We have received a lot of feedback on our earlier column about the cost of hiring sales candidates who ultimately do not produce to our expectations.

Most of the feedback was that we UNDERESTIMATED the cost.

We therefore consolidated what we heard and here is how many hiring managers gauge the problem:

• Cost of advertising for the position
• Time and cost for resume review
• Time and cost for phone screens
• Time and cost for multiple interviews
• Time and cost for internal and external training
• Extra time managing problem employee(s)
• Extra time managing client damage control
• Difference between poor salesperson’s production and good salesperson’s production while employed
• Time and cost of termination process
• Lost production in territory while no salesperson is in place

Each company inputs its own numbers, but we have  received cost estimates for a bad hire ranging from $100,000 to well over $1 million in the higher transaction territories.

So you can see why we sometimes have to bite our tongues when prospects recoil at the $200 cost of most credible tests. As we have always said, tests need to be used properly and within the context of a solid recruiting and interviewing template, but with the stakes so high, the ROI is truly compelling.

Dr. Christopher Croner and Richard Abraham are authors of “Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again” and developers of the proprietary and patented sales test, The DriveTest™, for Sales Candidates. For more information, click here.

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