By Cheryl Powers

Assembling a sales team filled with A-Players is not just an advantage; it's a necessity. For lower mid-market and mid-market business owners, the journey toward sustainable growth and profitability hinges significantly on the caliber of your sales force. But here's the catch: not all hiring processes are created equal, especially when it comes to sales. That's where a Sales-Specific Hiring Process comes into play, a game-changer that can set your business on a trajectory...

 By Cheryl Powers

Expanding a team is more than just adding bodies to your company—it's about finding the right kind of people who'll turbocharge your growth. As an owner, you need to be tactical and thoughtful about whom you bring into your fold. It's not just about filling positions; it's about enriching your team's dynamics and enhancing your company’s capabilities. 

The Complex Journey of Team Growth

When you're at the helm of a small or mid-market business,...

By Cheryl Powers

Imagine for a moment the enterprise value your company could reach if every sales hire turned out to be a veritable superstar, a perfect fit for the demanding rhythm of your business. Now imagine what that would mean to you personally.

What would it add to your customer happiness?

What would it do for your employee satisfaction?

How would it impact your standing against the competition?

And what would it do for your personal wealth?

Yet, here's the sobering reality: nearly...

by Cheryl Powers

"Nothing happens until somebody sells something."

That makes getting sales recruitment right one of the single most important things a company must do to grow. And it's not easy - for many reasons. Not the least of which is that even a terrible salesperson is probably better at controlling the interview than you are. They've done it more and they will focus all of their energy on telling you all the things that make you want to believe that they'd be perfect for the...

by Cheryl Powers

Lead, follow or get out of the way. That’s the sentiment I grew up with. My dad was a naval officer in WWII who served at the same time as Ronald Reagan was in the US Army. And my dad knew how to steer a ship. He was kind, consistent, and competent and he taught me a great deal about leadership.

Unfortunately, in today’s business climate I see far too many leaders turning over the helm to employees who haven’t a clue about leadership, budgets, revenue,...

by Cheryl Powers

Sales hiring.

How hard can it be?

We just need them to sell, right?

Yet, recruiting high performing salespeople and sales leaders is one of the most difficult tasks a CEO will ever have to get right -- and keep right to stay successful.

There is much more to it than posting the ad, sifting through resumes, and hoping you picked the right one. The vast majority of ads are poorly worded, focus more on the company than on the role, and fail to attract qualified candidates.

...

by Cheryl Powers

This year our company's theme is Game Changers. We started the year by asking ourselves how we can help our clients in the most game-changing and innovative ways?

One of my favorite questions to answer for a CEO client is:

What are the three or four initiatives that, if executed in the next 90 days, would have the biggest impact on revenue performance over the next 12-18 months? Then we reveal the impact number -- the opportunity in dollars for executing on those initiatives...

by Cheryl Powers

How do you know for sure before you hire them that a salesperson or a sales leader can and will do what it takes to succeed? Their resume can't tell you. The headhunter doesn't want you to ask. The candidate will try to convince you in the interview and will likely be a more skillful interviewer than you are.

If you are serious about the success of your sales force and the success of your new hires, you simply can't wing it. You must know the specific sales skills, sales...