Applying the power of data to the sales game cannot be underestimated and here on the show today to unpack this subject is a great friend and expert! Rudy Rodriguez has a strong message for sales teams and the people who build and hire them, and we guarantee that it can help you too! A generous, sincere, smart, and caring individual, Rudy offers a huge amount of value for today's show, talking about bringing in a sales team, and why preparation for others doing your sales for you, from the beginning, is essential. We then turn to Rudy's thoughts on the hiring process and he drops a whole selection of pearls on this part of his work! He talks about the framework he has adopted and adapted for making the best hires, why building company culture and finding 'A' players are so vitally important on all levels, and gives us the powerful questions he asks at specific points of the process. To finish off our amazing chat, Rudy offers some great resource recommendations, talking about the books and thinkers that have impacted him and his business the most. Make sure to tune in to hear it all! Key Points From This Episode: Rudy's mission in life, career history, entrance into the entrepreneurial space, and more! The types and sizes of companies that Rudy and his team typically work with. Avoiding and getting out of the doldrums; applying lessons from the navy to sales.Planning the model for your business, so that others can do your sales for you.Staying in touch with your customer base as a business grows. Better measurement of sales success using critical drivers and KPIs. The million-dollar question that Rudy asks about improving on a bad month. Implementation of the critical drivers; using 'thinking time' to find a way forward.Rudy's thoughts on the hiring process and why the culture you create is so important. The four critical components of hiring 'A' players and how these can safeguard against missteps.  Avoiding common pitfalls of hiring sales professionals by identifying a natural affinity.The Harvard study that exemplifies a good lead qualification process.  Better practices for lead collection and the most important information to gather. Some great book recommendations from Rudy that everybody should check out! How to find Rudy and his team online and set up a call today!    Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Data Rich Show Virtual Event Sales Team Topgrading  Taking Flight Harvard Business Review Measure What Matters Who The Dream Manager AJ Yager Praxis Metrics