of). Experi- 5. Train Your Peopleence doesn\'t necessarily equal talent.Afictionalexchangethatdrivesastakeright You need someone that has the inherent talents tothrough one of the arguments against training and be a superstar. At The Center for Sales Strategy, wedeveloping your salespeople is:always recommend our clients use the Online Sales Talent Interview. Its a predictive talent assessmentCFO asks CEO, "What happens if we invest in devel-thatoffersthemosteffectivetalentinstrumentoping our people, and then they leave us?"available on the market to accurately identify an in-dividuals innate strengths and guides you to coachCEO answers, "What happens if we don\'t, and they them in a way to maximize those strengths. Hiringstay?"talented salespeople means you\'ll have more suc-cess, and more success equals less turnover! Salespeopleneedfrequentopportunitiestolearn and practice in order to stay current, relevant, and 3. Focus on Strengths responsive to the needs of the businesses on which they call. Training allows your team to build good Once you assess a potential candidates talent, youhabits,breakbadhabits,andpolishtheircraft.A mustfocusonhowtomaximizetheirstrengths.strong training program for salespeople should give Most managers try to help a salesperson get betterthem strategies and techniques to turn why to buy at their weaknesses, but that is actually quite inef- pitches into more productive how to use solutions.fective. At best, you can see someone improve upThebottomlineisthatwell-trainedsalespeople to 10% in a weak area, while focusing on a strengthare more successful, earn more, and are happier. you can see a 10-fold increase. Committing to finding the right talent, focusing on 4. Build Up strengths, and cultivating a rewarding approach to-wards managing a sales team can significantly re-It\'s human nature to focus on the negatives. As a salesduce, if not stop, high sales rep turnover rates.manager, focusing only on the problems demoralizes your sales team, hurts performance, and ultimately leads to good people leaving your organization. Trey MorrisSenior Consultant The Center for Sales Strategy89'