The annual AG Salesworks summer outing took place this past Friday, and as expected it didn't disappoint. We didn't do anything complicated this year, we just rented a campsite with a volleyball court, a few grills and a beach about a minute walk away. After a full day I drove home exhausted thinking back on all the days’ events. What I recognized is that it only reaffirms to me the importance of events like this.
I can remember back 6-7 years ago when AG was in its infancy. Our version of the summer outing would involve the 10 of us taking an afternoon off, driving down to our president's house and kicking back for barbeque and some bonding. At that time we got to know each other very well being cooped up all day in our 800 square foot office space with no A/C. The bond that existed back then was reminiscent of my days as youngster in Winthrop living in a triple decker with 17 Italian Aunts/Uncles and cousins. You loved your family members, but there were also times where we were overwhelmed by the urge to strangle each other trying to co-exist in close quarters.
As the business has grown over the years and with the addition of a little one to the Ferrara clan, it has become increasingly more difficult for me to dedicate time to getting to know every individual within the organization. Granted I spend 45-50 hrs a week with them so I have a pretty good understanding of the standard stuff - where they live/do they have kids/ where they went to college etc.. But I find events like these to be the best opportunity to really focus my effort in getting to know my organization. For example... the person in marketing who you may regularly cross paths with but exchange nothing more than a "how was the weekend?" before you have to quickly head off to the next meeting. What you may not already know is that you have a good amount of common interests..skiing, underwater basket weaving, ancient Chinese culture.. the list could go on.
I'm also realist. I understand that as we've grown I'm not necessarily going to have the bond that existed back in the early years of AG as we sweated our days out (literally & figuratively) in a small office with no A/C. What has become evident to me as a manager - especially in the teleprospecting world - is that you can't allow yourself, or your employees, to just trudge into work, bang away at the phones and just go home. We all need to bring our personality to work with us...as long as it's for the most part work appropriate.
Now maybe not all of us love the summer outing. I can distinctly recall dreading the thought of having to go when working at a couple of my previous employers. When I did go, it generally gave me a refreshed perspective on the organization and a better understanding of what made my colleagues tick. Having that one-on-one time outside of the stiff corporate setting allowed me to let the guard down a bit and as a result made the idea of going back to work on Monday somewhat pleasant because I was more comfortable being myself.
So for your summer outing this year let your hair down a bit (not too much). Think of it as a time to hit the reset button - get yourself refreshed and use it as a chance to REALLY get to know the people you end up spending more time with than your family.
There is no greater point of anxiety for all of us then that moment in time where we question whether or not we hired the right guy\gal as a inside sales rep. Teleprospecting is not an easy gig. At most companies the burnout rate is far higher for teleprospecting in comparison to other job functions. You are right in having some healthy anxiety about your new hire. Will he\she cut it on the phones? Do they have the work ethic that is required to be a great teleprospector? Will they fit into your culture? Most importantly…will they hit their number?
We’ve all got great hiring processes in place I’m sure. We ask the right questions, run personality profiles, put potential hires through role plays, and do our best to select the best person for the job. However, there is only so much you can do on the interviewing side of the equation. Inevitably you are going to have a bad one slip into the ranks. I have some things you can look for during the first few days of a new rep being on the phone that should give you a good indication as whether or not you’ve hired a keeper.
- The activity test: If you’ve hired well, you have placed a person in the seat that understands that mistakes will be made. You can only prepare a new hire for some of the things they will face on the phone. They are, after all, calling humans, and humans have a way of reacting in new and interesting ways all the time. That being said, you do your best to prep your new rep for all the things they will hear on the phone and see via email. Sadly, mistakes will be made. It’s a part of life. You’ve got to hope you’ve hired someone that “get’s it”. Someone that understands that mistakes will happen, but the key is not just to learn from them - the key is to make as many as early as possible so that you are up to altitude faster. I know a rep has a high likelihood of being great when they simply make more calls than the comp plan calls for. They understand that more activity up front accomplishes many positive things for them. It leads to more conversations faster so that they can get their hiccups out of the way earlier. They know that more conversations\calls at the start is necessary because they must do that in order to hit their lead goals due to the fact that they aren’t a seasoned vet yet. This also tells you that they aren’t afraid to tell the boss “yeah, I’m not afraid to make more calls than you asked me to”. Finally, it is a great indication of overall quality work ethic. People that put their best effort forward right out of the gates are most likely bringing the right work ethic to your team. All good things.
