The worst mistake you can make when onboarding a "sales wolf" is expose them to a "sales wolf poser" - especially if the "poser" is in any type of leadership (you or their sales manager) or a sales trainer role.
If you are new to my blog, allow me to share a couple of definitions...
- A "sales wolf" is that salesperson who has the ability to perform in the top 20 percentile on a consistent basis. They are wired to sell. Period. By the way... If you want to know if you are a true sales wolf or one of your salespeople are - take our sales personality test to find out.
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A "sales wolf poser" is that person who likes to hope or believe they can run with your best salespeople - your true sales wolves. By definition a poser cannot keep up with your sales wolves.
Sales wolves are rare. Smart companies do not compromise when they hire sales wolves. Smart companies hire sales wolves and allow their competitors to have everyone else. 
Sales wolves are magnetic. Many salespeople wish they had the abiliites of a true sales wolf. A sales wolf is confident, aggressive, persuasive, resiliant, and charismatic. They bring deals. They drive the nice cars, have the nicer homes, enjoy cooler vacations, often wear the nicer clothing, usually have the latest gadgets, and they have the interesting war stories.
A sales wolf can smell a poser a mile away and they will avoid them like the plague. A sales wolf loves winning and hates losing. A sales wolf hates it when their time is wasted. Sales wolves do not make excuses. Instead of making excuses when they lose - they learn from their mistakes and get better for next time.
Sales wolves are hungry and they expect you and others they hunt with to be hungry as well. They have an insatiable appetite for winning, learning, improving, and earning - and they expect you and everyone else to have that very same appetite. Sales wolves expect to work with people smarter than them and if they do not - they will be very disappointed.
A sales wolf will do everything possible to get away from posers because they do not respect the mediocrity posers so willingly accept. Posers make excuses, drain energy, and suck time.
Allow me to be blunt... If you are strategic - you have invested in your sales search and selection program. You do not guess when it comes to hiring sales wolves because that would be just plain stupid. You know what a true sales wolf looks like because you use a valid sales personality test like the TriMetrix® HD to know with certainty. No one gets on your "bus" without passing through the sales assessment test. No one.
The most critical time for you and your sales wolf is during the onboarding process - particularly sales training. This is the time period where the sales wolf is (hopefully) attaching themselves emotionally to you, your business, your team, and your Customers. They expect you to be just like them - uncompromising in what you will accept - committed to winning.
Punchline... If you put a poser sales manager or a poser sales trainer in any type of extended contact with your sales wolves, you are taking an extreme risk. Your sales manager / sales trainer must be a sales wolf themselves. They must be able to say, "I have been there done that," and not be lying. If they are lying, you are shooting yourself in the foot because your sales wolves will not tolerate this mediocrity.
And if you are not a sales wolf yourself, bring a sales wolf in to manage your team. You will be far better off financially.
Repeat after me...
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I will hire only sales wolves using a valid sales personality test.
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I will never, ever, ever, ever expose my sales wolves to posers during the onboarding process because I respect myself and I respect my sales wolves.
