I was talking to references for one of our clients last night and the reference kept telling me the candidate was excellent at solution selling. To sum up what he was telling me – the candidate is excellent at speaking the customer’s language instead of using company jargon or convoluted questions. The candidate ran a selling process to find out what business problems the company was facing and then articulated his company’s value proposition in regards to resolving their issue.

Interestingly enough, I then caught up to an article in my RSS reader titled 5 Quick Tips for Creating Conversations Salespeople Will Use from ManageSmarter.com. The tips can help your salespeople be consistent and effective with your message while getting them further into the process with prospects.

• Avoid using your own company’s “corporate speak.”
  Many companies have developed messaging at the corporate level, which likely includes the invention of your own unique term and associated acronym. Unfortunately, that can lead to salespeople spending their valuable presentation time trying to define and explain the messaging itself and not the associated business value to your customer. Instead, try enabling salespeople to tell a story that explores business challenges and your approach to solving them. Remember, customers want to know how you solve problems (your unique approach to value). Analysts want to know what you call it (your brand category and acronym).
  
• Make it meaningful and memorable for customers.
  Two suggestions here. First, keep points brief and on target. For example, “We work toward solving three key business challenges” helps customers associate you with specific pain areas right up front. Second, use examples. This introductory presentation is a great place to leverage case study (success story) data in a more personal way. Even if you don’t/can’t use specific company names, cite situations where your company was able to address business pains in a unique and measurable way.

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Selling Power offers a quick article titled Successful Phone Interviews (the headline writer must have had the day off). I’m not aligned with all of the suggestions, but I cannot stress this one item enough:

She also says to pay close attention to candidates’ phone manners €“ especially if they’re going to be using the phone on the job. How does their voice and tone sound? Do they project energy and enthusiasm or do they ramble on, putting you to sleep? How do they answer the phone?

The key here is to talk less than the candidate. If you are talking, you are not qualifying. Paying attention to the candidate’s “manners” is important in any sale. Paying attention to their answers, drilling down for clarification and matching the pressure of your typical sales call are even more important.

We provided some helpful hints in our Process-Driven Hiring series from a couple years ago:

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.

This approach can be difficult for some hiring managers or HR personnel since it runs against the grain of stereotypical hiring. Yet, sales is different so it requires a unique approach. Use unexpected questions, don’t allow them the comfort of reciting common responses, challenge them to see their strength.

Much can be gleaned from a well-crafted phone screen so don’t focus on confirming resume information. Use techniques to see the candidate in action.

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In a recent article on SHRM’s weekly Newsletter (membership required), a survey of 597 organizations found that 86% of organizations have an orientation program (14% don’t?), but most said they lacked real impact. Here are some other findings of the survey:

• 81% of the organizations turn to HR to administer new employee orientation, 23% involve multiple departments and 21% include the department in which the new employee will report.
• Orientation usually takes a day or less for about half of the employers and 26% take two to three days.
• Nearly half use employee surveys to measure the effectiveness of their orientation program, 22% don€™t track it at all, 20% measure first-year retention and 17% look at performance ratings.

Robert Half offered some tips for a successful orientation program:

• Don€™t skip the basics. Supervisors should give new employees a tour of the office, introduce them to colleagues and explain security procedures.
• Invite senior management. An appearance by an executive or other leader in the company adds credibility and weight to the orientation session. If that€™s not possible, consider a high-quality video or virtual experience.
• Keep your messages consistent. The ideas conveyed in orientation should reflect those expressed during recruitment and how the company presents itself externally.
• Have an agenda. Provide an overview of the discussion so new employees know what to expect and to signal the importance the organization places on orientation.

One area the article did not address was keeping the orientation programs relatively similar across all levels of the organization. We have encountered sales departments where orientation programs are not tightly structured. Worse yet, we have found some of the 14% of companies that have no (sales) orientation program. As the article states (emphasis mine):

The company should use the opportunity to have new employees communicate and build relationships with leaders in the organization right out of the gate. Noting that new employee orientations offer a unique opportunity to gather a new recruit€™s impressions of the marketplace and the company.

What better way to set the tone with your new employee than to spend the first day(s) with them making sure they get acclimated to your company’s culture? You have spent a lot of your time and resources in making sure you picked the best employee so show them by investing more of your time to bring them onboard properly.

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