How to recruit an All-Star producer

As I often do I got to thinking over the weekend about the parallels between life outside of work and life at work.  I was watching part of the Futures' game for the MLB All-Stars.  This is where the best players in the minor leagues get a chance to shine as possible faces of Major League franchises.  I know many of the stories already, but it is fun to hear where these guys came from and how they often overcame some sort of adversity to get to where they are today.

When I think about how to advise clients on sourcing, recruiting, and retaining top sales talent I can't help but think some of my conversations are similar to GMs within Major League Baseball.  Here are some important factors that apply to finding a superstar producer.  I'll let you decide if you think Theo Epstein is utilizing this data or not going into his 2015 plans for the Cubs' final roster.

1)  Remember that 9 out of 10 fail.  Especially in the first year.  A really devoted sports' fan (and particularly in baseball) will know the prospects of their team.  While it is okay to get excited about someone's potential, you must always reflect back on what has worked in the past.  The fact of the matter is that past performance does not always guarantee future success.  I'm not say you should hire 10 producers next year just planning on firing 9 of them after 90 days.  Instead set realistic expectations.  If you do this well, no one will be surprised at who makes the final cut and who doesn't.

2)  Stats don't lie.  This is more important for someone with 5-7 years of experience.  If a producer has the right pedigree, has worked for the right firms, runs in the right circles, but has absolutely no verifiable past sales success, that is likely not a good sign.  It sounds like basic logic, but I have seen clients over and over again hire someone who looks good on paper and likely even tests well.  But if someone has not had success with multiple opportunities at multiple firms, that is usually a red flag.  The excuses of not having the right team or having the right resources just can't cover an under-performing producer's flaws into perpetuity.

3)  Sometimes it can be the coach.  I know I just outlined above that you can't make excuses for lack of performance, but this point is slightly different.  It is possible to struggle to early success if a boss is not aligning a salesperson with the right colleagues or overall strategy.  If a player is a contact hitter and the coach is preaching the importance of home runs, that can be a problem.  We have seen younger producers struggle to take things to the next level because they have been formally trained to do nothing, yet expected to close Fortune 100 clients within the first six months on a job.  As long as that producer candidate is not bitter about a current situation, there could be some truth to the fact they are simply with the wrong mentor.

4)  The really good ones have the "it" factor.  You hear this all the time when describing players that seem to transcend the sport.  You have a hard time even describing "it" but whatever "it" is these people have lots of it.  This can happen with the really good producer candidates too.  Sometimes I see candidates actually get hung up on this point.  Everyone that meets the candidate knows without a doubt that they have this "it" factor.  But negotiations get hung up on compensation or testing or bottlenecks in the process.  Sometimes risks are just worth taking when you see someone that you know has "it".

5)  Experience matters.  While there are certainly some young players in the MLB All-Star game, there is a reason that fans vote in the perennial All-Star players as well.  They can still play, they come with a ton of knowledge for the younger guys, and they are simply smarter about their game.  Hiring a producer that has a ton of sales experience can sometimes be considered too much of a risk.  They cost a lot more, may not seem as motivated to get their teeth knocked in with cold calls, and may seem to just be looking to collect a paycheck.  I would argue the really good ones never lose the hunger and can be well worth an investment.  Just because someone wants to work smarter and not harder is not always a bad thing.  The really good producers have learned from past mistakes made in their careers and they build upon them.  Some of the best producer candidates I have seen recently have over twenty years of experience and they can't wait to show everyone they can still produce at a high level.

Have you used any of these recruiting ideas to build your producer team?  Anything else we could add to the list?  As always, I enjoy hearing from readers and would welcome your comments!