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… Read More
Continue ReadingAn Objective Step For Hiring
We are strong proponents of using assessments for hiring – it is the backbone of our system. Yet, many people still have some hesitancy in completing the assessments. CareerJournal.com offers up Why Wasn’t I Interviewed After Taking Personality Quiz? which is a Q&A article about whether or not to complete the assessments. This mindset is almost unbelievable to me. From the article: Answer: Being asked to take a pre-employment personality test often puts candidates between a rock and a hard place. If you refuse, you won’t move further along in the hiring process. If you agree and take the test, you may be screened out without further contact with the… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Empathetic Outlook
This week we look at a critical sales trait that involves the salesperson’s ability to read the other person. Obviously, this ability has a tremendous impact on success. One key note – there is a fine line between too much empathy and not enough. This key factor is an aptitude we measure in all salespeople. Empathetic Outlook This is the ability to perceive and understand the feelings and attitudes of others – to place oneself €œin-the-shoes€ of another and to be able to view a situation from their perspective. It involves being conscious of how one€™s actions will impact others. A salesperson with strength in this trait will be able… Read More
Continue ReadingRetention Past Retirement
Most companies are aware of the shrinking workforce for which we are encountering as the Baby Boomers start retiring. One short-term fix is to simply employ these boomers past their retirement age. This approach has many merits that will benefit a company. However, a recent article from Small Business Times – Survey says employers need new hiring strategies – reveals that the vast majority of companies are not implementing any hiring adjustments for this shortage. In the study of 1,000 U.S. employers, 78 percent indicated they were not concerned that an aging workforce might hamper their ability to recruit and retain talented workers. Additional findings support this sentiment, including the… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Case For Selling Systems
Some companies believe selling systems are restrictive. Other companies view them as methodical and clumsy. I, for one, am not a fan of the sequential step approaches that require this question be asked first, followed by this question and so on. Those approaches drip with insincerity. But a selling system is important. From ManageSmarter.com’s What’s Your Plan? The survey of over 500 sales professionals proves what most executives should already know: Their reps need a plan of action. TAS found that companies that give their sales staff a concrete plan to close deals experience 39 percent less turnover. Their salespeople are also more than 50 percent more likely to meet… Read More
Continue ReadingWrong Way Prospecting
We post ads in many locations as part of our sourcing activities. Those ads usually lead to solicitations for services as a set response to new listings. We received one email today that caught my eye. Here is an excerpt: We can have qualified candidates available for you to interview, hire or work within 24 to 48 hours. Our extensive database of qualified candidates and team of experts enable us to provide you with candidates who exactly match what you are looking for. An interesting proposition, don’t you think? Here is the rub for me – how do they know what I need? 1 to 2 days and they’ll have… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Skills Always Trump Style
There is a myth regarding strong salespeople that they have to be outgoing. I contributed a short piece to an article earlier this year in regards to this exact error. And then I read this quick blurb for Selling Power’s Identifying the Skills You Want in a Candidate: Sure salespeople need to be outgoing and driven €“ those are a given, but what about qualities that people need to have to fit in your particular position? No, that is not a given and not a truth. Writing in such generalities is not accurate because selling style is not as important as sales skills. Style is simply a matter of how… Read More
Continue ReadingInvest In Hiring, Save On Firing
We often speak of the costs of making a bad hire especially in sales. One bad sales hire can send prospects to your competition and sully your company’s reputation in the market all while you pay this salesperson. But what if it goes even further than that? In our litigious society, what if an employee decides to make a run at a discrimination lawsuit? BusinessWeek online offers up some incredible examples in Fear of Firing: -Many of the lawsuits may seem ridiculous. IBM is currently defending a case filed by James C. Pacenza, a plant worker it dismissed for visiting an adult Internet chat room while on the job. In… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Not To Open A Cover Email
From the opening line of a cover email: I am out of work right now from some bad luck and am looking for a new job. Outside of cursing, it is difficult to imagine a less impressive way to open a cover email. Almost anything would be better. I read a different cover email in which the candidate referred to himself in the third person. “Jim has excellent communication skills. Jim has achieved success at….” I wouldn’t recommend that approach. Ever.
Continue ReadingGo To Your Strengths – The Art Of Playing Dumb
Red Bird and myself are fighting over the chance to claim this CareerJournal.com article – The Art of Playing Dumb To Deter Unwanted Tasks. Jared Sandberg is an entertaining writer and I highly recommend this article. At first I thought it was tongue-in-cheek, but it is not. This ability is a real artform. Strategic incompetence isn’t about having a strategy that fails, but a failure that succeeds. It almost always works to deflect work one doesn’t want to do — without ever having to admit it. For junior staffers, it’s a way of attaining power through powerlessness. For managers, it can juice their status by pretending to be incapable of… Read More
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