Q: Does money trump all when gauging a salesperson's value?

A: While having lunch at the Remodeling Show, I overheard two salespeople comparing notes. Both worked for full-service companies and had been selling for about five years. One averaged a million dollars a year in sales; the other, about $750,000. The one selling a million assumed he was the better salesperson; the other simply ate up his every word.

From what I heard there wasn't enough evidence to determine which one I would've preferred to have working for me. The volume a salesperson generates for a company is only one indication of success. You also need to consider whether he generates his own leads and what his closing ratio is. Think about his consistency and how his customers feel after a job. Is he passionate about what he does and who he does it for?

I want the million-dollar producer. Who doesn't? But I don't want him at any cost. I want the salesperson who makes me the most money with the least hassle. —Phil Rea has conducted more than 13,200 in-home sales calls and trained more than 1,750 sales people. He shares his sales strategies each month with salespeople across the country through his MasterMind Program. For more information, call 866.441.7445.