Why You Need to Kick Out Some Sales People

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I and my wife have encountered lots of business establishments with moody, nasty, rotten sales workforce, and I can't imagine why business owners would hire them.

Remember, your sales workforce projects your image and the image of your company to customers. They have to be the best. NEVER hire people who have bad characters and attitudes. It's better to hire lousy people who can be trained and who can learn than smart ones who have bad attitudes and cannot change.

That's why I don't give a damn about high grades, schools or awards presented by applicants. I'm always after character. If you want your business to produce money, always go for character. That's what customers want, not smart but rotten employees.

Even in small businesses. You see food crews or sales clerks who cannot smile and who seem to hate it when people buy from them. I will never want to buy again from that store even if it has the best items on sale. I'd rather buy a second best product from a second best shop than deal with rotten sales people. Really. I've talked to a lot of people who feel the same way.

And imagine how many thousands of profits you lose because of these pain-in-the-ass sales people or teams. It's a common-sense basic and yet many business owners fail in this area. And then they wonder why they're losing.

Saddest thing is, I've seen business owners act rottenly toward customers.

A lot of times, I and my wife would frequent a snack bar just because we like the attendant there. The food is not that good and the "cold" drinks are actually a bit warm. Yet we'd buy there. Of course, we look for better ones that serve better food, but in the meantime, we buy from the second best we find with good and kind sales attendants.

And sometimes, even if we've found a good place to buy, we still visit the second best now and then and buy some items, for friendship's sake.

To most people, a good and zero-stress experience also matter a lot aside from quality products. I've been to really posh restaurants with rotten waiters and waitresses, and I thought, these businesses were just wasting money. If you mean business, you get serious about who you hire.

Well, of course they'd look kind and polite when you interview applicants. But I for one easily spot rotten people even the first time I meet them. You have to develop this skill if you want to be a bizz hustler like me. It takes years of successful practice. But I can give you one tip here---ask applicants to smile at you and hold it for 20 seconds. Rottenness often shows itself even when the guy is smiling.

And I think God cursed rotten people with a disgusting smile. Well, of course, you shouldn't rely on smiles alone.

But one thing for sure: anyone who looks as if he or she finds the "smile test" stupid should NEVER be hired.

Remember, the surest way to lose in business is to man it with those who pisses off your customers.