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Sales 'Swat team' to the rescue
Chicago Tribune, January 29, 2007
Hiring the sales talent necessary to grow a company is often a challenge, but entrepreneur Pete Kadens has found a way to help.
Kadens' Evanston-based Acquirent specializes in hiring highly skilled sales representatives, so its clients, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, don't have to. Although Acquirent employs the reps, each sells for only one client at a time, using its letterhead and e-mail address.
"No one ever knows we're the business" that's employing the rep, Kadens said.
The need for sales help is such a big draw these days that Acquirent can't keep up with the demand for its services. The company, with about $2.5 million in annual revenue, employs 36 people, up from 11 a year ago, Kadens said. Its staff includes two full-time recruiters.
"Our target is to roughly double in size by the end of the year," Kadens said. Until then, he is turning down about 90 percent of potential clients, focusing only on the best fits, he said.
Hiring, training and motivating workers, plus keeping them current on the latest sales technologies, are expensive propositions that, if farmed out, can help a small business stay focused on its core area, said Eugene Fregetto, clinical associate professor of marketing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
"I don't see marketing departments downsizing, but if companies want to get better coverage or better sales for a marginal increase in dollars, going outside instead of hiring inside can be a strategic decision," Fregetto said.
Like many small businesses, Itasca-based Midas International Corp.'s independent franchise owners often don't have time themselves to beat the bushes for new customers, said Scott Kennen, director of fleet services.
"There are only a handful that have the desire and skill set to go out and do the sales," he said. "Most are focused on the business and taking care of customers."
As a result, Midas has been using Acquirent to help dealers find new fleet customers, he said. To keep costs down, Midas dealers can use Acquirent's services for one or two months at a time, often to identify prospects and set up sales appointments for dealers, Kennen said.
But many companies with their own sales forces also contract with Acquirent. For example, Chicago-based Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., a fast-growing provider of software, information and connectivity services to physicians, uses Acquirent strategically to supplement its sales force.
"Our people are trained to be specialists in certain areas. We use Acquirent more as a SWAT team, for different purposes," said Chief Executive Glen Tullman.
The 1,000-employee company, with annual revenue of about $300 million, hired about 250 workers last year and plans to add about 400 more this year, Tullman said.
"To hire top-quality sales people is a challenge," he said. "There is tremendous pressure to find qualified candidates."
It's the same in many industries, as fast-growing companies compete for top talent, said Keith Swenson, managing partner at Capital H Group, a human capital consulting firm based in Chicago.
"There are many businesses that are flourishing, and they're all looking for good people," he said.
It hasn't been easy for Acquirent either, said Kadens. For every 72 resumes Acquirent received last year, it hired one person, he said. This year, the company hopes to move the ratio to about 30 resumes to one hire by focusing on those sources that result in successful hires, he said. Kadens likes to hire people with sales experience from companies with comprehensive sales-training programs, he said.
Recruiting "passive candidates" who are working for successful companies is often a good way to find top talent, Swenson said.
"You need to identify all the potential places you could go mine for these people," he said.
Then, you need to put together a rigorous selection process to make sure the candidate is not only well qualified but also a good cultural fit for a business, Swenson said.
"You need to set up the proper screens in place to get down to the qualified ones," he said.
To eliminate hiring mistakes, Acquirent uses a 22-step process that has proven to be reliable, Kadens said. It starts with a careful resume review and telephone screening and continues with several assessments, plus queries of former colleagues, bosses and references. Two people, working in tandem, conduct an in-person interview, with one looking for inconsistencies or gaps that may require additional questioning, he said.
"We go all the way back to high school, even if the candidate is 45 years old," Kadens said.
In the process, Acquirent strives to uncover applicants' weaknesses as well as their strengths, he said.
"We want to hire people who are aware of their weaknesses but have shown a track record of success," Kadens said. "If you don't work hard and have improvement over the course of your life, we're not interested."
Ultimately, Kadens said, the company is looking for "sales DNA" in candidates, including a positive attitude, self-motivation, persistence and "an insatiable" drive for success.
But listening skills and writing skills also are important, he said.
Because written communication is a vital part of the job, the company gives applicants an essay test and also offers business- writing classes in-house on an as-needed basis, Kadens said. Every hire is on probation for 60 days.
The 360-degree screening can be time consuming, with the hiring process usually taking about 60 days, said Kadens, who founded the company in 2003 with $25,000, five people and three phones.
But hiring well is the only surefire way to help the company accomplish its goal of growing clients' businesses, he said.
The result is a top-notch sales team.
"The quality is very high," Tullman said. "My guess is we would hire every one of them full time if we could."
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