What Not To Wear

As my wife will gladly attest, I am NO slave to fashion.  In fact, if they made Garanimals for adults, I would buy them.  So my interest was mildly piqued in CareerJournal.com’s What to Wear to the Office Where Suits Aren’t the Norm.  Some fashion advice for us guys: Casual wardrobe essentials for men include casual and dress pants in khaki, navy, black, and perhaps a pair of relaxed-fit — but not too baggy — dark navy pressed jeans. Men should think creatively with shirts, with colors beyond white and blue, an assortment of styles in solids and stripes, and some turtlenecks. A couple of blazers in navy or tan… Read More

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Death By PowerPoint

I have read many posts about the scourge of PowerPoint and how it derails presentations. Being a PowerPoint fan, I have resisted these barbs. That is, until this morning. I sat through a presentation in which the speaker used PowerPoint during his 60 minute talk. Here’s what I experienced in the audience: -His laptop was turned perpendicular to the screen so he spoke mainly to his laptop with his shoulder facing the room. I was on the “backside” so I spent the majority of the time looking at his back. -He used animated bullets that would fly in, sweep in, float in, etc. On one slide, a bullet point slowly… Read More

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What Does Success Look Like?

Earlier this week, myself and the President of one of our customers interviewed a sales candidate. We purposely put the candidate through an extensive interview to observe his ability to handle a lengthy discussion (similar to our customer’s typical call). After putting him through the paces, we gave him the chance to ask questions of us. This time is most valuable in an interview in that it gives you insight into the candidate’s thought process during the qualifying stage in a sales process. He did quite well in his questions – he learned who the competition is, what markets he would call on, the company’s value proposition and culture (including… Read More

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New Article – Setting A Sales Dept. Foundation

The Independence Day week must of got the best of me since I forgot to mention an article we released.  The Foundation of Expectations is the first article in a 3 part series regarding proactive sales management. The hiring tension that is building within our economy means that retaining strong salespeople, always a corporate priority, will become the focal point for most companies.  This article series will lay out the building blocks for creating a strong sales department that keeps the sales team engaged. The strongest houses are built on the strongest foundations.  No matter how well-constructed and reinforced the walls and roof are, none of it will stand under stress… Read More

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Gen Y’s Definition Of Loyalty

Interesting post on The Big Time blog regarding Spherion’s Emerging Workforce Study (emphasis mine): Emerging workers (ed.-of which Gen Y makes up the largest percentage), as defined by Spherion’s research, are employees who possess certain qualities and traits that differ from past worker attitudes. For example, Emerging workers believe loyalty is defined by one’s contribution to their employer and not tenure, and they want employers to reward them based on their performance. Amen to that. We see many sales departments, especially in large corporations, where tenure is the defining factor for retention. The old guard is almost untouchable and they actively defend their status. This culture is not conducive to… Read More

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Sales Traits Series – Enjoyment Of The Job

This week we look at a trait that provides much insight into existing salespeople. There are other factors to consider in assessing a salesperson’s present state, but this trait provides a tangible red flag. Existing salespeople who score low in this trait are a definite flight risk for the employer. Enjoyment Of The Job The feeling that one€™s job is both fulfilling and rewarding and that it has a positive and useful benefit. A salesperson with high scores in this capacity will tend to view their job as more than simply a means to earn an income. They view it as a valuable endeavor that proves beneficial to others as… Read More

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Questioning A Potential Employer’s Sanity

I have a weakness for poorly-written cover letters and have enjoyed Cover Letters From Hell from Killian & Co.  Their latest newsletter has a new twist – candidate responses to rejection letters.  Ah, new territory to expand my enjoyment.  This is the one that had me rolling: Dear Madam, Here in the body and mind of [Name], we express ourselves thoroughly and as accurately as possible. We highly regard integrity and honesty and as such, only pursue those actions that are aligned with those qualities. Thus, we have found some inconsistencies in your response and we feel compelled to respond… You say that you only ‘are able to’ pursue professional,… Read More

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Take The Blame – Diffuse The Situation

The Sprint decision to part ways with its overly demanding customers is making news all around the web and rightly so.  I truly enjoyed the story – you can read it here if you missed it.  The best line from the letter Sprint sent out to these customers (my emphasis): “While we have worked to resolve your issues and questions to the best of our ability, the number of inquiries you have made to us during this time had led us to determine that we are unable to meet your current wireless needs,” the letters said. The customers were told their service agreements were being terminated, they wouldn’t owe anything… Read More

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Cannon Fodder In Sales Ads

A common mistake in sales ad writing is the belief that you have to cover every single responsibility in the position.  This is not true and leads to long-winded ads that can actually be a deterrent to candidates. Case in point from an ad I read this morning: 15. Other duties as assigned. That’s right – bullet #15 looks like they ran out of gas so the finished the overly long list with a catch-all waste of a line.  People understand there are many aspects to a job beyond what is written in the job description.  If they don’t, they should work for the government. Don’t use the line listed… Read More

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