8/12/08

You've Found Good People, Now What? Part 2

More on what to do after you find the good people. . .

(See Part 1)

Next point is personal time. The new salesperson requires a lot of personal attention. You need to be able to see in their eyes and their physical expressions how they are doing. The only way you will see this is personal interaction. If it is not you, then make sure the person you have in charge of their training is doing this. People are still deciding if they are going to like working here or not. Don't take this for granted. I don't care what the guarantee of money is, if they don't feel comfortable, they will be looking for other opportunities while going through the motions of working for you. I have seen this many times. You can tell by their physical movements, their tone of voice, their expressions. They need reassurance and the way to give that is by personal attention. Keep their day packed full. Lavish personal attention on them. It will make a major difference in how long they will stay.

This is a funny one to me, but many dealers do not supply business cards immediately for salespeople. They want to wait for a week or two to see if it works out. Now that is starting them out right! You might as well say, 'we have no faith in you, but if you prove it to us, we will get you some business cards.' Total silliness. If you want to be cheap, print some on your color laser printer, but they should have cards on day one. They should be handing them out from day one on. Don't slack on the tools. Be committed to your choices and get on with it. If it doesn't work out, so be it, but you will have given it your best shot.

Make sure the new salesperson is introduced to everyone in the store. Make sure they have a list of all the employees, what department they work in and what their phone numbers or extensions are. You want them to be comfortable as soon as possible. Don't let them introduce themselves--either you, or someone you designate should take them around the store and introduce them.

If the new salesperson is not asking you questions, something is wrong. Find out what it is and fix it now. In the first few days, how could they not have a pile of questions. Seek them out if they don't seek you out. Make sure they feel comfortable seeking you out.

Test. Not written tests, but verbal tests. What are they learning. What did they learn today. Get feedback. Find out if what is going in is sticking. Ask them a lot of questions. Insure that they are feeling good about their choice, that the training is interesting and that they are learning their way around. Ask them.

You've found good people, now make sure they stay and become producers. The first month will determine the length of their stay and you are the key to their success, not them.

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