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The Cowboy Sales Process
The Cowboy Sales Process

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Elevating Your Hiring Process - Part 2

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In Part 1, we analyzed the high-level strategy of a $4M/year operation. Now, we go into the trenches. This document provides the tactical blueprint for building and managing the elite sales team that fuels the machine. We will cover compensation that breeds hunger, a screening process that finds natural-born killers, and a management style that uses radical transparency to force peak performance. Your mission is to use these tools to stop hiring employees and start recruiting a disciplined army.

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1. The Compensation Blueprint: Fueling the Fire

Your compensation plan is not just a number; it's a psychological tool. It must provide enough stability to remove desperation but enough incentive to create relentless drive. Here is their field-tested model for acquisitions specialists.

Their Compensation Structure:

Base Salary
$2,000 per month.
The Psychology: This is explicitly framed as "food and gas money." It's just enough to cover basic survival, ensuring the salesperson isn't distracted by personal financial emergencies. It removes their excuses.
Commission
10% of the gross assignment fee.
The Psychology: This is where the wealth is built. It directly ties their personal income to the company's success on every single deal.
Overtime
Time-and-a-half pay for all hours worked over 40 per week.
The Psychology: This incentivizes the hungriest players to go the extra mile. It rewards the "first in, last out" mentality and gets them working on nights and weekends, where deals are often made.
There are no rows in this table
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ACTION STATION: Design Your Compensation Plan 💰

Use their model as a baseline. Calibrate it for your market and the talent you want to attract.
Cost of Living Analysis: Is a $2,000/month base salary viable in my city, or does it need adjustment?
My City's Adjusted Base Salary: $_______________ / month.
Commission Structure: Is 10% the right number to motivate my team based on my average deal size?
My Average Deal Size: $_______________
Commission per Average Deal: $_______________
Is this amount life-changing enough to drive behavior? (Yes / No)
The Overtime Incentive: Am I willing to pay overtime to encourage extra hours, or do I prefer a different incentive model (e.g., bonuses for weekend contracts)?
My Extra Hours Strategy: (Overtime / Bonus / Other) ___________________________
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2. The Recruitment Protocol: Sourcing & Screening Operators

You can't train a wolf. You have to find one. Their process is designed to filter out the sheep and identify the natural-born predators.

Screening: The Three-Part Litmus Test

This is how you identify your ideal avatar: a competitive, "alpha" personality who is built to sell.
The Background Check: They prioritize candidates with a history of thriving in competitive environments.
The Personality Profile: Use the 16 Personalities test to find a very specific psychological makeup.
16 Personalities test
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The "Capitalist" Question: This is a killer interview question to gauge a candidate's killer instinct.
The Question: "What are your thoughts on capitalism?"
What You're Listening For: You don't care about their political views. You want to know if they are an opportunist. Will they see a deal where a seller is asking $40k for a $200k house and go in for the kill at $30k? Or will they "feel bad" and offer more? You need the person who will maximize every opportunity.
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FIELD EXERCISE: Build Your Recruitment Filter 🕵️‍♂️

It's time to stop interviewing and start interrogating for the traits you need.
Define Your Avatar: Who thrives in your culture?
Top 3 Backgrounds: ________________, ________________, ________________
Top 3 Personality Traits: ________________, ________________, ________________
Craft Your Litmus Test Question: What is ONE question you can ask in an interview that will reveal a candidate's core motivation (hunger, killer instinct, opportunism)?
My Litmus Test Question: __________________________________________________
Screening Protocol: Will you require candidates to take the 16Personalities test before a final interview? (Yes / No)
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3. The Performance Crucible: Managing for Peak Output

Once you've hired your wolves, you must manage them in an environment that demands excellence. This requires setting brutal expectations and enforcing them with radical transparency.

The Management Framework:

The 90-Day Gauntlet: Set expectations on day one. New hires are told to "learn to eat ramen noodles" for the first 90 days. This period covers their 45-day training plus the average 45-day closing cycle for their first deal. It filters out anyone looking for a quick, easy paycheck.
Radical Transparency (The Public Scoreboard): This is the ultimate accountability tool. Every week, create a report of every acquisitions specialist's lead-to-contract conversion ratio.
The "Show, Don't Just Tell" Method: Performance coaching is driven by data, not feelings. An underperformer isn't just told to "do better." They are shown the numbers: "If we gave your 30 leads to our top performer, we would have 3 contracts instead of your 1. You are costing the company two deals. Let's fix your conversion rate." This creates intense social pressure and a clear, mathematical reason to improve.
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INTEL DEBRIEF: Implement The Crucible 🔥

Assess your current management style and identify where you can implement these high-performance tactics.
My 90-Day Expectation Speech: How will I communicate the initial 90-day challenge to new hires to test their commitment?
Draft the key points of your speech here: __________________________________________________
My Public Scoreboard: What is the single most important KPI I can track and display publicly to the sales team to drive internal competition?
The KPI to Display: ___________________________
How I Will Display It: (Weekly Email / Whiteboard / Dashboard)
Performance Conversations: Am I currently coaching based on objective data (like conversion rates) or subjective feelings?
My current style is more (Objective / Subjective).
One step I can take to make these conversations more data-driven is: __________________________________________________

Hiring a team is just the first step—giving them quality leads is what makes them win. Prexium makes it happen. Power your team here 👉
The Cowboy Marketer
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