Mike Gallardo’s Post

If you can read between the lines of job descriptions, you'll get hired. Sales openings say they seek candidates who: — Have strong verbal and written communication skills. — Can develop rapport with clients to foster long-term partnerships. — Demonstrate a drive to meet and exceed sales quotas or targets. — Show the ability to work independently and proactively seek solutions. — Exhibit openness to feedback and a willingness to learn new sales methodologies. But sales hiring managers really care about these: — Do you have the determination to pursue challenging sales targets? — Will you be able to cope with the inevitable frustrations that come with sales? — Can you execute the daily prospecting and closing efforts required to achieve our targets? — Will you be able to collaborate and coordinate with extended teams, even when there are misalignments? — Can you communicate our value proposition to prospects effectively and handle objections with grace? — Do you understand the sales tools we use and the KPIs we track? If you're interviewing for a sales role and your hiring manager doesn't ask some of these questions, take the initiative! Raise these as common concerns and show how you would address them. This will make you stand out.

The UGLY truth about hiring sales reps in 2024 (...and how to avoid getting catfished) Hiring sales reps can be painful. If you’ve done it before, you know what I’m talking about. If not, here’s what you can expect: ➡️ Wasted time and money: You'll pay thousands to a recruiting company for interviews with candidates. Then waste valuable time on 10-20+ interviews trying to find the right fit. ➡️ Dishonesty all around: Reps often lie about their experience and sales numbers. Recruiters may exaggerate candidates' qualifications. You're left holding the bag. ➡️ Expensive mistakes: Hire the wrong rep and you'll lose leads, damage your reputation with prospects, and burn money. Sales is the costliest hiring mistake in business. ➡️ Rinse and repeat: When that rep bombs, you start the painful process all over again. It’s like getting catfished on a massive scale. You think you’re hiring a superstar, but the reality is much different. If you’ve seen the show, you know how bad they can be. Sales hiring is no different. Here’s the reality check: Even as a top 1% sales rep who's trained 3,000+ salespeople, I haven't sold $20 million. Yet candidates claim this all the time. So what's the solution? Stay tuned. In my next post, I'll reveal how my company Closify is revolutionizing sales hiring to solve these exact problems. No more wasted time. No more dishonesty. No more expensive mistakes. Just the right reps, ready to sell. - PS, frustrated with your sales hiring process? DM if you want to want to hire a proven, high-closer sales rep in as little as 7 days.

There’s a lean towards hiring experienced reps right now. Cost-pressure on avoiding mishires, harder selling environment. Combined with a good flow of experienced talent available and willing to work mid market, commercial (aswel as enterprise). Less ‘stretch hiring’. Taking a shot on an up-and-comer. If you’re earlier in your career, don’t despair. Opportunities will increase in to new year. But if you are interviewing, my advice is: Focus on how you’ve been ‘CEO of your own patch’. - How long have you done full cycle sales, and led the engagement end to end? - How have you got access to c-level, how did you cut through, what was the message? - How have you leveraged internal resources for your deals (against competing priorities)? - How have you identified and solved problems in your deals on your own? - How have you qualified and built pipeline? - What’s been your achievement against quota, how does it compare to others in the team? Good luck! If I can help feel free to reach out for a chat.

The sign of a great sales org. The Managers hire reps that are as talented as themselves. They'll hire reps who are more experienced than themselves. Sounds straight forward, though in many orgs the opposite is true. Managers that aren't confident want authoritarian rule, they're afraid of being found out. But in great sales orgs, it's a meritocracy. Manages are confident in themselves, and confident they're backed by the business. They're not worried about being challenged, or outshone by a new recruit. Hiring great people is a net win for everyone. One of our longstanding clients is a fantastic example of just that. And it shows. They're a RepVue top recommended SaaS firm to join. Employee experience scores are high. Tenures are long, and earning potential well above industry average.

How and when do you go from founder-led sales to your first sales hire? 💸 It’s a mix of art and science, but here are a few tips we’ve gathered over the years to help you navigate the transition. ⌛ 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻? Sales should (probably) not be your first hire. Rather, your first sales hire might fall somewhere between the 4th and 9th hire. If you are consistently selling outside your network, and you have established a reasonable product-market fit, it’s probably time to consider bringing on a sales rep. 🧍𝗪𝗵𝗼? The seniority and background will differ depending on your industry, buyer persona, stage-fit, and financial runway. Typically, if you only have a few months of runway, you'll need an operational closer. But if you have 2-3 years to work with, you can hire someone more senior to build the foundations for scale. With that said, there are a few green flags that translate across context. For example, you’ll probably want someone who is keen on speaking to customers right off the bat. Or who has experience selling a product or service more complex than yours. ❓ 𝗛𝗼𝘄? You can take a few routes when it comes to accessing the right candidate. There isn't a single right approach, and you might use a combination of all techniques to bring candidates into your pipeline. For example, using your network combined with cold outreach to candidates. Regardless of your path, you'll need a clear idea of how you'll assess candidates once they've been brought into the recruitment process. After all, you don't want to hire someone just because they were in your network or you were roommates in college. You still have the right to be systematic in hiring, even in the earliest stages of growth. What other green and red flags should you look for? How should you onboard the new hire? We cover all of that and more in our blog. Check the comments to start reading 📖

