For most sales organizations, your sales team most likely represents a wide range of personalities, experience levels as well as performance levels. Organizations typically have top performers or “all stars” as well as those that struggle each month to meet their sales quota or budget for the month. If your organization has determined there are some areas where your sales team can perform better and resources of time and money are available, where do you invest these limited resources? Do you focus on coaching up your bottom performers, do you bring in new talent, or do you focus on maximizing the performance of your top performers?
Finding the right person for the job often takes time—time you don’t have—so you may find yourself dreading to make that next hire. 
When it comes to recruiting superstars, some people just seem to have the magic touch! I have the pleasure of working with quite a few sales managers who have this gift, but one, in particular, stands out of the crowd. She rarely misses!
Hiring the right person takes the perfect blend of art and science; you bring the art and we bring the science. Let me explain.
I recently talked with a person in senior leadership who told me his company hired a salesperson six months ago who took an $80,000 pay cut to come to work for them. She left an obviously lucrative sales job in a bigger company because, despite her level of achievement and huge revenue contribution, she felt no appreciation for her accomplishments and, was being forced into a rigid sales structure totally foreign to what made her successful.
Honestly, that is not something that ever came out of my mouth… nor did it ever come to mind. When I was a kid I wanted to be a chef because I loved to cook and eat. I wanted to be a Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2. I wanted to be a Madonna (before she did all the weird stuff). After watching A Few Good Men, I wanted to be a lawyer, and for a brief moment, I worked at Express and thought I wanted to be a fashion merchandiser. Why didn’t I dream of becoming a sales person or better said, an expert in sales strategy?
I am a runner. Sometimes, when I am out on the road, I experience what many people call a “runner’s high.” During those brief moments, when it all comes together, I feel as if I was made to run. Every thought becomes clear, every step is synchronized, and every breath is easy. In those moments, everything feels right, and I want to spend more time running.
