Be On The Lookout – Potential Salespeople Are Everywhere.

Amanda White is the Local Sales Manager for Impact Radio Group. White is always on the lookout for salespeople. She has a staff of eight to handle the seven-station cluster based in Boise, and she tells Radio Ink you always have to keep an eye out for the next great salesperson.

Radio Ink: Where do you find good salespeople these days?
White: Everywhere you find someone that is good at what they are doing, can be a potential salesperson for you. You have to constantly be looking. We recently hired a salesperson who first came to us from a local university. She gave us a presentation on the university and we were impressed with her professionalism and work she put into the presentation. We hired her about seven months ago and she is doing great! We also have been using Media Staffing Network out of Chicago; they have been phenomenal. Asking around and asking for referrals is good, especially when looking for people who have been in outside sales and are looking to make a change. We have been using our website for that.

Radio Ink: What do you look for when you hire a salesperson?
White: They have to be a team player. We are constantly sharing ideas and make a tremendous effort to support each other. Someone who truly wants to help local businesses and put the needs of the client first and be a consulting partner. They have to make processing a priority; it’s the lifeblood of our business, so with such a small staff that has to be a priority. Also, they need to be coachable and have the willingness to learn. Anybody who has an “I have arrived” attitude is not going to be a good fit for us. Resourcefulness, someone who has the ability to solve problems on their own. A self starter who is ready for a career in a rapidly changing industry.

Radio Ink: Should you manage all salespeople the same?
White: Not at all. We are all individuals, everybody learns differently, everybody is motivated differently. Some are motivated by money, some by recognition, some by a simple appreciation for a job well done. Some of my AEs prefer a lot of my input and brainstorm with me, while others like the autonomy of doing their own thing and only ask for help when necessary. There is definitely not just one way to manage all salespeople.

Radio Ink: Is there value in call sheets or daily call quotas?
White: For the newer folks we make prospecting a big component of their day-to-day. We make sure they set up 100 to 200 calls per week. So it is important for them to have everything in a CRM. We help them tweak it, so if they’re not making enough appointments, we try to find out why. It depends on the person, but we are probably looking at one to two appointments made in every 25 calls; whereas somebody with more experience may have one-in-10. We encourage prospecting in a way that feels comfortable for that salesperson. Some like face-to-face calls, and that may be one-in-five to seven appointments set up.

Radio Ink: What is your idea of a great sales meeting?
White: Our management team has been doing Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead book, with workbooks, weekly meetings, and discussions. So I used one of the exercises with the sellers and we learned so much about each other. Sometimes the best meetings are when we encourage each other to share and be vulnerable. It makes us stronger and gives us more insight where each of us is coming from. It gives us a deeper understanding of one another.

You can contact Amanda White at 208.465.9966 or email [email protected]