The job market is tight and sourcing periods are extended due to the scarcity of strong candidates. Articles abound on the Internet about this topic. We have a saying we tell our clients – “If we know they are a strong salesperson, other companies with other opportunities know it too.” In the current hiring environment, it is mission critical to keep a hiring process moving. Once a strong candidate is identified, time is of the essence. The longer you wait, the more competition you invite. We are moving on top candidates within 24 hours of the interview stage. Some of our customers are scheduling second interviews at the conclusion of… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Important is Customer Service?
Extremely important. I bet you knew that. Yet, it seems that many companies do not realize what type of customer experience they are providing through their customer service dept. Inc.com’s article – Companies Receive Poor Grades for Customer Service – is one of these annual surveys measuring customer perceptions. This following piece of information seems obvious, but…: The study also found that new technology is no substitute for helpful agents. Six out of 10 respondents said automated phone services, live online chat, and other customer-service technologies had not improved service quality. In fact, automated phone services received the lowest level of satisfaction among all customer service channels, while in-person services… Read More
Continue ReadingFantasy Football and Productivity
No, Fantasy Football does not improve workplace productivity. From the article: During the National Football League regular season, nearly 37 million people spend an average of 50 minutes a week at work managing their fantasy teams comprised of real-life players tallying points based on statistical performance, according to outplacement consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Fantasy sports ranks with shopping on eBay Inc.’s Web auction site and online poker as the biggest waste of productivity at the workplace, said John Challenger, CEO of the consulting firm. As an avid Fantasy Football player, if they are spending only 50 minutes a week on their team, they are not going to win… Read More
Continue ReadingUsing MySpace.com
Steve Rothberg has a definitive post on his blog CollegeRecruiter.com titled Searching for Entry Level Job Seekers on MySpace. I posted on this topic recently and followed the herd mentality about excluding candidates based on their MySpace information. Steve has a different take on it as he states: MySpace and other social networking sites are valuable recruiting tools because they provide employers with access to a desired demographic group: those who are searching for entry level jobs and internships. The sites also allow employers to connect with people who may not be looking for a job or who have chosen not to use traditional Internet recruitment sites such as CollegeRecruiter.com.… Read More
Continue ReadingAd’s Final Stage=Resumes
Just a quick tip about posting jobs on major boards. We have a couple ads expiring shortly (within days) and are getting swamped with emails. We’ve written about this phenomenon before. At the end of an ad’s posting window, a bubble of responses will flood in to your inbox. We do not get calls, just emails with resumes attached. One of our sales ads received 24 applicant responses alone during the final 24 hours of the posting.
Continue ReadingConnects-to-Close Ratio
Boost Your Conversation-to-Appointment Ratio from Selling Power reads like a companion piece to our post from yesterday. Conversation-to-appointment ratio is what we take a step further and refer to as a connects-to-close ratio. We wrote about this topic in great detail back in January of last year (click here to read the article). The Selling Power author speaks of a truth we have encountered many times: Do you know your conversation-to-appointment ratio? Most sales managers don’t. Moreover, most sales managers probably couldn’t define the metric without some thought. This fact is something we see play out time and time again when we are defining a sale. Many sales managers can… Read More
Continue ReadingJust Like Milking A Cow
Marketingprofs.com posts this fine article – Telling Ain’t Selling. The article is well-written and quotes some fine points from Spin Selling that we are familiar with at Select Metrix. The author provides some wide-ranging references. Check out these excerpts: Like milking a cow, selling can be a delicate operation. While a customer probably won’t threaten you with a hoof, you’re still faced with the fact that the harder you push, the more pushback you get. We’re from Minnesota so this simile is well understood. A reference from later in the article: The ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes had it right when he said, “We have two ears and one tongue so… Read More
Continue ReadingPhone Screening Tip
We use phone screens extensively in our sourcing activities. The first advantage to this approach is that it removes some biases from the interviewer. Second, it neutralizes a candidates ability to pour on their rapport-building skills. Thirdly, it is a much shorter time commitment than an in-person interview. I could go on, but you get the point. CareerJournal has reposted this article – Four Tips for Acing Interviews by Phone – which made me think about the candidate side of the phone screen. Tip #3 starts with this point: 3. Prepare in advance. If you’ve scheduled or are anticipating a phone interview, keep notes and your resume at hand, says… Read More
Continue ReadingHow to Hobble a Sales Day
Justsell.com has a helpful daily sales email that contains practical tips. Today’s offering (no link available): Top 3 activities that can hobble a sales day… talking with people who cannot move the sales process along unnecessary research activities What’s too much? There’s really no definitive answer — it’s particular to your sales world. Most people start to get a gut feel for when they should move on — the key is to act on it and make the call. You’d be surprised what you can learn by asking a straightforward question of the person who answers the phone or responds to an email. crafting” or “drafting” a letter, email or… Read More
Continue ReadingNarrowing Down Applicants
A dated article in the Harvard Management Update caught my eye. The article provided some great practical advice that I thought would be good to pass on. If you are having trouble narrowing down the number of candidates, the author suggested asking each candidate to perform a simple task. Some examples: write a description of themselves or prepare a report on some aspect of your company or industry. A sizable percentage of the candidates won’t bother to do the task thereby effectively eliminating themselves from consideration. At that point, you can spend focused time with the applicants that have followed through on your request. This might be a great way… Read More
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