by Mike Brunel | Sep 28, 2021 | Sales, Strategy
How to hire a Superstar Salesperson each and every time
Today, I released my free report on How to Hire a Superstar Salesperson each and every time.
To coincide with releasing this free report, I wanted to share some of my thoughts around how I have hired salespeople and some key takeaways I have learned, through good and bad hires.
Who is this for?
It’s for any business owner, Sales Manager, or a startup who needs to hire a salesperson who is rewarded by a salary and performance-based performance-based
If you’ve ever hired any salespeople, like I have, you’ve usually made or have made one of these mistakes.
Just so you know, I’m fully qualified to be writing about this stuff – I’ve hired, fired, coached, or managed hundreds of salespeople, over too many years to remember, in many different countries and languages.
It’s fair to say that I’ve been through the school of hard knocks.
I hired magnificent salespeople beginning with one wonderful amazing woman, a single mum, who through sheer hard work and effort exceeded her targets in her job as a sales manager in a small media company in New Zealand.
With my main business, I was lucky to find two brothers for my U.S. operation who brought in millions of dollars.
These two superstars have certain traits, talents, and habits, that we knew would leverage our sales systems worldwide, if we could duplicate their process…. which we did.
As a result, I noticed traits in these people, secrets that I always look for. I think I know by now, what they are.
Before I go into that, let’s talk about two of the mistakes that we often make, when we go to hire salespeople.
What not to do
What’s the cost of Hiring Badly?
Think about these stats for a moment. According to a Harvard Business review article, the cost of replacing a salesperson that was hired badly ranges from $75,000 to $90,000, while other sales positions can cost a company as much as $300,000.
These figures don’t reflect the lost sales while a replacement is found and trained.
One of my good friends who owns a telecommunication company has told me a bad hire for him costs a least $1 million over time.
That’s horrendous. This may not change as we enter this new world of communication. As a company or small business, you simply cannot afford to hire on gut alone.
Is Fit Important? Maybe.
A culture fit in any business is important, there’s no doubt about that, but what you need to discover firstly is “Does this person have the ability/talent to do the job?”
That is the underlying question that needs to be asked by you as an employer of salespeople.
In the next blog, I am going to cover off some of the common mistakes that we made when we hired a salesperson for our business.
Download my FREE report to learn more, or email me… mike@mikebrunel.com
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. His products and services are now sold in 23 countries and in 11 languages generating $350 million annually in sales for his clients. Mike sold the company in 2015 and now spends his time following his passions which include rugby, travel. His promise: “I can find thousands of dollars in your business within minutes – GUARANTEED” TRY ME!
by Mike Brunel | Sep 14, 2021 | Strategy
In 1963 meteorologist Edward Lorenz announced a stunning discovery.
For decades, people had viewed the universe as a large machine in which causes matched effects. “Cause and effect” it is sometimes known as, or “what you reap you sow.”
He discovered The Butterfly Effect; it is the concept of small things having major effects.
My young daughter only asked me last week if I had heard of the butterfly effect, I said it was about cause and effect, she said
“Dad, it’s about a butterfly flapping its wings in Sydney, and creating a hurricane in Atlanta.” Really I said “Yes cause and effect”
Edward Lorenz said that it specifically refers to the idea that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Beijing in March, then, by August, hurricane patterns in the Atlantic will be completely different. Here is an example of this theory:
If the butterfly in Beijing flapped its wings, it would create tiny wind patterns that would affect a passing breeze, which would, in turn, affect local wind patterns, which in turn might turn a storm slightly off course.
Since the storm’s original direction was two degrees more to the south, the storm will no longer hit a particular mountain range and dissipate. Instead, it continues in a different direction and lasts longer than it otherwise might have, which causes more weather events to happen.
I have always maintained that this very thought of making tiny adjustments, creates huge efforts. If you understand this very simple theory, then every idea you read and implement will cause some kind of effect somewhere.
Have a great week selling your stuff.
