Appropriately Poaching Talent

Appropriately Poaching Talent

There is appropriate and inappropriate poaching. Let me shed some light on the difference with a few real-world examples.

Lesson I

Rob was always a really nice and understanding guy. We got along great, and we respected each other mutually. He was also one of our first B2B customers, and he supported us to the best of his ability given the limitations of his market. His operation wasn’t very large, and he did all his purchasing in an open office where other staff members were an earshot from our conversation at all times. After covering the essentials for the sales appointment and securing a new product order, I casually mentioned an open position that our company was desperate to fill and asked Rob if he knew of anyone that could fill that role. His demeanor changed, he asked me to follow him into the warehouse where staff was nowhere to be seen.

He suddenly lunged toward me and said with fury, “Don’t ever bring up the topic of hiring around my employees again. I’ll kick you out of this place for good and never stock another one of your products again! It’s hard enough keeping our employees. I don’t want them jumping ship to my vendors.” I was shocked and felt embarrassed because it was just an innocent ask, but I was too naive to understand the consequences in the moment.

Lesson II

Over a year later, there were some very promising individuals I came across with our channel partners. Since I knew we would be scaling, I monitored their employment situation, though I was careful not to cross any lines overtly after that experience with Rob.

One guy was a go-to person, jack of all trades and a hard worker, exactly what we needed at the time. A purchasing agent said she was going to lose him as soon as a better opportunity came along. This time I took the owner aside privately, prefaced the conversation with what I learned from the purchasing agent, and asked him for his permission to have an initial conversation about possible employment. The owner said he was losing that employee regardless, and he trusted me and the company, so he gave his blessing. It worked out so well that he became one of my best hires for the company. The MacGyver of the organization is still there after fifteen years and became a company pillar.

Lesson III

Oddly enough, some of my best hires were from outside the industry. At the time I was sourcing for the San Francisco Bay Area. After nearly a year, including working with a recruiter that specialized in the territory, I could not find the right person for the role. Again, and again, candidates seemed to have a sales methodology that was not a fit or demanded a king’s ransom for the position. I knew I needed someone who could sell premium products, who took initiative, who had a strong work ethic, and who was crafty for the role. I was tipped off by my sister-in-law about a guy working at Salvatore Ferragamo in San Francisco’s Union Square. She said that presumably he was their star salesperson and might be interested in making a change.

Acting like a secret shopper, I wanted to see him in action. There were three other salespeople working the store, and at the time there was just two possible customers in the store. The first to greet me and try to earn my business was the rep in question, Franck. Thick French accent, he was on it, taking my shoe size and having me peruse the accessories while he grabbed a few $1,000 pairs of shoes for me to try. Another customer walked in, Franck came out and greeted her, directing her into an area while helping me with my shoes. He asked me to walk around the store for a couple of minutes to test the feel, granting him the chance to engage with the new customer. This continued for another thirty minutes, and he tried to get every customer and every sale. I was impressed with his initiative, tact in working with multiple clients, his work ethic, and ability to sell someone a $200 tie and a $3,000 pair of shoes (no, not me). We ended up hiring him, and he became one of our best salespeople. May be too good. He started dating my sister-in-law, and they eventually married and had two children! He ended up working for the parent company in a different division over twelve years later.

Final Lesson

After these experiences, I had greater talent acquisition success and avoided tarnishing relationships with our B2B customers. I would look at the territory, essential skills and other attributes to fit the territory role, then search for salespeople in the wild that fit before approaching their bosses for permission. The hires I ended up securing turned out to be long-term employees and top performers.