The Justified Talent Group

The Number 1 concern of every small business owner looking to hire their first sales professional is: "What if I get it wrong? What if they don't work out?" We get that. It's a big risk and it's anxiety-inducing.

That's why we exist. At Justified Talent we work with Founders to recruit their first sales professionals.

The traditional recruitment process is now known to be fundamentally flawed. LinkedIn recently commented that conducting a structured behavioural interview has the same predictive reliability as NOT DOING AN INTERVIEW AT ALL! At Justified Talent we are responding to that reality to help our clients better (or get better at) attracting, selecting and recruiting the best possible people into their 'mission-critical' sales roles. We are doing this by using cutting-edge predictive-hiring software and the most predictively reliable psychometric assessment in the world today (Yes we CAN validate that).

www.justifiedtalent.com - Justified Talent is a boutique service provider to the start-up and small business (1-20 employees) sectors. We assist in helping our clients better attract, select, recruit and optimise their first sales professionals. Specifically, we accelerate sales recruitment by 33%, saving you up to 66% on your recruitment fees while finding you a 300% better match for your business culture.

Try us out! You're decision will be readily justified...

Are you really ready to hire? Take our scorecard and find out - https://justifiedtalent.scoreapp.com/ - 4 minutes, 16 questions, instant report and it's free!

Founder - Justified Talent - SME Sales Recruitment

Your Leadership Circle

Are you a Founder, CEO, General Manager, or mid-level manager, leading a business or team in Regional Australia? Do you sometimes feel isolated in your leadership role, wishing you had better access to guidance and collaboration with like-minded peers? Look no further! Your Leadership Circle is here to support you on your leadership journey.

We understand the unique challenges faced by leaders in regional areas and are committed to providing a powerful vehicle for growth and development. Our methodology is unlike traditional leadership programs. We develop real-world, real-time solutions in a confidential and supportive setting. Each monthly gathering is designed to focus on the real challenges and opportunities that you and your peers are facing, ensuring you leave the room with actionable insights and strategies.

During our monthly gatherings, you'll meet with your circle of ten fellow leaders from your region. Each presents reports on progress from the previous month and analyses the current business situation. From there, one key leadership focus, per member, will be identified for the coming month and the Circle will collectively contribute ideas and experiences to support you in addressing the challenge. In addition, your Chair will also facilitate a learning session each month focused on building a culture of leadership.

Head to https://yourleadershipcircle.com.au/ to learn more!

Founder

BeenSortd

After scores of small business owners, who, having used our services over at Justified Talent to find their first sales professionals, approached me and said "Can you also help us find an 'XYZ'?" I decided I wanted to be able to say "You bet!"

And out of that was born BeenSortd.

It's actually NOT a recruitment agency. It’s a very clever Aussie technology platform that enables small business owners to supercharge their DIY recruitment for non-sales roles. For those who don’t want to use a recruiter but also know that an ad on S33k ain’t gonna cut it.

70+% of SMB owners have shared they’ve made a poor past hiring decision. Well, those days are now over - attracting, selecting, recruiting and then optimising the best hires has… BeenSortd

BeenSortd has partnered with Expr3ss! - Predictive Hiring Technology and gives Australian and New Zealand small business owners access to the power of very clever technology that is normally only affordable to the top end of town, to collect hiring decision-data that is far more reliable than the traditional cover letters, resumes and interviews facade. And it's available to you for an incredibly affordable investment. This is S33k on steroids!

P.S. Google these - "Resume writing services"... and then "How to do well at an interview" (click on "Videos" - see how many million there are.) If you're relying on either, or, both of these you're setting yourself up for disappointment or fluke.

Want to hire with certainty? It's BeenSortd. Head here to learn more - http://beensortd.com.au/

Founder - Chairman - BeenSortd - Technology enabled DIY recruitment for SMBs

The Entourage

In my capacity as Vision Partner I advised members of The Entourage in the areas of sales recruitment, sales leadership and high performance cultures. It was a truly rewarding role as I got to work alongside a group of enthusiastic and willing entrepreneurs intent on being the best they can be.

