Sales God #3: Lashanda Tart
I recently set out to find the absolute best of the best when it comes to selling. My criteria was simple: first, I wanted real sales reps (not management types) who sell to real customers. And I wanted people who had something to teach the rest of us. I found five, which I'm going to feature, one a day, throughout this entire week.
JOB TITLE: Recruiter, United States Navy
CLAIM TO FAME: Won "Diversity Recruiter of the Year" award by recruiting 38 men and women (the average is 12), all of whom scored above the 50 percentile on the Navy's entrance exam.
THE BIG CHALLENGE: Recruiting means selling the idea of a new career, in this case a career that will literally change the candidate's life. To be successful, Ms. Tart must find top quality candidates willing to serve in the military, during an unpopular war. Furthermore, she must prospect for those candidates within communities that have persistent problems with crime, unwed pregnancy and poor educational opportunities.
THE SUCCESS SECRET: Lashanda makes "buying into" a career in the Navy seem like a personal achievement. She does this by setting up barriers that the prospects must cross before moving to the next level of the process. When she first meets with a prospect, she gives a practice test, based upon the Navy's recruiting test, to find out if that prospect has the basic ability to join the Navy. If they pass, she interviews them to find out what they hope to get out of the experience. "If they don't have the right attitude, then I know that they're not Navy material," she says. If they pass muster, she spends time developing them as candidates. "I take them to see the local Navy boot camp, I go home with them to speak with their parents, and I make sure that they're committed, before they make the decision." Treating a Navy career as a privilege has a side benefit -- her candidates become her primary sources of new prospects. "They tell their friends about the experience, which attracts the type of person who is right for this job," she explains.
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