We enjoy telling prospects that if we performed perfectly in our process, they would interview only 1 candidate and hire him or her. That would be it – task completed. But we aren’t that good and our clients seem to want more than one interview.
There is definitely a psychology behind 2 choices – people like choices especially when they are not certain of their selection. When out of control, this desire for numbers can lead to a “never-good-enough” mindset that thinks there might be a slightly better candidate out there. Probably true, but how long can you afford to wait and how much better will that candidate be?
Our approach is different in that we do not take an inclusive approach to hiring. Instead we are exclusive. What I mean by that is simple – our approach is to screen applicants for specific abilities and motivations. We do this by phone screening and assessing – a far more objective approach than simply sorting resumes and conducting face-to-face interviews.
Through this process, we reduce a large applicant pool down to a qualified candidate group. At times this approach can be troublesome in that some companies prefer to use numerous interviews to filter numerous applicants. Some companies have contacted us about our services but are not interested in using us since they won’t have 10 different candidates to interview.
Selecting the right salesperson is not dependent upon a quantitative approach. Quality of candidate is the key to finding the deep-seated sales abilities needed to succeed in a specific position.