In this issue:

Application in Action:  Subtle Use of Pressure

We keep repeating this mantra because it is critical to success in Process-Driven Hiring . . . Use the information from the Profile of Your Ideal Sale.  Focus on the key accountabilities and the specific traits from your employment ad.  You must keep the Phone Screen consistent between all applicants to maintain equality in your scoring.  Write out the 5-10 questions you will ask each applicant during the call.

The purpose of this call is to imitate the conditions the salesperson might encounter if they were prospecting or selling for your company.  The approach is to be disinterested, somewhat short and unemotional.  Pay close attention to the responses from the applicants.  How do they handle the call?  Can you envision them successfully selling for your company?

General Format of the Call:

1. Introduction – Let’s start with some pressure:

“This is going to be a quick call since I have several more people to contact and we are only asking the top 5 candidates to complete the next step.  This call will determine if you will be one of the 5.  Are you ready?”

This opening is effective at jolting the applicants out of their standard answers and quickly places the pressure on them.  We would hope that the applicants would attempt to qualify what the next step actually is.

2. Role-Specific Questions – Work through the 5-10 pertinent questions for the position.

3. Ending – End it with some more pressure:

“Good.  Here is how I would like to end this call.  I won’t be able to call everyone back due to the number of applicants.  If you are one of the top 5, you will hear from us by (fill in the day).  If you don’t hear from us by then, you did not make the top 5.”

The key here is to see if they attempt to qualify you after this ending or if they simply say good-bye and hang up.  Ideally, they will attempt to keep you on the phone―“How did I do?”  “Can I ask one more question?”  “Do you see me receiving a call back?”  We give extra points to the applicants who continue to qualify in the face of our pressure to end the call.

We score each applicant immediately after the call.  We adjust our criteria based on the information from Profiling the Sale.

Here are some general items to track:

Poise - Do they have self assurance on the phone?

Bonding & Rapport – Do they try to build rapport quickly?  How is their tone?

Articulation – Do they form their thoughts clearly in responding?

Qualifying – How do they clarify the position’s requirements?

Another item we track is their willingness to qualify the compensation plan.  We are looking for a certain comfort level discussing money.  Many salespeople lack the ability to tactfully discuss money at any level.  Our goal is to flush those applicants as soon as possible.

We have completed hundreds of phone screens over the past 4 years and have adjusted the approach based on our results.  Following this general format will provide insight into your applicants’ abilities that simply cannot be gathered from reading a resume.

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