How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for ... - GIT home page

76 How to Hire A-Players
work.’’ But finding and hiring A-players absolutely requires a strong
system of relationships.
I recently spent two days with a company that is hiring a new
salesperson. The president and vice president of operations are
both successful businesspeople and great guys, but they will be the
first to tell you that their strong suit is operations, not networking.
I challenged each of them to schedule a minimum of one lunch
meeting or coffee every two weeks that focused on developing
and cultivating their business relationships. You have to schedule
these meetings intentionally if you want to strengthen your core set
of connections so that you can—among other goals—find and hire
A-players.
A-Player Payoff Points
Chapter 4: Right under Your Nose: Leveraging
People You Already Know
You have to tap into and cultivate your existing network to
find A-players.
Don’t hire people because they are close friends or family
members, but don’t automatically exclude people because
of these close ties either. It can be worth navigating the relational
dynamics to hire a true A-player who is already
close with you.
Your customers can be a great source of A-player employees.
Teach your employees a process for recruiting customers
that is appropriate and effective.
To avoid hurt feelings and lost business down the road, be
very clear up front about the requirements of a job with all
job applicants. Let people know that you will only hire
them if you are convinced your company can provide a
long-term career in which they can thrive.
Develop a sales assistant program for your top salespeople,
and have your salespeople recruit their own assistants. To