Question for New Rainmaker Hires

One of the members of a group I am very active with, AZSalesPros, asked a question that goes to the heart of hiring rainmakers:
"What would you expect a new sales person to accomplish in the first 90 days of employment? If you were to work with them to put together a 90-day success plan what things would you put in it?"

My feeling on that is that if you ask that question AFTER you hire them, you've waited too late and may have some issues pretty quickly.

Let's face it, when you are interviewing a potential candidate that looks like a perfect fit for your job opening, there may be some rose-colored glasses in place - on both your parts. You might really believe this person can earn over six figures within the first year - after all, they did it before, right? And that is probably what they are thinking too. But before the cold hard facts come up after they are hired, do some calculations that include these considerations:
How much is your average sale? Don't just guess - take a look at the past performance of other sales people on your team. Put all those together and find an average amount of each sale. The rainmaker may in fact blow the average sale out of the water, but you need to have a realistic benchmark for them to compare to.

If your average sale is $100, the person is going to have to sell a LOT of your product to get to six figures. (Unless you're offering that amount as a base salary, which isn't often the case!)

If your average sale is $250,000, how long is the sales cycle? From the time they make the first contact, until the deal is closed and delivered, how long before they will see a commission on it? If it takes 6 months to a year before they start seeing commissions, they may get disillusioned about their earnings potential with your company.

These are just a couple of things that you, and they, should consider before deciding whether they will be a rainmaker for your company!