Jill Konrath has a great post about salespeople who come on “like a bull in a china shop” when trying to sell to prospects. Her cure for these salespeople: You need to create conversations with decision makers. And, there’s only one way to do this. You need to ask questions to engage prospects in a dialogue, then shut up and listen. I couldn’t agree more. I want to take that point and apply them to sales hiring. We use the entire hiring process to observe the salesperson in action. We particularly observe their question pattern – are they trying to determine how they would sell the company’s value proposition if… Read More
Continue ReadingHow to Win the Talent Wars
From Sales & Marketing Management’s e-newsletter (sorry, no link available): How to win the talent war: * Assess current strengths and gaps. Review the talent on hand and what your future needs will be. * Create a vision and strategy. Identify the tools, processes, and technology you will need to fill your talent gaps. Create a vision that can be embraced by a those who will be asked to do the recruiting work. * Complete a readiness assessment. Is your organization ready to jump into the talent wars? Is the culture prepared to support the impact of a new talent vision? * Build the business case. Identify the benefits to… Read More
Continue ReadingWhen to Follow Up
Application Etiquette from Sales & Marketing Management briefly provides some stats about when applicants should follow up after submitting their resume. How long should a job applicant wait to follow up with the hiring manager after submitting a resume? * 37 percent said one week or less * 45 percent said one to two weeks * 9 percent said two to three weeks * 3 percent said three weeks or more * 5 percent said don’t follow up at all * 1 percent said they didn’t know What’s the best way to follow up? E-mail is the preferred follow up method, followed by telephone, and a handwritten note. We see… Read More
Continue ReadingEmbellished Resumes
“We know what employers want” Yet another reason to read resumes with a grain of salt. Especially sales resumes.
Continue ReadingHow To Answer Any Interview Question
Well, so much for focusing on the interviewer-side of face-to-face interviews. CareerJournal has come out with a new article that is the title of this post. There is nothing groundbreaking in the approach outlined in the article. Yet, I did enjoy this bit of cryptic strategy: He suggests when answering job-interview queries applying the formula Q = A + 1: Q is the question; A is the answer; + is the bridge to the message you want to deliver; and 1 is the point you want to make. “If you take the ‘+ 1’ off the formula, then the interviewer is controlling the session,” says Mr. Braun. I’m not sure… Read More
Continue ReadingMotivating a Sales Force
I’m catching up to some older articles in my RSS feeder and came across this AllBusiness.com article – Managing and Motivating Salespeople. We have an appreciation for tactical management articles. What I mean is articles that take a “how to” approach to management. There are plenty of strategic, mile-high articles out there so we enjoy a good hands-on read. First off, all sales managers need to motivate their sales force in some manner. Even the most self-starting salesperson will need an occassional injection of external motivation from their sales manager. Many sales managers tend to ignore or deny this fact at their own peril. Next, the author’s suggestions are spot… Read More
Continue ReadingFinally Some Interviewer Tips
We are back after a scorcher of a Memorial Day weekend here in Minnesota (record highs this past weekend). Instead of overheating as I read more candidate interview preparation articles, CareerBuilder.com finally chimes in with some tips for the interviewer with Top 10 Interview No No’s. We do enjoy top 10 lists here at the Hire Sense! Good fundamental advice in this column that are always a good refresher. (You cannot ask about race, age, religion, etc.). Point #3 cannot be stressed enough: 3. Avoid Closed Ended Questions – The first type of question to avoid is one that can be answered by a “yes” or “no”. Even if you… Read More
Continue ReadingInterview Questions
Monster.com continues their interview prep series with Interview Questions, Part 4 (I wonder when it will end?). I think most people who hire have an affinity for interview questions. There is one question that we use extensively: What is your management style? Intent: This is a classic question for management-level candidates. The interviewer’s intent here is threefold: to find out if your management style fits, to determine if you have management ability and to probe how much you understand your own work style. The author is insightful here. We use this question in a different manner in that we have already assessed the management candidate using our online tools. We… Read More
Continue ReadingA Worthy Cause – Operationheroforhire.com
Kudos to CareerBuilder.com for launching the website Operationheroforhire.com. You can read the press release here. Essentially, they are attempting to connect soldiers returning home to employment opportunities. We plan on supporting this initiative and hope that you will too.
Continue ReadingTop 10 Sales Traits
We assess sales candidates on over 60 different Aptitudes in our assessment stage which provides some fine detail about their natural talents. We adjust our focus on these aptitudes based on what the position requires. However, there are a certain group of aptitudes that are consistently critical in any sales position. Hence, I give you our top 10 list (we love lists): Handling Rejection Results Orientation Influencing Others Goal Achievement Personal Accountability Persistence Objective Listening Empathetic Outlook Initiative Emotional Control If you visit our web page, you will see the definition for each aptitude along with the reasoning behind its inclusion in our list. I realize there are many other… Read More
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