OTSEN On Sales

By fames Olsen

[nleNolv, ourcorNc AND DRTvEN people make the best I-' salespeople. The order is not that important, but if one of these traits is missing, we will have a struggling seller in our future.

Companies waste millions of dollars every year hiring people who have very little chance of success in sales. Below are methods we can use to start with a "better piece of clay."

1. Write a good ad. What kind of person are we trying to attract? We should not write the same ad for an accountant as for a salesperson.

Ernest Shackleton's Arctic exploration ad:

Men Wanted

Fon n,qz,qnoous JouRNEy. sMALL WAGES. BrrrER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL, HONOR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS.

What kind of people answered this ad?

2. Screen applicants by phone. The salesperson who says (s)he can only sell face-to-face is not a complete salesperson. If they can't convince you over the phone, how will they get appointments?

3. Reality Sales Training. Have an outside professional interview new hires before you pull the trigger. We interview potential hires for our customers.

4. Go deep. Ask about grade school, high school, jobs, and friends. Is this person social? Do they have the support of their parents? How young were they when they started accomplishing things? Did they show initiative early or did their parents pave the way for them?

5. Ask situational ethics questions with no right or wrong answer: "Your customer tells you they will give you the order if you can ship it in two weeks. You know that what you have is going to ship in three. What do you do?" Our applicants answer will give us a real idea about them, how aggressive they are, etc.

6. Tell them no. Sometime towards the end of the interview, say something like, "Steve, you seem like a great guy, but I don't think you are cut out for sales the way we do it." If they cannot or will not overcome this objection, how will they overcome objections from customers?

7. Beware of the friendly interview. Being likeable is a great tool for the salesperson, but they must be able to take the friction that comes with the job. Friendly salespeople who can overcome objections will be great salespeople.

Those who want to be liked more than they want to grow their business will not make vou monev and will be difficult to fire.

8. Read two books: Top Grading for Sales by Bradford Smart and Greg Alexander and The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes. Both have developed "systems" for hiring salespeople. Both are short and very specific about the steps.

9. Put the potential hire in front of a committee. In addition to getting buy-in from our current sales team, questions coming from different mind-sets are a great test. We are also able to observe our potential hire more freely than we would be able to in a one-on-one interview.

10. Dig in on the details of their resume. Drill all-theway-down on the sales question. Many applicants say they were in sales when they were only involved with the sales process.

11. Ask about besUworst order. Great sellers will give a lot of detail and will show emotion as they tell the story. Journeymen salespeople will give less. An applicant's answers will tell us how developed a salesperson we have in front of us. Beware the excuse maker!

12. Test the personal. Caliper Inc. has an affordable personality test for evaluating possible hires.

13. Don't be the "college transition" job. The best salespeople are the ones who have already sold or are already selling. These people are looking to better their career, notjust land ajob.

14. Family, children, mortgages and consumer goods. People who have, like and want these things are good salespeople. We don't want to hire a bohemian minimalist to sell for us. We want people who are selfmotivated to make money. If we have to motivate, we are lost before we begin.

Building a sales team is a long-term project. Hiring the wrong salesperson will derail our growth efforts more than any other thins we do. The best time to solve the struggling, non-profitable salesperson problem is before it happens.

James Olsen Reality Sales Training (503\ 544-3572 james@reality- salestraining.com

Ace Hardware at Cornerstar has been opened in Aurora, Co., by Ted and Kristy Schenderlein.

Three-unit Mitchell Hardware will add a second Bend, 0r., Ace Hardwar€ in the spring.

Western Building Solutions negotiated a onethird rent reduction with the city of Aspen, Co., to allow continued operation of its local Harbert Lumber yard.

The deal will save the yard $'1.26 million over the threeyear lease.

Scarborough Ace Hardware, Scotts Vailey, Ca., is expanding by annexing the vacated storefront next door.

More floor space allows for larger hardware and barbecue sections, an expanded nuts-and-bolts room, and the addition of garden and patio furniture.

Discount Windows & Doors added a showroom in Kaneohe (Oahu), Hi.

