How to Hire a Salesperson for a Vacant Territory

One of the most frustrating challenges that hiring managers face is how to hire a salesperson for a vacant territory. The loss of revenue and opportunity costs can make the temptation almost overwhelming to quickly fill the territory with the first candidate they can find.

However, although settling for just any salesperson may relieve some of their anxiety in the short term, it will inevitably cause even greater problems down the road.

When hiring managers are in a hurry to hire a salesperson for a vacant territory, they can succumb to the temptation to short-change the critical evaluative steps along the way. They may overlook a job-hopping pattern on a resume, allow sales candidates who test low on Drive into the interview process, and keep their interview questions quick and easy.

The danger in this case is that they risk placing a low-Drive salesperson, who may have several other deficiencies, into the open territory, where he/she will likely make a bad situation even worse. He may prospect insufficiently, fail to grow business and frustrate existing customers, leaving the company back at square one, before moving to his next job.

The key in filling a vacant territory is patience. When hiring managers take the time to hire properly, they dramatically reduce the likelihood of error, allowing diligence and scrutiny to guide their decisions. When they take the time to source candidates carefully, test them rigorously, and interview thoroughly, they are giving their territory and their customers the respect they deserve. Although it is very tough to resist the urge to settle in the short term and remain patient, eventually increased production and fewer headaches will be the reward.

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Dr. Christopher Croner and Richard Abraham are authors of Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again and developers of the proprietary and patented sales assessment test, The DriveTest™, for sales candidates. To experience the difference of the DriveTest™, contact us today!