Think about your sales organization. The people in the seats, the ones that go out every day representing you and doing everything in their power to achieve the numbers. If you can quickly name off whom in your sales team is a Steve Yzerman, a Wayne Gretzgy , a Micheal Jordan, a Lebron James or a Tom Brady then let them know how important they are to your organization. Then consider – are you doing everything in your power to keep them? These are your “Unicorns”. Someone wants them and will try to poach them because they are almost impossible to find and are more valuable than you can ever imagine.
Unicorns set the tone for what exceptional looks like. They set the bar higher for everyone around them. They allow you to sleep at night knowing that they are setting the standard for all others in your sales team.
If you’re doing this exercise and you come up with a handful of people that are really good but are not unicorns – more like beautiful horses – then you’re ahead, but not optimizing your revenue potential. You’ve not set the standard on what it means to be exceptional for your team.
If you don’t have a Unicorn on your team, find one. They’re rare and come with a unique set of management challenges, but you need as many as possible if you want to optimize revenue potential. Imagine being able to go to 10 Superbowls and win 7 in 21 years like Tom Brady did. Thats because he is a Unicorn.
Here is how you find them.
- Always keep looking. Every interaction should be an opportunity to find that person.
- Change and set high standards in your interview process.
- Always be hiring.
It’s not always true that a Unicorn spends a lot of time making the perfect resume. 99% of the time they are hired by their network. Most salesperson resumes do not reflect the truth about a salesperson’s potential nor are resumes an appropriate reflection on their history in sales. Their resume is a useful tool – just like a scouting report – but until you see them on the field at practice or in a game you’ll have no idea who they are.. Scouts (or your HR manager) can also make mistakes.
So this brings me to the big suggestion.
Have your HR manager set up as many 15–30 minute Interviews as possible per week until you find as many Unicorns as you need on your team.
The prospective Unicorns assignment is simple. They must present what they are selling now or have sold in the past. They can choose how to present with whatever tools needed. Within a few minutes you will know if they are a Unicorn or not. They stand out; they aren’t the same as the others.
- They are confident because they are prepared and professional.
- They sell you on what they are selling.
- There is no cheesiness to their presentation or story.
- They are not selling, they are consultative and listen first.
- You are blown away by how they present themselves and what they are selling.
- You want to hire them on the spot.
- You would go for a beer or coffee with them and want to know more about what they would bring to the table to help you achieve revenue numbers.
In over 18 years of interviewing I’ve seen more than a thousand 15-30 minute presentations and I have only ever seen a handful of Unicorns present. I was able to hire a few, but others got away. Those 7 changed the face of my departments and set the standard for what exceptional looks like. I built my departments around them. I have also had the pleasure of working with a number of Unicorns through partner, client, and vendor engagements and in my personal life. They are truly special and I appreciated every moment I spent with them. It’s truly special watching them succeed.
Below is a video story that talks about this a bit more.
Here’s a link to some of my favorite books about the importance of Unicorns.
Good to Great
Captain’s Class.
