This week Suky talks about the trend of hiring Salespeople who come with pre-existing clients – and why you might want to think twice about it.
Transcription
Hi I’m Suky from Professional Selection. Today I’d like to talk about hiring candidates because they can bring a book of business.
It happens in every industry, ours as well, but today I was interviewing a candidate and they specialized in sales recruitment, and she
was talking about how often her clients will ask her to find them somebody from a competitor that can bring a book of business,
a transferable book of business. I don’t understand why you would hire that person. First of all, if I’m hiring somebody even in my team
because they can bring a book a business, that raises an integrity question mark in my mind over that individual.
If you’re actually a strong sales person or you claim to be a sales person, you need to be taking your former employers client list?
There’s absolutely no need for it. You’re a salesperson you should be able to generate your own clients. Now, if those clients loved you
and they only stayed with your previous employer because of you, you don’t have to do anything because guess what, that client
is going to follow you. If you are that great that client will follow you.
So one question is why would you hire that individual? Maybe it is companies that are not confident in themselves in what they’re offering
the market so they feel they need to buy that book of business. That’s great, buy that book of business, pay extra, but remember one thing:
when that individual leaves if those clients did come over guess who’s leaving with them. Those clients.
So I would say to anybody that’s thinking of hiring a candidate from a competitor because of the book of business think again that’s a very
short-term view, and of course as I said earlier raises the question mark in terms of integrity in my mind.
Anyhow as always would love to hear your opinions on it. Thanks for taking the time to listen, and hope we’ll speak soon.
