What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Hiring and Firing Employees (6 Secrets to Building a 7-Figure Team)

The #1 fastest way to 2X your profits, slash 10-20 hours off your workweek, and create the life of freedom and adventure you’ve always wanted is to become a master of finding, hiring, and training amazing team members.

Unfortunately, 95% of the entrepreneurs I coach have no clue what they’re doing when it comes to hiring and firing and they needlessly “struckle” for years because they’re surrounded by B- players.

But don’t worry.

In today’s essay, I’m going to give you everything you need to know about hiring and firing employees so that you can build an unstoppable team of high-performers who will help you expand the reaches of your empire and dominate your industry.

1. Be Crystal Clear on Your Vision and Brand

Imagine we bumped into each other on an elevator today… could you tell me, in under 60-seconds, what your brand stands for and what your vision is?

If the answer is “No”, this is exactly why you’re struggling to attract the right people to your team.

It’s been said that “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. And these words are as true today as they were thousands of years ago.

When you have a clear and concise vision that other people want to be a part of, the right individuals will naturally be attracted to your vision, and the wrong people will be pushed away.

Who does your business serve? What problem are you trying to solve? What ethics and standards do you hold yourself to? What is the impact you’re trying to have?

When you can answer these questions clearly and quickly–more importantly, when you are so crystal clear that other people can answer these questions just by looking at your website or social media–the right people will come looking for you.

Listen…

High-performers do care about money (as should everyone). But to attract superstar talent to your business, you need to offer more than a steady paycheck. You need to give them a vision… a mission that excites them… a purpose bigger than themselves that is worth their time, energy, and attention.

And when you get this right? Everything becomes easier.

Spend some time today getting clear on your brand and vision and, more specifically, ensuring that every piece of content you share with the world reflects that brand and vision.

If you’ll do this, your team and business will grow faster than ever before.

2. Be Ruthless and Politically Incorrect in Your Job Ads

One of my “secrets” to finding and keeping amazing employees on my team is something I call my “politically incorrect job ad”.

If you want the full ad (to swipe and deploy) you’ll need to join my Ballantyne Method training program. But I’ll give you a quick rundown of what it is and how it works here…

To start, instead of doing what everyone else in the industry does and writing a headline about “Being a part of an amazing movement”, you’re going to be honest…

Most of my job ads start out the same way.

“You probably aren’t a good fit for this position.”

I know this seems counter-intuitive, but trust me here. High-performers are defined by their competitive drive and desire to seek out greater challenges.

If you lead by showcasing all of the reasons someone should NOT apply to work with you, you’ll automatically filter out the B players and ensure that only the best of the best even consider applying.

Once you’ve created your “filter” take a few paragraphs to explain all of the benefits the potential employee will receive, the responsibilities they will have, and what would make for a great match.

Focus specifically on the non-monetary benefits here (when you find a superstar employee, they’ll likely to so much to grow your business that you’ll be paying them 2-3X their starting salary within a year anyway)

What kind of culture do you have? Do you offer a flexible schedule? What are your employee benefits? Why would someone want to work for you?

Then, give them a tangible action step and challenge (like rewriting a sales page, improving a marketing funnel, overcoming an objection, etc) with detailed instructions (to weed out the lazy and careless), and invite them to apply.

I guarantee that if you take this approach, you’ll attract better candidates who are looking to build their career with you, not just get a paycheck. 

3. Embrace The “Hiring Grind”

I was recently asked, “How long does it take to get good at hiring?”

My honest answer?

Forever.

It’s like getting good at being married – you’re always working on it.

Listen, one of my clients owns a BILLION dollar manufacturing company, and here’s what he said on one of our weekly calls…

“Craig, I’ve never figured out the perfect hiring process, and I’ve personally hired hundreds of people in my 30-year career.”

“You’re always going to get people that simply don’t get it or can’t handle the work. And it becomes evident pretty quickly so y’all have to move on fast. As soon as it’s apparent someone isn’t picking things up, they’re gone.”

My client still makes mistakes with hiring, and you will, too, especially as you first start.

So, as you’re going through this process, take it easy on yourself and remember that hiring and firing is a skill just like anything else.

No one writes a million dollar sales page on their first try. And very few people making a winning hire on the first attempt.

One of the tricks to hiring the right people for your business is to HIRE SLOWER.

Sure, if you know someone is the right fit, it’s okay to snag them quickly, but don’t just take the first person who seems to fit all the qualifications on paper. It’ll be disappointing if someone has ten years of relevant experience…that happens to be paired with an insufferable personality and an ego complex.

Remember, when you hire new team members, you aren’t just making the hire for yourself…You also need to take the time to find the right person for your team.

