GuideSpark defines success as their ability to attract top talent, and quickly onboard and develop them so that the majority of them can become quota bearing reps. Here's how they do that.

1. Fast-paced hiring and onboarding
SEPTEMBER 2014
1
1(And steps we take to keep the talent pipeline flowing…)

2. THE GUIDESPARK RDR TEAM – JULY 2014
PHONE CALLS
EMAILS

3. THE TEAM – 1H13 – 1H14
Growth Multiples – YoY People In New Roles Today
2 7 3
2012 2013 2014
42.9%
7.3X
Opportunities
14.7X
14.6%
Average Tenure
9 4 5
2012 2013 2014
5X
24.6X
Meetings Emails Calls

4. 1 2
Hard to optimize 3 on the fly - trend or
consistency 4
issues. THE ISSUES
Explosive growth + success = hiring
pressures.
Need to replace top talent with even
better talent.
Young workforce – focus, resilience,
blip?

5. THE METRICS
PHONE CALLS MEETINGS
QUALIFIED
OPPORTUNITIES
EMAILS

6. PHONE CALLS - YTD
Smile and Dial
1. Easy part of job is to pick up the phone – believe it or not!
2. Get them on the phone on first day.
3. Keep pace with rest of team.
4. Race to 3,000 phone calls.
5. Throw people into difficult situation to see how they respond.
6. Keep an eye on those flat-lines – more on those later.

7. MEETINGS - YTD
Meetings – get to launch point
1. Learning curve - launch point happens at different times.
2. Coaching is paramount – peer-to-peer and 1:1.
3. What’s working. What isn’t.
4. Get hands dirty when necessary. Almost always necessary.
5. Meetings are not enough! (More on that later).

8. OPPORTUNITIES - YTD
Most difficult to achieve but most important
1. How do we lower ramp time for each subsequent RDR?
2. How do we drive more quality into the pipe vs. tire kickers?
3. Make changes on the fly – but beware!
4. Takes full quarter to even ramp on this metric.

9. MOVE QUICKLY HIRING
Victim of Own Success
1. When desired output achieved finally they move on.
2. Back to square 1.
3. Slowdown = unacceptable.
4. When in doubt – hire ahead!
5. Attract top-level talent that can come in with reduced ramps.
6. My philosophy = treat candidates like prospects at quarter
end – close them quickly and don’t risk losing to competition.
7. Having a sales background obviously helps!

10. HOW TO REPLACE A-CALIBER TALENT (AGAIN + AGAIN)
2 Top performers are promoted – now what?
1. Don’t panic – it’s great for the company.
2. You have to move even quicker than before and keep bar high
for qualified talent.
3. Get a steady pipeline of talent – and act decisively – 60+
screens and 40+ RDR interviews for ~ 10 positions in 2014.
4. Close them in 1 day if possible. 1 week max.
5. Hire for attitude – coach for aptitude.
6. Take calculated risks– they ain’t all A’s + B’s on 1st day.
7. Hands on – maintain laser-like focus on execution and try to
get C’s to B’s and B’s to A’s.

11. TRENDS vs. BLIPS
Tale of 2 Cities
1. Rep 1 + Rep 2 both new in Q1.
2. Both fairly similar performance – on meetings and qualified.
3. Continue coaching Rep 1 to get even better.
4. Back to basics with Rep 2. Need complete overhaul of
approach, beginning with pitch.
5. Identify trends as they develop – change directions on the fly
(i.e. rep realignment).
1
MEETINGS
Rep 1 looks similar to Rep 2.
2
QUALIFIED
Or does he?
CLOSED 3 DEALS
Clear indication of development gap.

12. 1 2 GET USED TO IT KEEP BAR HIGH
Nobody said it was easy. But take calculated risks.
4
CONCLUSIONS
3
SPOT TRENDS EARLY
Monitor red flags closely and make
changes decisively.
BE OPEN TO SURPRISES
Young talent continues to impress
when given an opportunity.
Move quickly and
never stop recruiting.
Know that there will be more
changes if done right.
It’s a team effort and
keep an open mind.
Leverage the team to help
flatten bumps along the way.

13. APPENDIX: WHEN TO PUSH AND WHEN TO BACK OFF
$200,000
$180,000
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Meetings Qualified Opps Closed Revenue
New Rep  Letdown  Top performer
1. Q1 – No revenue impact. Some
meetings qualify.
2. Q2 – Some revenue impact despite
both meetings and qualified flatten
out.
3. Q3 – Higher revenue impact.
Meetings steepen to > Q1. Qualifieds
steepen to > Q2.
4. Don’t hit panic button too early.
5. When to push, when to allow them
to find their strengths.
6. Positive reinforcement.
7. Steady as she goes.