I about fell out of my chair reading this SellingPower.com article – Interviews Get Comfortable. A quick excerpt to set the tone: “It’s your job as an interviewer to make the candidate feel comfortable and it starts from the moment you see that person,” says Barbara Pachter, a speaker, trainer, coach, and author of numerous business books, including The Power of Positive Confrontation (Marlowe & Co., 2006). Pachter does acknowledge that there are times when interviewers put candidates in awkward positions to view reactions, but for the most part they should work to put candidates at ease. Her suggestions for putting candidates at ease include: Be a gracious host.… Read More
Continue ReadingChaotic Freedom In Sales
I read this line from an sales employment ad this morning: Reps are NOT restricted by territory. The unrestricted territory seems innocuous enough…maybe even valuable. It usually isn’t. As a salesperson, I would read this ad with some skepticism in that the company may be trying to add salespeople without a cogent management plan. Back in my early years I took a job with a company that had no territories. There were approximately 15 salespeople in there serving the local market. What I learned is that the “old-timers” had effectively squatted on all of the accounts, whether they had an active relationship or not. Since there were no defined territories… Read More
Continue ReadingCustomers Are Pigs
I have a new favorite title for a sales ad: Territory Manager, Swine-Minnesota I’m not making that up, it is an actual title. This seems remedial, but employment ad titles do matter. Most of us remember the days of looking at ads in a paper where space was limited and costly. Titles were less important then because the ad was still displayed. Not today – I only see the title of the ad and the company in the electronic format. The title has to be strong enough to elicit the click. I think there are many companies that still miss that critical point. And the major culprits are companies with… Read More
Continue ReadingEntrepreneurial Ambiguity
Inc.com is celebrating its 30th birthday with some fascinating articles including an interview with Jim Collins. The interviewer asked for his definition of entrepreneurship which involves a paint-by-numbers vs. blank canvas analogy. However, the follow up question and answer was notable: It has to do with your ability to handle risk, no? Not risk. Ambiguity. People confuse the two. My students used to come to me at Stanford and say, “I’d really like to do something on my own, but I’m just not ready to take that much risk. So I took the job with IBM.” And I would say, “You’re not ready for risk? What’s the first thing you… Read More
Continue ReadingStorytellers
This sales-focused article from the Salesopedia.com website discusses the power of telling stories when selling: Think about it: If you were in the audience for another sales person’s sales presentation, which kind would you rather listen to: one in which the presenter simply recited a list of features and benefits, facts and statistics, or one that included a stimulating, engaging, riveting, or inspiring story about how you helped another customer solve a problem similar to the one with which you’ve been wrestling, or achieved an outcome you’re looking to achieve? Which would move you, and which would bore you? Which would be memorable, and which would be forgettable? Stories are… Read More
Continue ReadingParticipating In The Recession
I heard a funny line last Friday at the Minnesota Recruiters conference. I didn’t catch the name of the gentleman, but he was a search-firm recruiter discussing the recession: We have chosen to not participate in this recession. <applause> Unfortunately, our customers have chosen to participate in it. <laughter> I want to send a blog shout out to Paul DeBettignies for putting on another excellent conference. I have attended 6 of the 7 conferences over the past couple of years and I am always impressed at what I learn by attending. If you are in the Twin Cities, may I suggest joining the community at MinnesotaRecruiters.com and attending the next… Read More
Continue ReadingJob Metrics
From a CareerBuilder.com email regarding the pork stimulus plan: By the fourth quarter of 2010, over 3,994,000 jobs are estimated to be created and/or saved due to the American Reinvestment and Recovery act according to Moody’s Economy.com. I’m all for efforts to create jobs in this economy, but I have heard this question asked before and it bears repeating: What tool measures “saved” jobs? There isn’t one, it is simply marketing propaganda. Granted, the qualifying word in the sentence is “estimated,” but the real issue is job creation. I think it was Peter Drucker who said if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. The focus this year and… Read More
Continue ReadingBench Building
I was shocked today when I read this sentence in a sales ad”: Please note that at this time this posting is for purposes of building our talent pool only and there are no current available positions. That was the 2nd sentence in the ad. This is an interesting approach in this market – the company appears to be building their bench which is an important task. What type of response they receive…well, that I wonder. Nonetheless, I like the approach.
Continue ReadingQuote Of The Day
This is from JustSell.com: Obstacles cannot bend me. Every obstacle yields to effort. –Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian painter, sculptor and inventor
Continue ReadingCities Getting Downsized
Here is a funny clue from the abcnews.com article: To be direct: If Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel or John Mellencamp has written a melancholy song about your city, it’s probably on this list. Good line for a sad story. I wonder how some of these towns are going to be affected by this present economy? Here is the top 10 most downsized cities: 10. Providence, RI 9. Lansing, MI 8. Pittsburgh, PA 7. Toledo, OH 6. Buffalo, NY 5. Dayton, OH 4. Detroit, MI 3. Cleveland, OH 2. Flint, MI 1. Youngstown, OH It is almost shocking how close these cities… Read More
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