It is difficult, almost impossible, to predict success among any commissioned sales people and realtors are no exception.  I have been involved with creating some sales predictor tests and I’ve used the rest, but I have yet to find one that is more than 50% reliable.  And you can toss a coin for that result!

My own personal experience in both real estate and in lending has repeatedly demonstrated that there are 10% of all salespeople who will succeed.  Anywhere.  Anytime.  With you or without you!  There are at least 30%– maybe far more—that will NEVER succeed as salespeople.  (Yes, that number used to be 20% - not any more!)  My semi-famous quote when I conduct recruiting symposiums with sales managers is:  “There are some you can’t stop.  And some you can’t start!”

That says to me that a good manager can always field a competent, productive team.  But that magic, award-winning combination is an equation waiting to happen.  And it can only happen when you continuously upgrade the team.

Let me share with you some observations about salespeople:

• Some people will sell well working for certain managers, but not for others.  I knew a salesperson that was an average producer for years before and after ONE manager.  Russ met with Joan every morning and gave her a pep talk or a game plan ( I was never sure exactly WHAT they talked about!), and off she would go to sell  LOTS of real estate.  Only with that manager was she a TOP producer.
  
• Some will sell amazingly well under a particular given set of circumstances.  Maybe because the time was right, or the need was urgent.  Jerry lost his Dad when he was 16.  He was responsible for supporting himself and his unable-to-work mom.  He worked in the appliance department at Sears after school and on weekends and sold more washers, dryers, stoves and refrigerators than any grown-up full-time employee in the history of that store.  He told me he has never since sold that well, but at that time, he was driven to succeed.
  
• Some talk a good game.  Bruce was the bar-none, absolute hands-down BEST interview I ever conducted.  That man knew all the right answers!  I hired him on the spot, and waited with wild anticipation for him to be MY Magic Johnson.  He could create amazing business plans and marketing strategies with the specific tactics all laid out!  He could project sales figures.  He could create charts.  He could talk the birds out of the trees!  But he would never leave the office and talk to a customer!
  
• Some are undewhelming.  Maureen came to me with no sales experience, and no sizzle.  But I was under serious pressure to meet my recruiting objective that month, (sound familiar?)… so I hired her.  I figured she was quiet; she wouldn’t give me trouble and she’d buy me another month to find a GOOD salesperson.  She started selling her first week and never slowed down.  She won top salesperson awards every year for the next five years!

“Some you can’t start and some you can’t stop!”  Predicting success for any given person at any given time is tough, because sales success is an equation.  The equation is composed of such things as:

• Prior experience
• Current need
• Ability to plan, focus, follow through and use systems
• Likeability
• Product knowledge

When you interview, no matter how good you are at interviewing, you seldom ever get the whole picture. You can’t really create an accurate equation. 

But you know what is really simple?  To figure out who will NOT succeed. 

It finally occurred to me that if I merely eliminated those who were highly unlikely to succeed, based on my own particular experiences, (and everyone is different!) that I would dramatically improve the odds on finding successful salespeople among those who remained. Doesn’t that make sense?  Once the impossibles are eliminated, you will only work with folks who have some chance of success.  YOUR recruiting success record has to improve!

This the list that I developed to cut my losses in advance and yours will probably be very different.

• I will never again hire a commissioned salesperson who is in crisis, change or flux. These people are so very concerned with their own personal lives good or bad that they really aren’t “there”  at work! Examples: New spouse, new baby, new house, divorce, death in the family, any drug or alcohol problems.
  
• I will never again hire a job hopper.  No matter what the excuse or reason. They’ll leave you, too!  Every time someone leaves, the whole office grieves.  (Occasionally the office cheers, but obviously THAT was a hiring mistake, too!)  Examples: More than 3 jobs in the last 2 years. (However, if they leave a job within a few weeks, I don’t count that one. They were probably smart to get out of a bad situation!)
  
• I will never again hire a gossip.  My Momma used to say that small people talk about people, average people talk about things, and exceptional people discuss ideas.  Who needs small-minded people cluttering up the office?  Example: They tell you more than you need to know about their current or previous manager and co-workers!
  
• I will never again hire a salesperson who does not have a track record of success.  People who have repeatedly not made the grade doing ANYTHING are not good candidates for success!  Exception:  The stay-at-home Mom may not have a work track record, but if she speaks proudly of the kids she’s raised, I’d give her a shot.
  
• I will never again hire anyone who does not have an aptitude for numbers.  It is downright embarrassing to see Realtors or loan officers who cannot compute a payments, or estimate closing costs. Give them a simple math test. Find out NOW.
  
• I will never again hire anyone who has a lousy attitude, or whines.  PMA  positive mental attitude) has become a platitude but as a manager you cannot change someone’s attitude.  No one can.  Example:  Research show that most people experience a genuine negative physical response to a negative person in the office.  Your staff’s energy will be depleted when there is a negative person in the office.  They will sell less, get sick more often  and then THEY will start to whine. The good ones will leave. A negative person is contagious and deadly! This is scientifically proven. Not new- age mumbo jumbo.

That’s my list, what’s on yours?   You need to go back over every person you’ve ever hired and fired and look for common denominators, both good and bad.  Create a “perfect” salesperson for you and your office.  Describe age, education, personality, prior experience etc.  Will you always get exactly what you described?.  Not likely!  But once you have a clear image of the target, I bet you’ll hit it a lot more often!

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