Vision Partner - Small Business Advisor

Ray White

In 2016-17 I was National Talent & Leadership Manager for the Ray White Group and oversaw the professional handling of 4500+ applications for 100+ sales roles, around the country, as a result of bringing Agent recruitment in-house. I also profiled in excess of 2000 agents across the nation, developing the most comprehensive predictive benchmark as leading indicators of success in a notoriously high-turnover role.

I supported our Franchisees with their 'people growth'. I launched and headed up the Ray White Talent Acquisition Service which helps business-owners across the group to attract, select and recruit people with the highest likelihood of success in this highly competitive industry. I subsequently worked with business-owners in their leadership capacity to ensure they are realising their people's potential - and increasing their staff retention. Latterly my role expanded to providing Principals and high-performing Agents with insights to how their character lends itself to success - and where desired, to 'close the gap' - as a result of conducting a thoroughly comprehensive psychometric benchmarking exercise.

As ever, my mission was to engage, enable and empower as many people as I possibly can to realise their potential.

National Talent & Leadership Manager - Recruitment & Leadership Development

Peoplogica

Peoplogica's motto is "Love Your Work". 

My role at Peoplogica saw me developing new client opportunities and delivering high value-add services. This entailed helping clients attracting quality candidates; selecting future high-performers; maximising employee talent; retaining talent; developing confident people managers; and building performance cultures.

General Manager - Client Services - Psychometric Assessments

KONA Group

As one of the co-founding directors, my main focus was on the development and delivery of world-class sales, sales management and sales leadership programmes for our client projects. I was responsible for the quality of our content and the quality of its delivery. Ultimately my major KPI was Client Satisfaction and repeat engagement. My operational involvement in the business scaled back as I focused on the E3/Leadership In Action business, however, I remain an active contributor to the KONA Group today.

Example outcomes include:

- Doubled sales for a large B2B sales force in 6 months,
- Increased revenue of a Finance client by 20% in one year,
- Increased sales of a Pharmaceutical client by 19% to achieve 140% of target in 12 months,
- Grew sales for a Retail client by 250% over previous year in 3 weeks,
- Increased customer retention of a Major Credit Card by over 12% in 6 months,
- Increased market share of an Industrial/Manufacturing client from 32% to 40% in 20 months.
- Trained one sales team to make 439 appointments in ONE HOUR

Co-director - Director Of Quality - Sales Training & Coaching

LivingSocial Australia

Contracted to work with an energetic, goal focused and eclectic bunch of folks, we developed a sales-led E3 Culture of Leadership. This role saw my team (HR, L&D, Workforce Planning, Recruitment, Talent Management) and I working across the full OD spectrum of Employer Branding, Talent Attraction, Retention, Leadership Development, Cultural Evolution, Performance Management and driving disciplined execution of organisational strategy and instilling a 'Sales Culture'.

I was contracted as Director of People & Culture at LivingSocial and oversaw the complete overhaul of sales hiring practices which saw our LinkedIn Employer Brand Index climb from just 3% to 24% and active followership go from 800 folk to in excess of 10,000. Sales staff turnover reduced from 34% to just 12% and new hires hit 'productive' status in half the time.

Director, People & Culture

Leadership In Action

Leadership In Action was founded and largely built by myself. Over 13 years we grew to a small team with offices in Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne. Our team were former Special Forces, 'middle-managers', and corporate leaders who's skills and abilities were defined in environments of high-demand, constant uncertainty, exacting deadlines and fierce 'competition'. My role was that of client project design and delivery.

With qualifications in business, leadership, psychology, training and counselling, Leadership In Action was renowned as a specialist high-impact training, development & implementation team focused on helping managers from Perth to Auckland, Darwin to Hobart, become world-class operational leaders.

