Is Your Team Full of High Performers or Weak Links?

By Lauren White, RCS Reporter.

Ryan Groth provides five steps to hiring high performers.

The saying, “you’re only as strong as your weakest link,” is still relevant and applies to contractors today.  Whether you’re a part of a team or leading one, each person picks up on the other’s energy. Ryan Groth of the Sales Transformation Group shares, “When your goal is to win, as soon as a team member’s energy is negative, it sucks the life out of the others.”  

For example, imagine a team of people climbing a hill together, but there’s one member who’s lagging at the back.  Everyone else stops what they’re doing and doubles back to help the last person, the weakest link, get up the hill.  

This idea of, “you’re only as strong as your weakest link,” tends to get overlooked by contractors.  They hire “industry veterans,” also known as “re-treads” as Ryan explains, “....because they’ve [trodden] across a lot of different companies as salespeople.”  Industry knowledge doesn’t equate sales knowhow. These “re-treads” may not be high performers though and can ultimately harm your company and your teams’ energy.

Alternatively, everyone grows when high performers are on the team.  Ryan asks, “What if Tom Brady came to the Arizona Cardinals? Everyone would get better!”  Even Ryan decided to hire high performers for his company.  And he shares five steps so you can do the same.

First, answer “Why?” before hiring a salesperson.  According to Ryan, “Everything we do in life should be born of necessity.  Are we letting leads fall through the cracks? Do we want to grow but don’t have the capacity to do it ourselves anymore?”

Next, Ryan suggests that, “...you should become a high performer yourself.”  It’s difficult to encourage and expect others to join your team and do what you have not done.  Push yourself and grow as a professional salesperson to become a high performer.  “The owners that haven’t grown in sales...and created new disciplines in their business don’t know how to hire people who will hold up to their standard...” explains Ryan.  The best coaches only teach what they themselves have done.

Third, define your vision, mission, and principles.  Since people are going to invest a lot of time with you and your business, they need to buy in and be proud of where they’re working.  Ryan provides examples of his vision, mission, and principles, as well as other companies.  Additionally, he provides a template for you to define your own for your company.  Since you want people to join your team and be a part of this special opportunity, this is an important step.  “High performers need to feel that they’re part of something they can’t get anywhere else, it’s up to you to create that excitement and actually back it up,” Ryan reveals.

Fourth, Ryan advises contractors to, “...reach out to your local network and look for these three elements in talent: out of the box thinkers, smart (articulate, emotionally and relationally aware) and athletes (competitive, wants to win and will fight without making excuses).”  Candidates can have a competitive mindset and drive, they don’t necessarily need to play a sport. 

Finally, Ryan recommends using “...a proven and objective sales and candidate assessment...”  This will indicate if applicants are actually going to sell, instead of you just hoping they will.  Ryan urges you to, “Think about the NFL combine or MLB draft, they have scouting reports...They know the impact of a bad draft pick!”  Have a training plan and onboarding to excite candidates.

Avoid weak links on your team and follow these five steps to identify the high performers that will improve your business.  Establish an elite team of out-of-the-box thinkers with a competitive mindset and ability to communicate effectively. Defining your vision, mission, and goals will allow you to find people who align with your company values.  And becoming a high performer yourself will challenge you to be a more successful and competitive contractor who your team members respect and trust because you live and demonstrate what you expect from them.

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