It’s not worth it to bring on someone who has the skills you need but brings the rest of the team down.

When you take the time to hire slowly, you’ll weed out the people who just need to pay their bills. You’ll probably annoy some people with your hiring process, and they won’t stick around…those aren’t the people who will help build your empire anyway.

What better way to find the best new applicants than by going to those who already do exceptional work? Ask how your best team members found you and what stood out to them during the hiring process. 

Check if your team has any referrals for people who would do great work and who they’d enjoy working with.

4. Use This Secret to Conduct a Stunning Interview

If you want to find the best people for your team, this interview process is how you’ll do it.

Start by going to your Tribe, wherever they hang out. Advertise your open position via podcast, your email list, your Instagram stories, everywhere. 

Send them to an application page on your website. In the job application, make sure there is “homework.” A 5-minute task can weed out 90% of applicants who aren’t the right fit or robo-submissions. This simple task will tell you who is on the right track to be a part of your team.

The homework can be something like, “Go to my page, and tell me three things I can do better.” Whatever it is, keep it simple.

After weeding through the people who actually did the task, pick out those who have great resumes and move forward. Remember, you don’t need a ton of applicants…you just need the right ones.

Do a 10-minute phone screening, asking these questions: 

· Describe your current position.

· What do you love about your current job?

· Why do you want to leave your job?

· What are your career goals?

· Why do you want to work for us?

· Here’s our culture…will you fit in?

· Do you have any questions for me?

From there, move to a 90-minute Top-Grading Style interview with three people (you, a second in command, and one other person from your team).

Check out this article for ideas on how to use a Top Grading style during your interview and using a job scorecard to ensure you get the best candidate for your company. 

Remember, hire slowly…take your time. If you want to do another interview, do it. If you want candidates to do a sample task, ask them to (but pay them for their time). 

Use this process to find your rockstar team members. Find people who get your vision. They may not know exactly how to implement it at first, but the right people won’t take long to figure it out. 

5. The #1 Question to Determine When You Should Fire

Here’s a simple question that will let you know in 3-seconds whether or not you should let someone on your team go.

You ready?

Here it is…

Would I enthusiastically rehire this person knowing everything that I know about them today?

If the answer is “no”, then let ’em go.

Listen, I’m all for giving people chances. Sure, you’ll have employees who mess up, and make honest mistakes.

And it’s up to you to give them the coaching and guidance they need to succeed.

I believe in helping others improve, but there’s a difference between team members whose failures are the result of incompetence (something that can be trained) and a lack of commitment (training won’t help).

If you have a team member who is not committed…who isn’t willing to grow and improve to meet your standards…stop waiting, hesitating, and procrastinating and go find someone who will.

It’s unlikely that this person can be fixed…less than a 5% chance. So they need to go and they need to go now.

Give them 30 days notice max, but preferably 2 weeks. There’s no need to try to force this unfortunate relationship for longer than you have to. It doesn’t help either of you or your business.

6. How to Fire Gracefully

Firing employees can be one of the most stressful tasks a business owner can handle, but I promise it will only make progress toward your ultimate vision that much slower if you try to force a relationship that isn’t working.

But the process doesn’t have to be ugly. One business owner realized she had made a mistake in hiring someone whose aggressive nature was having an effect on her team.

She kindly told the new hire,

“I don’t think this is a great cultural fit for us. Let’s not try to force this. You are talented and capable, but this just isn’t the right fit.” 

This conversation went so well that the person who was fired went out for drinks with the whole team that night.

Letting someone go doesn’t have to be the worst experience of your life…try to consider their talents, but be honest about why it’s not working so they can take that criticism and use it for their benefit in the future.

And once you’ve gotten rid of the weak link on your team, launch a hardcore search for a replacement who will help you build your empire using my hiring tips.

It’s not easy to build an empire, but curating the right team will accelerate your success faster than you ever could on your own. It’s worth the challenge of creating a meticulous hiring process and having the tough conversations when professional relationships aren’t working. 

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Want my help building a superstar team and growing your business to 7-figures?

There are still a few spots left in my Q2 “Millionaire Case Study” Coaching Program.

So if you’re a business owner generating at least 6-figures and you want my help hiring the right employees…attracting an endless stream of leads… establishing your brand and doubling or tripling your profits (while working less)

…Then I want to work with you.

Just send an email to support@earlytorise.com with the subject line “Coaching”. Tell us a little bit about your business, your goals, and your obstacles and we’ll see if you’re qualified to work with us.

But you need to act fast. I’m limiting the number of clients I take on this year and once the positions are gone, they’re gone for good.