Yes, yes...my name is actually Brad. Originally from New England, I have been an avid entrepreneur and sales leader for 17 years while living here in Colorado and active in the sales profession for over 25 years. Lots of lessons, for sure, but one thing is certain:

 

Sourcing GREAT salespeople is just plain DIFFICULT.

 

In my experience, here is why I think that this challenge rings true for most of us.

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The truly GREAT salespeople are:

• Elusive

  • All the great ones are gainfully employed... 

    • Therefore, they are not currently searching general job listings 

    • Average tenure of great salespeople

      • 5 to 7 years

    • More loyal to their employer than lesser sales performers, and their employer reciprocates with loyalty in return

    • Their next job must FIND THEM to get any attention

• Ironically, quite risk averse

  • Posting their resume to a job site is simply not acceptable, for fear of being discovered by their current employer

  • Searching  online for jobs from company resources is a known 'no-no'

  • Cause and effect

    • Seeking new employment may (ahem, will) psychologically and physically affect one's current sales performance, resulting in:

      • Management's tracking of activity

      • Missing KPI's and quotas

      • Less variable compensation

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I have also found that:

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• Selling great salespeople is also quite a challenge, that is:

  • YOU selling THEM on joining your team

• Timing is particularly paramount

  • Get it right and you may just hook them, otherwise, THEY certainly aren't looking for YOU

• It is proven to be expensive, $$$

  • Fees to all those ‘generic’ job posting sites add up fast

  • Recruiter retainers + success fees are ~25% of a new hire's salary

• Time + timing

  • In my experience time = money, especially with empty sales positions on the roster

• Bad sales hires are notoriously more expensive than initially paying more for the proven GREAT sales hires, if you can find the,

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"So", you may ask, "What works best when I need more GREAT sales talent?"

 

Once again, in my experience, finding great sales talent comes down to one or more of these four methods:

1. Trusted Referrals

2. Really Good Timing

3. Crazy Luck

   • Sorry to say, but it rings true more often than I would like to admit

4. Hard Work

   • Sales Coaching and Development of sales candidates that have the potential, a willingness to learn, proven work ethic and a sincere desire to be GREAT at sales, but just don't have the experience or current leadership to get them there

 

Helping Solve the Problem

via Brad’s List

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Without (too much) exaggeration, I may get asked weekly and at times even daily, "Brad, where can I find someone GREAT at selling X, Y or Z?"  

 

Honestly, I haven't always had a referral or an answer.  So, I began to research and further consider the scope of this problem and how to fix it, having suffered from it myself. Isn't that what entrepreneurs do?

 

Conclusion: The supply of sales talent is somewhere out there to meet this demand, but it is also notorious for being hard to access.

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So what is Brad's List, actually?

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Look, this is not rocket science, by any means. Brad's List is just a large, dedicated list of the opportunistic people in the sales profession who are actively, or even passively, interested in receiving and reviewing relevant new sales positions from top employers in Colorado, directly and discreetly via email.

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...and who is it that joins Brad's List?

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Existing Brad's List members come from just about every industry represented in Colorado, with the current sales role and/or desired sales role of :

• Sales Leaders (Executive, VP, Director, Manager)

• Enterprise Sales

• Account Executives

• Sales Engineers

• Sales Support

• Sales Operations

• Account Managers

• Business Development

• Channel Sales

• Alliance Managers

• Consultants

• Inside Sales

• Territory Representatives

• Manufacturer's Representatives

• Remote Sales

• Brokers

• or others

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Wow! So why would all of these sales professionals join 'the list'?

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Brad's List is intentionally the epitome of simple for new subscribers to join and it's members to participate.

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1. It is a valuable, but very simple email list

2. It is only for Colorado sales candidates

3. New subscribers only have to provide a personal email address and optionally, some general interest criteria:

   • So, no extra work is required:

     • i.e. creating/using logins, remembering your password, uploading a resume or lengthy initial surveys just to get started

   • List members voluntarily receive relevant open positions from you, sent directly to their email, only one position at a time

   • Merely a bonus here, but Brad adds 'color' to each posted position, expressing his professional reasons why each new position is unique and worth a look by qualified members when published for employers

4. It is remarkably discreet​ for members/candidates to participate

5. Who would want to miss their dream job if it did come along via the list?

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As a corporate Hiring Manager, why would I post my open sales positions to Brad's List?

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• Focus: Brad's List is only comprised of sales professionals, and you access them all in ONE place

• Timing: Sales people are opportunistic by nature

• Launch a compelling job opportunity, direct to them, and they will read and react 

• Referrals: In sales, we generally trust each other. As such, with my experience in sales, Brad's List has become a trusted advisor for it's members

 

Got it. So how does it actually work? I mean, what is the business model?  Can you please just tell me what it costs?

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I am proud to say that it is also quite simple for you, as employers:

1. There is NO contract!

2. Send me your open sales positions, of any kind, just as long as they are in Colorado, to: brad at bradslist dot org

   • It is absolutely FREE for you to have me send your openings to the list of members

   • Your responsibility: Please just ask where the candidate heard of your open sales position: "Brad's List, perhaps?"

3. If a position is filled because of the free email sent to Brad’s List members on your behalf:

   • We use that crazy Honor System around here

     • Therefore, we recommend and seek a modest 3% success fee against your new hire's documented starting salary, due upon hire

     • Payment: Just need a completed 1099 form and a check made out to: "Brad's List"

 

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

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Here to help, 

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          Brad Dupee

          Peddler of Peddlers

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