It’s that time of year again. The NCAA Tournament is a week away and it’s almost time to start filling out brackets. As I started thinking about which teams had the potential to make it to the Final Four, I realized that I was approaching my bracket selection the same way I would if searching for a sales candidate. Many different factors need to be taken into consideration before you know if someone is a fit for the position, either in your bracket or in your company.
1. Know Their Record
When choosing where to place a team in your bracket, one of the first things you should do is research the team’s history and record to see if they have the potential to go on a Final Four run. The same thing goes for a sales candidate.
Top-performing sales reps often have a track record of success and great tenure. Look for awards or words like ‘exceeded quota’ on a candidate’s resume. Also, when a sales rep has been at the same company for multiple years, it’s often an indicator that they’re successful. Top performing sales reps who are having success are often making good money and don’t want to change companies every year to start from scratch.
2. Consider The End Game
Even if a team has a track record of success and a winning season, it doesn’t always mean they’re going to make it very far into the tournament. Sometimes it’s a good idea to pick first round upsets, but only if you don’t see that team ultimately making it to the Sweet 16.
I’ve had to make a similar decision when choosing between two candidates. The one candidate was a successful sales rep who looked great on paper, but had a bad attitude and didn’t respond well to authority. The other candidate didn’t have as much experience, but was eager to learn and was a hard worker. I decided to take a chance on the second sales rep because I knew that in the end, the first sales rep’s bad attitude wasn’t going to get him very far at the company.
3. Know the Geography
Don’t forget to take geography into account when filling out your bracket. If a team is playing close to home, it could be considered a home-court advantage, and this could give the team a huge edge in the game. The farther the team has to travel, the more worn out they will be before a game.
When recruiting top sales candidates, geography is also a factor you need to consider. It will generally take a lot to convince someone commuting thirty minutes for their current job, to commute hour and half for a new position. Just like how teams traveling farther will get worn down with a longer drive, employees are likely to feel the same with a long daily commute. Make sure you narrow your search to a reasonable distance from your company.
4. Anything Goes
Finally, they don’t call it March Madness for nothing. Don’t be surprised if an underdog upsets a favorite or a team’s best player gets injured and your whole bracket is thrown off.
When looking for sales talent, you have to be willing to take the good with the bad. Sometimes your ideal candidate takes a job offer at another company or has a prior offense they failed to disclose. And sometimes, you’re able to find your ideal employee.
There are a lot of factors that go into picking a winning bracket, and a winning sales team. This March, leave the sales recruitment part up to us and contact us to help you find top sales talent.