Lowe's opened a 94,000-sq. ft. home center Aug. 20 in Los Lunas, N.M. (Walter Cordova, mgr.); has started construction of a 140,000-sq. ft. store with 25,000-sq. ft. garden center in Sonora, Ca., and got the go-ahead to proceed with a 153,974-sq. ft. store in Carlsbad, Ca.

Home Depot continues fighting for final approval of its proposed store in Grants Pass, 0r.

Swanson Closing Glendale Sawmill

Swanson Group, Glendale, Or., is idling its flasgship sawmill in Glendale once current log inventories are depleted and is slashing production at its Roseburg, Or., mill by two-thirds, resulting in 90 layoffs.

"Unfortunately, we are seeing no positive signs in the U.S. housing market, U.S.-Canada trade relations, or federal timber supply, which have made today's decision a harsh reality," said president Steve Swanson.

Although the duration of the Glendale closure is listed as "indefinite," Swanson fears it may never be restarted, even when the economy rebounds. The mill historically has relied on Bureau of Land Management sales for its logs, but environmental litigation and changing priorities at BLM under the Obama Administration have reduced federal timber supplies to less than 4Vo of the mill's needs.

The Roseburg plant will trim its operating hours from 60 a week to about 20.

Swanson continues to run sawmills in Springfield and Noti. Or.

Peni nsu la Yards Consolidate

Lumber Traders, Port Angeles, Wa., has closed its design showroom, The Showcase, and hardscape and masonry yard, The Quarry, transferring product lines and staff to its local lumberyards.

The Quarry's materials and window specialist Donna Hoyt moved Aug. 3l to Hartnagel Building Supply.

The Showcase's windows, doors, cabinetry and other lines are now at Angeles Millwork & Lumber Co., along with contractor salesman Mike Blodgett.

Former owners and trustees Arnold and Debbie

Schouten have rejoined Lumber Traders as board members and, respectively, interim c.e.o. and interim c.f.o.

"Closing The Showcase and The Quany is a difficult decision to have to make, but Lumber Traders is committed to doing what is necessary in order to remain viable while there is a reduced demand for building and construction materials," said Arnold Schouten.

Tucson Supplier Calls lt Quits

With no turnaround in sight for Arizona's construction industry, A&H Building Materials, Tucson, Az., has closed after 47 years.

"Closing down was a big decision. From all the info we could find, the economists said Arizona is not going to improve untll 2014," said general manager David Rung. "We decided to close, get out before we go totally broke."

Rung will retire Sept. 30 after 29 years with the company. Three employees transferred to parent company Grant Road Lumber, Tucson. Six others were laid off July 30.

Welco Restarts Fencing Mill

Encouraged by better-than-expected demand for fencing, Welco Lumber Co., Shelton, Wa., restarted its Naples, Id., sawmill after a seven-month layoff.

General manager Brian Cox said production will ramp up in stages. The facility restarted on a limited basis in June with l3 employees. It started operating full-time July 17, with 37 workers.

Considering 93 employees were laid off in December, Cox hopes to rehire more workers as fencing demand increases.

Pagano's Hardware Mart, Alameda, Ca., opened a second location-an 8,300-sq. ft. store with 900-sq. ft. outdoor center at Alameda Towne Centre.

Eleven-unit Fasteners Inc. has moved its hardware showroom in Ferndale, Wa., to a larger facility. Other locations will also be expanded to appeal more to do-it-yourselfers.

Habitat for Humanity moved its ReStore discount LBM outlet in Clovis, Ca., July 10 to an 11,000-sq. ft. storefront directly behind the local Lowe's.

Ace Hardwafo, Oak Brook, ll., has been ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Major Home lmprovement Retail Stores' by J.D. Power & Associates. The co-op has also launched a Helpful Hands campaign, a nationwide contest that will award a $2,000 paint makeover to one high school in each of the 50 states.

Hanson's Building Supply, Langtey, Wa., marked its 30th anniversary Aug. 13 with a celebration that included a salmon feed, an air show and a dance.

Four years of research. Two years in trial. One convincing

1' V-day underwater flood test. The result is a patented tapered-edge technology that enables pointSlX"

Flooring and pointSlX Durastrand Flooring to weather any storm while holding the line on edge swell.

By lay Tompt