"Recruiting the Right Sales Profiles" This was the working title of the talk I gave yesterday evening at Malte Fanefjord's SaaS Scale-up Network. While I’m no recruiter, I’ve helped the companies I work with vet +100 sales reps in the past two years and supported the hiring process for +20 — none of which have been faulty recruitments. So Malte thought my 5 cents would be interesting on the matter. We discussed: Before We Even Think About Hiring! - The SaaS Graveyard - Sales Archetypes - Timing of Hiring Okay, time to Hire! - Sales Roles - Pathfinders - What I Look For in Sales Hires From yesterday's discussion, I can conclude: - Many struggle to find the right timing for hiring. - Many find it challenging to match the right profile with the right task. - The distinction between being a pathfinder and a sales rep in early-stage SaaS is a topic we don’t discuss enough. Thank you for the invitation, Malte. And thanks to Kenneth for the talk on how social selling might just be the new black, and to Søren for his insights on creating a high-performing sales team. Photo credit goes to the marketing genius Frederik Saabye Møller 📸

Want to grow sales without the commitment? Fractional or part-time sales hires might be right for you. In today's fast-paced market, flexibility is key. Hiring salespeople on a fractional or consultant basis can be a game-changer for companies that: -Need revenue to prove PMF before a funding round -Are testing a new market or initiative -Want to scale quickly with experienced reps who can immediately produce Ready to explore why this might be a smart move for your team? 👉 Read more about the benefits here: https://lnkd.in/e4S5ch4W

I was hired as a VP of sales. (not because of my sales skills). But let me go back a year ago. I came across Gabe’s DM: “This is my last attempt. You come highly recommended and we're getting ready to hire. Want to talk?” I almost missed his LinkedIn DM. My daughter had recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and I wasn’t spending much time online. I took the shot and immediately connected with Gabe and his vision. Gabe showed me how transparently they were vetting developers. → honest scores on candidates’ skills. → sharing entire technical interview recordings. → sharing developer’s contact info with companies. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. A few conversations later and I ended up in the last stage of the recruitment process - a panel discussion. The goal? Putting together a presentation on the company’s next-steps. The problem? I didn’t agree with the direction they were taking 😬 I had 2 choices: 01/ nod, smile and corroborate. 02/ risk not getting hired but stick to my guns. I chose the latter after a late-night conversation with my wife. The next day, I put together an entire presentation and went against what they were trying to do. Honestly and bluntly, I presented all my arguments and vision to the leadership team. Gabe called me after… (I thought I had just ruined my chances of getting hired). But I was wrong. “That’s the first time anybody’s ever done that. I wanted to hear an idea that didn’t involve just saying yes.” I was hired. I value transparency more than anything else and I couldn’t risk my integrity just for a job. And I’m glad I didn’t. 9 months later, I couldn’t be happier of the choice we both made. Recruiters want transparency from candidates. Candidates want transparency from recruiters. G2i offers both.

How to apply for a new sales role in 2024: 1. Build a list of 10 sales orgs that excite you 2. Target 5 contacts per org, 2-3 reps and 2-3 hiring managers 3. Send blank LI connects and follow up with video & voice messages. Ask for meetings. 4. Go through the regular HR process Here’s what will happen: • You will get the opportunity to speak with reps working at the company. Consider this valuable due diligence. • You will demonstrate to hiring managers that you’re capable of doing the job. • You will stand out from the crowd. Don’t spray & pray your job applications. Treat them like sales cycles Ask me anything👇🏼

I’ve hired a fair share of 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 reps over my career. Here is the list of attributes to make the best 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 hiring decisions: 1) Communication Skills:𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 is nothing more than effectively communicating with prospects and customers. It’s knowing when to listen, and when to speak. 2) Attitude:In 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦, you’re told “No” more than you’re told “Yes.” For many, this would impact your attitude and emotional state. For the best 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 reps, the right attitude is a differentiating super power. 3) Customer Service Skills:Look, if you’re not “wired” to enjoy supporting a customer and helping with their needs, you’re probably not wired for success in 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦. The best reps take a helping mindset, and obtaining quota or commissions takes care of itself. 4) Hustle/Hunting: This is hard to identify, but if you can get a prospective rep talking about how they build a weekly schedule, or their time management habits, you can get a good idea of how hard they like to work. 5) Professionalism: Maybe a no-brainer, however, many reps get a bad rap for simply being in a 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 role. Hire the reps that are professional and courteous. Avoid the ego-driven options. They stick out like a sore thumb.