

Through the Looking Glass: Hiring Sales People - mh_
http://bhorowitz.com/2013/04/15/through-the-looking-glass-hiring-sales-people/

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richardjordan
I love the line - we have two kinds of sales people, rich and new.

There is a definite truth to the fundamentally different psychology of top
sales people compared to engineering talent. Sales works best as a very
objective judge by results environment - with great rewards at the top and a
short walk off the plank for non-performers. I find, having done both, that a
lot of engineers find it difficult or impossible to put themselves in the mind
of a sales person and truly understand what motivates them, if they've not
done it extensively themselves.

Glengarry Glen Ross gets it right with First Prize a new BMW, Second Prize a
set of steal knives, Third Prize you're fired. If you're an engineer watch
that movie or Boiler Room with horror and recognize that many sales people see
those as very realistic expositions of certain kinds of aggressive sales
environments.

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mathattack
There's a very fine line on hiring salespeople. It is great to have super
confident people. It's ruin to have bullies who over-promise to hit quotas.
There is a fine line as you need the former to stay in business and grow, but
the latter is a cancer.

