In this issue:

Step 3 - The Phone Screen

Last month we introduced the format for an effective sales ad that moves the right candidate into action.  Ideally, that action is to pick up the phone and call.  The best indicator for separating applicants from candidates is to spend 10 minutes with them on the phone.  Do they have poise and presence?  Are they articulate and refined, or scattered and clumsy?  Imagine yourself as the prospect and this person is representing your company in a sales role. 

One of the advantages in using the phone screen is that you do not have to invest your valuable time to qualify applicants in an hour-long, face-to-face interview.  This approach runs rampant amongst recruiters.  The recruiters pre-qualify “candidates” for experience, but not ability.  They search the resume database for industry experience, prep the candidate and send them in for an interview.  The hiring manager is then left to determine if the candidate will be successful.  All of the sales managers we work with have experienced time-wasting interviews with alleged candidates whose abilities were grossly overstated by the recruiter.

The Phone Screen requires an investment of 10 minutes per applicant, which allows you to handle 5-6 applicants in an hour.  You certainly learn more from a face-to-face interview, in comparison to a phone screen.  The face-to-face interview is a step in our process too.  However, the interview must be used in sequence for maximum effectiveness.  You do not want to use the initial interview to be the first live filter in your hiring process.  If you do, you will be susceptible to schmoozers who are able to appear far stronger than they truly are.

Often we are asked, “What should you look for in a good phone screen?”  Let’s start with the fact that sales is a pressure-oriented position that requires people who possess a rare mixture of talents and skills to be successful.  Strong salespeople have enough self esteem to handle the rejection that goes with the role.  They also have the ability to control their emotions while handling a stressful situation.  We can observe the applicants’ abilities in these areas by using subtle pressure.

Pressure must be applied in proportion to your ideal sale.  If your company operates in a high-pressure, transactional market, we shorten our responses to the applicants and even interrupt them.  We purposely come across as indifferent and rushed―we want to hear how they handle that form of communication.  Conversely, if you have a long sales cycle in a relationship-based sale, we adjust our style to be inquisitive, but detached, from the call.  Our observations then revolve around the applicant’s ability to build rapport quickly with us while still qualifying the opportunity.

The key point in this step is to ensure that the call is not too easy for the applicant.  The purpose is to make the applicant reveal their selling skills as they attempt to persuade you that they are the best candidate for the position.  The call will be unsuccessful if you allow them to regurgitate their pre-canned interview responses.  Get them off their game with your abrupt style and make sure you are the one asking the questions.

Many applicants will wash out in the phone screen.  Some will shut down due to the pressure and we have even seen some go the other way and blow up.  The talented applicants will stand out in a noticeable way.  They will remain focused and composed.  Most importantly, they will attempt to keep qualifying you even though you appear to be detached in the call.  That ability is the foremost skill to look for in any applicant.

The Phone Screen provides far more information than you will ever glean from a resume.  Though not as in-depth as a face-to-face interview, the efficiency of the Phone Screen will pay huge dividends as we move further into the process.  The subtle use of pressure during live interaction with the applicant on the phone will provide a clear differentiation between a salesperson who schmoozes versus a salesperson who sells.  Unfortunately, a highly-trained schmoozer may be able to fool even the best screener during this stage.  However, they will continue to be smoked out in step 4 of our process.

Next edition – Objectively Assess and Appraise

Click here for the next article - Subtle Use of Pressure

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