When hiring a new sales leader, it’s important to have strategies in place to ensure you hire the most qualified person for the job. When you consider the average tenure of a new sales leader is 19 months and the cost of a bad executive hire can cost upwards of $60,000, this is not a decision that should be taken lightly.
One way to get an idea of a sales leader’s strategy and future performance before you hire them is to ask what their 30-, 60-, and 90-day plans are to impact your business. Asking for their plans in the final stages of the interview will help you determine whether they are going to be a successful leader who can drive the company’s business goals or if they will become another statistic.
TRANSFERABLE EXPERIENCE
Having a candidate create a 30-60-90 day plan for your business enables you to see “under the hood” so to speak, before making an offer. You already know about the candidate’s experience and background at other companies from their resume, but now is your chance to see how their experience will apply to your business.
A strategic, data-backed plan that addresses urgent problems in your business shows that a candidate is able to use their prior experiences to tackle new problems.
One of the reasons many new leaders fail is because they aren’t able to transfer their skills to a new environment, so it’s a good idea to get evidence of this in a plan before you make an offer.
EXECUTIVE STYLE AND APPROACH
A 30-60-90 day plan also helps reveal the candidate’s execution-style and creative ability.
For example, if a candidate plans to only schedule informational meetings with key internal players in the first 90 days to learn more about the organization, it shows that the candidate is analytical and strategic by nature, but probably won’t make an impact right away.
On the other hand, a candidate who plans to schedule meetings with key decision-makers and customers in the first 30 days, while working on operational items soon after, is balanced in their approach and eager to make a difference.
Both styles are effective, but it’s a matter of choosing which leadership style best fits into your company culture.
COMMITMENT TO THE POSITION
A candidate who is able to address these questions in their plan shows that they’ve given serious thought to the role and have created a strategy accordingly.
If a candidate is willing to put a lot of time and effort into creating a business plan for a job they don’t have, then it’s a good sign of what they will be able to accomplish in the future.
The cost of a bad executive hire is considerable, and a 30-60-90 day plan can help you make sure a candidate’s experience, leadership style, and strategies are in line with your overall business goals.
Learn what other strategies Naviga uses to locate and hire top Executive talent.
