Our sourcing, screening and interviewing activities for our customers leads us into some comical discussions. Sales candidates are entertaining, coy and often cocky. Some times their responses are downright baffling. This news is not groundbreaking to anyone who has hired salespeople in the past. We’ve added a category for “Anecdotes” that will encompass some of the funnier moments from our experiences. Hopefully these posts will add a little levity to The Hire Sense. My question: Why are you looking for a new position at this time? Candidate’s response: My driver’s license is suspended at this time which was required of my previous position. Do I need to drive for this… Read More
Continue ReadingExperience – Fact or Fiction?
In this article from the Minneapolis StarTribune.com, the author discusses the growing demand for salespeople in the medical industry. One quote in particular jumps out: Medical salespeople often tell me it is rewarding to sell things that help people. I bring this topic up because it is of interest in that we have measured this reward in the medical and health insurance industries. There is a statistical significance among these salespeople to be rewarded by a higher Sense of Mission (purpose). The article continues: Medical salespeople are experienced, persistent and smart, do their homework and have an understanding of the audience they are selling to. I would agree with all… Read More
Continue ReadingDon’t Do That
This article from ABC News’ career correspondent is an interesting read. She visited a women’s prison to talk to the inmates about finding a job once they are released. I must admit, I was debating whether or not to read the article, but it does provide a different perspective. I choked on my coffee when I read this sentence: I’ve hired people because I got the immediate sense that they were kind, good, decent souls. And I’ve rejected others with awesome resumes because their demeanors were too harsh. Please, don’t do that. Your gut is a valuable tool in hiring, but it is not objective. A better approach is to… Read More
Continue ReadingPerfectionism
Two links that relate directly to each other. First, a Forbes.com article titled Addicted to Work. Interesting point: “Perfectionism overrides efficiency,” Robinson says. “A workaholic will spend unnecessary time on a project, often going over it again and again before passing it on.” The article gets fairly intense about the outcroppings of a workaholic. One particular Selling Style is particularly susceptible to becoming a workaholic – it is the High C. The very strengths in their style also make them susceptible to extremism in their work role.
Continue ReadingHow to Manage a Staff of Young Employees
We have a bit of an impromptu theme this week starting with our article released Monday. Generations X and Y are popular topics these days. I have been catching up to some older articles and came across this one from allbusiness.com which is the title of this post. Overall, it is a strong article with good tactical suggestions for managers. Some seem simplistic – be clear from the outset, be a mentor and teach them business standards. Yet, I can immediately think of 5 examples where sales managers did not perform such rudimentary tasks. Maybe these items are topical fodder for management articles nowadays? Two points really jumped out from… Read More
Continue ReadingBlog of the Week Honor
We’ve just been informed we have been chosen as the featured blog for this week at the Small Business Blog Directory. Thank you for the honor and welcome to the readers who have found their way to our blog. I hope you enjoy our first-hand accounts of sales hiring today.
Continue ReadingHiring as a Part-Time Activity
A few years ago we were working with a large corporation that was having a difficult time finding strong salespeople. In fact, they were quite lousy at it and had assembled a weak team overall. This project was quite extensive in that we had to assess their current team of over 30 salespeople, 5 managers and 3 VPs. After that, we modified our hiring process to work with their existing HR department’s process. After many meetings, we were off and running on the sourcing side. We identified the strong candidates and went to schedule interviews with the hiring managers. Anyone who has hired strong salespeople before knows that you do… Read More
Continue ReadingDon’t Tell the Sales Team…
but according to CareerJournal.com, it appears that the classic business lunch is making a strong comeback. As the article states, it may become even more popular if the IRS moves the deduction from 50% up to 80%. Check expense reports for fine wine and fancy meals!
Continue ReadingYounger Workers = “…curt, blunt, irreverent and impersonal”
The pronounced generation gap in today’s workplace is a topic we consistently encounter in our selection and assessment business. We released an article, Hiring Adjustments for Generations X and Y, earlier this week in response to this gap. Now monster.com has a great article that goes to the experiential source of the younger generations’ uniqueness. The younger generation, particularly Generation Y (born 1977 to 1989), thrives in a fast-paced technological world. . . Their constant exposure to technology has even caused some to speculate that their brains have developed differently. The familiarity of so many different technological media has enabled them to process a huge amount of information in a… Read More
Continue ReadingLost Art of the Phone Screen
The phone screen is making a comeback, as well it should. We talk extensively about the sequence in which a strong sales hiring process occurs. Step 3 is the phone screen which comes before the in-person interview. The main thrust of this approach is to neuralize the candidate’s advantages while placing them in a sales prospecting scenario. What is one strength that is almost universal in all salespeople? Rapport-building. Granted, there are some who lack even this ability but the vast majority of salespeople have some skills in this area. Unfortunately, even the bad salespeople can have enough of this ability to make themselves appear stronger than they are in… Read More
Continue Reading