- The quality test: After your new rep has spent two days on the phone, run your “quality conversation” (QC) report from your Salesforce.com. Look for three things on this report. Total QC’s, Titles of the contacts associated with each QC, and the detail surrounding the conversations. The total QC activity for a “Great” new hire should be at least 10% higher than that of your average rep. The titles of the contacts should vary wildly as they try and get a feel for their target audience. Varied contact titles also indicates that they are using “0#” techniques to find something…anything of value out about the target organization. The detail or notes for each conversation should be well written and clear. This is self explanatory, decent writing skills are critical in this job. If the notes are sloppy or make no sense, you may have a problem on your hands.
- The cultural test: This one is tough for some people to swallow. When I discuss this with people they often criticize me for placing too much emphasis on how my employees feel about one another. We always agree to disagree on this point. For AG, the culture is everything. We’ve tried to create a place where people want to work. A place they miss when they move on. We’ve been successful in both areas so it is important that your new hire is exposed to that. Make a point to see how they are introducing themselves to your team. Do they gravitate towards your happiest and best performing employees...your “A” players? Or do you see them not interacting much at all with anyone? Either one of these is acceptable…however, be alarmed if you see your new hire gravitating towards your B and C employees. This can be a harbinger of potentially not so great things to come.
There is no exact science to alleviating the anxiety around a new hire, but these are some things I’ve come to look for that have always proved to be great indicators as to the quality of my hire. How do you put your mind at ease about your new hires?
At AG, we feel like our corporate culture is something that sets us apart; it attracts the employees we want and keeps them here long term. We feel like that benefits our clients because they're getting seasoned teleprospectors calling on their behalf. Today, Steve Giordano, one of our teleprospectors, blogs about the differences he noticed when coming on board.
I've worked in a fair amount of jobs in my life. This isn't to say that I'm flakey, but I just don't believe in staying at a job that doesn't give me as much as I give it. No growth to me means no future, and I move on. I believe that's the focus for most career oriented people in our field. Some of these people may proceed in different ways. In the various jobs I've had, I've worked with several fine people. More often than not, however I've worked with people who were more concerned with their own careers than the betterment of the whole. It was this that drove me out of my former job and towards my current career at AG Salesworks. It's unfortunate, as well as enlightening, to have to work at a job that you dread going into.
My best example of this comes from my previous job working for a well known financial institution. When I first started, I was teller in a bank branch. My initial management team was very encouraging. But as I grew into a sales role, I came under a new regime which didn't seem very concerned with anything other than themselves. Now, this isn't a gripe piece or me voicing out against "the man." I know the difference between a hard boss and a brute. This woman was the latter. That being said, I understand that bosses need to sometimes feel that they need to keep a separation between themselves and the people that work for them. I fully respect that. But there are ways to go about it, and in this job she made it very clear on several occasions that she was virtually unapproachable. More than that, however, I feel that she and the people who were my superiors (and that worked directly under her) were not on my side. The benefit of this was that it drove me to want to seek out other positions within the bank, and expand my horizons and try to see what else I was capable of. The drawback to this, however, was that if I wanted to switch to these positions I would need the approval of my superiors who were not very interested in the betterment of my own career.
It's my opinion that in a sales environment, for someone to do the best they can they need the best people around them in order to reach their potential. Previously, I didn't have this luxury. Presently, I consider myself spoiled. When I first came on to work for AG Salesworks, I was greeted by our training team so warmly that the best way to explain it would be is to say that it was like meeting a significant others family for the first time. Everyone was welcoming, accepting, and attentive. When I have an issue with an account I'm working on, they're always readily available to help me out and help me figure out what I can do better to succeed.
My managers are also always willing to assist me as needed. They've also been very helpful with taking me through what I would need to do if I wanted to grow into the next role of my career here. In short, they've pretty much the antithesis of what I've come from and have made myself used to.
A good team isn't difficult to assemble. You just need to know people's strengths, their weaknesses and how to work with them, and to encourage them likewise. I'm fortunate to work with the people who I know I can trust and rely on. It's also a comfort to know that I don't need to worry about a co-worker trying to do me in for their own gain. It's cheesy to say, but I really work with a great group of people. And right now, I'm waking up each day looking forward to going there. Pretty cool, huh?