Most of the candidates that you’ll interview for a sales or business development position, will fall into the 80 percent of the sales professionals who produce just 20 percent of the sales. This ratio falls within the parameters of the Pareto rule, originally devised at the turn of the 20th Century by an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto and redefined by Richard Koch in his 1998 book, The 80/20 Principle. Generally, Pareto’s rule states that 20 percent of the activity produces 80 percent of the results. Therefore, when hiring, you must screen carefully to discover the clues to a candidate’s selling skill potential and not just look at an applicant’s past sales performance

It’s almost impossible to find and recruit top sales professionals, those in the 20 percent bracket, because most employers do everything in their power to keep their top sales producers happy. Turnover rates in Pareto’s 20 percent bracket are extremely low and nonexistent for the top 20 percent of representatives in the top 20 percent. Even if you find a “top gun” who is looking for a position, many organizations really can’t afford to bring one of these high priced professionals on board.

If finding one or two top sales producers is difficult, think how hard it is to recruit an entire team of super stars. Therefore, you need to change your mindset to find candidates that have the potential to move into the top producer or rainmaker category and then train, coach and manage them until they produce at the level of the super stars in your industry or profession.

To learn how to build a successful sales team, where you no longer carry 80 percent of your team members, you need to obtain a copy of The $elling Edge®, Inc.’s 101 Sales Myths self-directed learning manual at: http://TheSellingEdge.com/myths3.htm and then teach and coach the proven selling techniques and systems outlined in its pages, to those staff members who have the potential to become a top producer. Also, use the methods in this learning guide to hire the right people and then turn them into super stars.

Where is it written that your company or professional service organization must live with Pareto’s 80/20 Principle anyway?

Virden J. Thornton Was the founder of The $elling Edge®, Inc. an international sales training and personal coaching firm, specializing in the areas of sales presentations, closing skills, prospecting (business development), and sales management techniques. For the past 26 years Virden trained, coached and advised literally thousands of employees in hundreds of client firms, including Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, Deloitte & Touché, Smith Barney, First National Bank of Arizona, City Laundering, Co, ShopKo, Electronic Sales, Inc.and Wal«Mart, to name a few.

Today Virden continues to train sales and service industry professionals through a unique and powerful telephone/e-book coaching program. Sales Success Strategies is a field-tested and proven coaching system-that gives Virden’s clients what can only be described as a $elling Edge!

Virden is the author of over 20 books and manuals including the “best sellers” Closing; A Process, Not A Problem and 101 Sales Myths.

Virden and his wife Barbara are the parents of nine children.