Clients included: Sandvik Mining & Construction | Decmil | Structural Systems | James Hardie Building Products | Honeywell Building Solutions | Amcor | Jaguar Land Rover | John Holland | Australian Country Choice | Serco Sodexo to name a few...

Founder - Director, Training Operations - Operational Leadership Development

The number 1 concern of every small business owner thinking of hiring their first sales professional is, "What if I get this wrong? What if they don't work out?" It's a reasonable concern. 48% of first hires into SMBs DON'T work out. Few make it past the 18-month mark, having taken 9-12 months to get up to speed and, maybe, achieve quota.

And that's because the recruitment process as you know it... is broken. Humans are actually useless at predicting another human's likely future performance. And sales people are good at making that first sale - the one where they sell themselves to YOU!

At Justified Talent - my core business - we work exclusively with SME owners/Founders to recruit their first, true, sales professionals. We do that using behavioural science and predictive analytics. Not guesswork.

Are you ready to take on a sales professional... find out by heading to our Sales Readiness to Hire scorecard. It's 16-questions, 4-minutes and you'll get an instant customised report with an assessment and tips - https://justifiedtalent.scoreapp.com

We’re on a mission to support 180 Founders grow their businesses, adding value to the Australian economy.


I am also at a point in my life where I enjoy mentoring others, so, if you’re looking for somebody to share your challenges and to have robust conversations with, make contact and let’s see if we click.

Nothing ventured nothing gained, right?

GRAB YOUR PARTNERS

Due to the high interest from small business owners wanting to learn more about Partnerships I've decided to run a webinar highlighting 7 ways to use partnerships to grow your biz in 2024. It will run on Tuesday 16th April at 10:30am AEST. It’s free, you just need to register. The recording will be sent out to those who register but it’s always great to see you live and feel the teamwork. Join me!

Link to register is in the comments section below.

James Michael

Taking a quick break from my break to post a public thank you and well done to the team at Procuret.

Last Thursday a client chose the Procuret option to pay their invoice from me, allowing them to pay in monthly instalments, while I’m paid in full. 

At around 3pm I received the usual automatic notification from Procuret, advising that the client had chosen that option and they had been approved. 

Normally, payment arrives into my account within 1-2 hours… but on this occasion it didn’t. 

So, on Good Friday morning I emailed Procuret, with zero expectation of a reply before Tuesday, advising them - just in case something untoward had happened. I also messaged Zac Underwood, my Account Manager, on here, so he’d see it first thing Tuesday.

Well… within 30-minutes of my email the funds landed, Breitner Marinas, Procuret’s CEO had personally responded, apologising for the delay as well as explaining what had happened - and Zac also replied on here, advising that he’d messaged the team and to let him know if the funds didn’t arrive soon.

I have to say, that experience is pretty much line ball with every interaction I’ve had with this team and business. Always excellent. 

I highly recommend the Procuret facility to every SMB owner (provided you qualify)! Not only does it have a massive positive impact on your cash flow - the service is smooth, reliable, easy and first class!

Thanks Team Procuret!

💐

👌🏻

#serviceexcellence
#smallbusinessowner
#cashflowmanagement

You're a founder. 

It's going well...

Your baby has achieved product-market-fit.

You're starting to be overwhelmed with the juggling act...

Time to go hire your first salesperson, right?

Whoa, there Nelly!



48% of first sales hires into SMBs don't work out. And not for the reasons you'd think. 

Actually... it wasn't them

Turns out, you weren't really ready

We routinely see businesses that aren't 'sales hire ready'. Which that meant the newbie was destined to fail. 

Without a mature, robust and sustainable ecosystem and support environment in place, every sales hire is at increased risk of failure.