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. His products and services are now sold in 23 countries and in 11 languages generating $350 million annually in sales for his clients. Mike sold the company in 2015 and now spends his time following his passions which include rugby, travel. His promise: “I can find thousands of dollars in your business within minutes – GUARANTEED” TRY ME
by Mike Brunel | Sep 7, 2021 | Sales
The Fast and the Furious: Sales Edition
Have you heard of Speed Selling?
It’s a great way to launch a company, and I have participated in it several times.
Over the years, it has become more sophisticated, and my old company, NRS Media, (since sold) has fine-tuned it to launch a brand new media company into profit from day one. I’ll delve more into that idea later.
How a small town radio station became the birthplace of Speed Selling.
My first experience with Speed Selling was at a part-time radio station in a small town with a population of 15,000 people.
As FM radio developed in my country, many potential operators were given temporary licenses to run 90-day radio stations, usually in tourist towns.
The potential bidder who was proposing a full-time license used this temporary 90-day station concept to build credibility and see if a format they used would be accepted by the community. If they did, they were granted a full-time FM license.
Each salesperson was given a specific “show to sell,” such as the “Top Ten at Ten,” the “American Top 40 with Rick Dees,” sponsorships, and any generic music program that could be sold off for 90 days.
The trick was that there was no set price on the program, just a guideline.
The sales rep could not go below the number, but they could go above it. The highest price got the sale, and the sales manager was the final judge.
The competition was held for an hour for each show, and each rep had to go out and cold call, sell the product, and get the client to sign an agreement with the time and price they were prepared to pay. If the price was acceptable to the sales manager, the rep got the next sale, and off they went with a 15-minute bonus.
The other reps had to sit around for 15 minutes before they could go out and sell the next program. It proved very successful and loads of fun.
How Bootcamps Helped NRS Media salespeople become confident and Effective.
One to Many is another tool for Speed Sell.
This idea built my previous company NRS Media from zero sales to $350 million annually.
It was a seminar-based model where business owners were invited to a hotel to hear the latest trends and ideas on advertising.
Usually, there were groups of 15-20 advertisers. At the end of the presentation, every attendee was offered an advertising package, usually a 12-month investment. On average, we could generate $600-$1 million in sales using this model over a week!
Taking action and speed in selling is very important.
How Bootcamps Helped NRS Media Salespeople Become Confident and Effective.
Often the one ingredient missing is training, which cannot be ignored.
I wrote all the sales and marketing manuals (playbooks) at NRS Media and perfected the execution, but without our famous Bootcamps, our people would never have had the success they achieved.
(I am going to expand on the power of Bootcamps in a future blog. )
Training is the one neglected tool that gets you the most sales.
Many companies ignore it because it takes time, but as the saying goes, “We could not afford not to do it.”
In conclusion, Speed Selling is an effective way to sell products and launch a company. It can be adapted to any business if you have a product launch that requires speed. There are a few more Speed Selling ideas that I would love to share, so find a way to sell more of your stuff.
As always.
Find a way to sell more of your stuff….
Mike (speed sell ) Brunel
PLUS, whenever you are ready…here are four ways I can help you grow YOUR business.
My favourite thing to do is show you what’s working right now. It’s not as good as being a client, but it’s close.
2. Take advantage of a FREE 45-minute consultation
Need some sales support? Make an appointment, and let me take you through the past, present, and future templates.
3. Work with me one-on-one
If you are wanting to take your product or service from face-to-face to virtual selling, then I have a product that may be able to help you. You can get started for as little as $250 a month. If you’re interested then email mike@mikebrunel.com and put ‘Virtual Selling’ in the subject line…tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.
Mike
Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. His products and services are now sold in 23 countries and in 11 languages generating $350 million annually in sales for his clients. Mike sold the company in 2015 and now spends his time following his passions which include rugby, travel. His promise: “I can find thousands of dollars in your business within minutes – GUARANTEED” TRY ME
