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52 How to Hire A-Players
to find A-player staff members is to grow its own talent. The company
employs two kinds of salespeople: inside showroom salespeople
who work with consumers, and outside salespeople who work
with developers on new home construction and other commercial
projects. While an inside salesperson focuses on individual kitchen
and bath remodels, outside salespeople work on projects that can
include hundreds of new homes. To be an outside salesperson, you
have to have very strong sales skills and unquestionable technical
knowledge about kitchen and bath design and construction.
RSI has found that it takes salespeople years to acquire the level
of technical knowledge required to sell large projects. As a result,
the company generally promotes its own inside salespeople to be
outside salespeople. In addition to being an important role in and
of itself, the inside sales role is a talent incubator for the outside
sales role. RSI has created a farm team within its own four walls,
something that all smart, fast-growing companies should do. It provides
a pool of known talent from which to draw, and it ensures that
the people you hire already support your culture and values.
Do you have a position in your company that is—or can be
turned into—a talent incubator? Do you have a system for developing
and promoting the best people in this position? Do you emphasize
to both current and potential employees that this career path
exists for A-players? All these steps will help your company to serve
as its own talent incubator.
A-Player Principle: As your company grows, look for
opportunities to develop a farm team within your own
company. These people are a known entity—they have
proven skills and already share your values.
Building Your Brand to Attract A-Players
Google receives more than 20,000 resumes a week—two resumes
every minute. 2 In terms of hiring A-players—well, these people
often come to Google. While the company does actively pursue