So, If you're getting that itch to hire, I thoroughly recommend reading our guide, "13 Reasons Not to Hire a Sales Professional" 👇 

P.S. If you ARE ready - we'd love to help 😉 

The Justified Talent Group

#smallbusiness #founder #sales #salesrecruitment #salesenablement

13 Reasons...

If you're a B2B Founder in sales recruitment mode, there's something just a little bit different that you can do to more reliably determine whether your candidates can do the job and which of them is likely to be more effective in the role...

Firstly, though, in the B2B sales process, while each phase carries its own importance, research and expert opinions often highlight the "discovery" phase as the most crucial. This phase is pivotal because it sets the foundation for understanding the prospective client's needs, challenges, and goals, which are essential for tailoring your offering to their specific situation.

The ability of your candidates to conduct high-value discovery conversations is something you definitely want to explore then.

So, instead of the tired old "Tell me about an occasion when..." interview question, which they will no doubt be well prepared for, consider setting an hour-long meeting where the candidate meets you as though you were one of your potential customers and get them to conduct a discovery meeting with you. From this exercise, you'll experience: 

✅ The power (or not) of their questioning; 
✅ You'll see and hear their active listening;
✅ The nature of their questions will help you understand their knowledge of both the sector you sell to and to some degree, your solutions; and
✅ You'll see whether they are effective at pulling off the balancing act of keeping control of the opportunity - including setting up next steps.

In my experience, if, after the conversation, you find yourself genuinely curious to hear more from the candidate, you're onto a winner.

You need to give the candidates a couple of days notice, so they can do some research and prteparation. You'll need to give them an example company that you have done business with. And you need to be comfortable adopting the persona of your prospect.

Note: this is not an exercise in them pitching.

It's a very powerful way of discerning that they have the ability to do discovery - versus just being good story tellers.

Have you tried this? Any good examples?

#salesrecruitment #smallbusiness #interviewtips

I've been thinking about the "13 Reasons" post I put up a couple of days ago and, inspired by Joanne (Jo) 🎯 Schonheim, thinking about the misunderstanding that often occurs about what's 'marketing', what's 'sales', and what's 'business development'...

Navigating the landscape of scaling a business can often feel like building a jigsaw puzzle, especially when it comes to understanding the interplay between those three roles. Recognising the nuances of these domains is crucial to harness their collective power effectively.

From my perspective, marketing is the art and science of captivating your audience. It’s about crafting compelling narratives that resonate with your target market, establishing a strong brand identity, and engaging potential customers through strategic communication across various channels. Marketing efforts aim to generate interest, build brand awareness, and create a pipeline of leads by informing and educating your audience about the value your product or service brings to their lives. It lays the groundwork for sales by setting the stage, so to speak, warming up the audience for the direct engagement that follows.

Sales, on the other hand, is the engine that drives revenue. It’s the direct interaction with prospects to convert them into paying customers. Sales teams take the baton from marketing, using the leads generated to engage in one-on-one conversations, proposals, and negotiations that close deals. This process is highly personalised, focusing on understanding individual customer needs, addressing their specific concerns, and persuading them of the unique benefits your solution offers. It’s about building relationships and trust, ensuring customers feel valued and understood.

Business development straddles both domains, serving as the bridge that expands your market reach and uncovers new opportunities for growth. It’s about strategic partnerships, alliances, and ventures that enhance your product offering and distribution channels. Business development focuses on the long-term success of your business, identifying and exploring new markets, and innovating on product development to meet emerging needs. It’s the exploration of synergistic relationships that can amplify your market presence and accelerate growth.

Understanding these roles and how they support each other allows founders moving into scale-up mode to allocate resources effectively, strategise comprehensively, and achieve sustainable growth. Each, while unique in its approach, is interconnected; success in one area fuels performance in the other. As you navigate the journey of scaling your business, integrating sales, marketing, and business development with a clear vision and strategy will be key.

Importantly, each of these areas requires unique skill sets, leverages different 'tools' and really does require different personalities. It's rare that one person can do each well.

#founder #smallbusiness #sales #salesrecruitment

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