How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer: The Five Qualities That Make Salespeople Great (Hardcover)

by Herbert Greenberg (Author), Harold Weinstein (Author), Patrick Sweeney (Author) "Why is it that some people succeed in sales, while others, who work just as hard, seem to get nowhere?..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Harvard Business Review, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This work tells managers how to hire right - the first time. It shows managers the real things to look for when hiring or promoting, instead of relying upon "experience" or some of the other classic hiring myths. The authors identify and explain the four proven factors that will predict an employee's success in sales: empathy, ego-drive, service motivation and ego-strength. They also provide key insights on job matching, team-building, leadership and the successful sales traits for specific industries.

From the Back Cover
How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer The Five Qualities That Make Salespeople Great Herb Greenberg, Harold Weinstein and Patrick Sweeney

Why are some salespeople so incredible, while most are obviously in the wrong job? What do the best salespeople have that others do not? What does it really take to succeed in sales?

In this book, written by three top executives from Caliper, the world's leading human resource assessment and consulting firm, you will learn how to hire, develop, train, motivate, and retain top sales performers.

For over four decades, Caliper has helped more than 25,000 companies worldwide to effectively identify the most promising applicants and develop their current staff. The authors share their tried-and-true job matching system, which incorporates the Caliper Profile--a phenomenally precise psychological assessment test. How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer starts out by identifying the five proven qualities that will predict whether an individual can succeed in sales. Then, the book provides key insights into interviewing, job matching, team building, and leadership.

In How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer, you will also learn:
*How to understand the strengths and limitations of each member of a sales team
*How knowing the key qualities that distinguish your top salespeople can guide you when hiring your next employee
*How to develop the potential of the current members of your team
*How to make your investment in marginal producers pay off
*Why knowing the strengths and limitations of salespeople during training can make all the difference in their long-term performance
*Techniques for recruiting viable candidates, even from highly nontraditional sources
*How to quickly eliminate inappropriate applicants from your hiring process
*and much more!

How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer will give you with everything you need to hire and retain the best salespeople--those who will really produce for your company, now, and for years to come.

About the Authors: Herbert M. Greenberg, Ph.D., is President and CEO of Caliper, a leading management consulting firm, and developer of the Caliper Profile, a psychological test used by Caliper in its work with over 25,000 corporate clients. He is the author of two previous books and has published in The Harvard Business Review.

Harold Weinstein, Ph.D., is COO of Caliper and an active consultant, who has written extensively and spoken around the world on topics ranging from hiring the right person to developing a winning team to the qualities that distinguish leaders.

Patrick Sweeney is Executive Vice President of Caliper where he oversees marketing of the firm's assessment, training, and consulting practices. A former speechwriter for a governor, he has also written for The New York Times.

"For every interviewer of salespeople who has ever hired the wrong person (and I count myself among that elite group), you'll know by the end of the first chapter where you went wrong. And by the end of the last, you'll know how to do it right!" Chris Amrhein, VP of Education Independent Insurance Agents of America

"This book provides a blueprint for guiding managers in the right direction. These suggestions work in a very practical way. This book should be on the desk of anyone interested in creating the best sales organization possible." Ed DiSalvo, Senior VP Corporate Accounts FedEx Corporate Services, Inc.

"For more than 15 years, Caliper has helped Avis to hire the very best salespeople and develop their talents. Calipers's ability to assess an individual's potential is more than 99.9% accurate. We wouldn't hire a salesperson without Caliper's advice. If you're concerned with increasing sales, you've got to read this book." Thomas J. Byrnes, Senior VP of Sales Avis Rent A Car

"A lot goes into picking the right pro athlete to be an NBA basketball player. This book uncovers the key to finding the top performers on and off the court." John Gabriel, General Manager Orlando Magic

"For more than a quarter of a century, Caliper has helped us identify the qualities that make salespeople successful. This book is a must read. It encapsulates much of what has worked well for us and can save you a lot of wasted time and energy in the hiring process, while increasing your success rate dramatically."Bridget Macaskill, President and CEO Oppenheimer Funds

"This book clearly demonstrates the reasons why the selection process is so critical to the development of an effective sales organization. It also provides many insights and practical methods to develop, incent, and retain these precious resources."John C. Hoffman, President Infonet

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 274 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (September 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071362444
• ISBN-13: 978-0071362443
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #489,771 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, but little How to Advice, January 30, 2003

By	Phil Carlson (Lakeville, MN United States) - See all my reviews

I am Vice President of Sales with a software company and I'm always looking for insights into the hiring process. I think that the book laid out the top talents needed very well. I agree with what they say and they have the research to back it up.

My only problem is how to implement it. The book sold me on their approach, but I'd need to buy their assessment tool in order to make it work. They did a great job on indirectly selling their tool and services.

I wish it gave me more practical tips on how to evaluate a candidate based on their talents.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book on Sales Personalities, November 18, 2001

By	John Daniel O'Dea (Amherst, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I had read an article quoting the authors in Business 2.0 (December 2001- "Gods of Sales") this month and it perked my curiosity. After reading some of the digital copy here at Amazon I ordered it. They did a really great job breaking down the traits that make up a sales persons personality. I also like how they match up the sales job with the right employee. The sections on finding sales employees and interviewing are also very helpful.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is the section on development is weak. They come right out and say that it would take a lot longer than one book to explain how to develop superior sales people based on their qualities. They lead you down the right road on how to support existing problem children in your sales department, but the examples are so few and that chapter is very short. The real title should be "How to evaluate and hire you next top performer".

THIS BOOK WILL STAY ON MY TOP SHELF OF REFERENCE ITEMS FOR ITS EXCELLENT DETAIL AND SUBJECT MATTER.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Useful but a hard read, October 25, 2000

By	"[e-mail]" (Applegrove, WA) - See all my reviews

I found the information in this book extremely helpful. However, it was very difficult to read. The writing style is hard to read at various points in the book. Somewhat like a college psych text book.

Overall it is well worth the price because of the information contained in it. Just be sure to have your cranium in gear when you read it.

If you do any hiring or developing this book is a MUST READ!