Much of the filtering that occurs in sales hiring incorporates the all-too-familiar standards of industry experience and college degrees. The interview follows a step-by-step history of their career much like the old TV show This Is Your Life. The candidates have learned the proper rote responses to most of the questions. It is a dull process that leads to marginal results. But what about creativity? Creativity often gets overlooked or ignored in sales hiring. “Creativity belongs in marketing.” “Salespeople should be money-motivated, driven hunters who complete one-call closes.” Boring and antiquated. Creativity is the overlooked, undervalued aspect of selling that can be the differentiator between an above-average salesperson and a… Read More
Continue ReadingMore Surprises In The Economy
From CNNMoney.com’s headline: Jobless claims post surprise fall New applications filed for unemployment benefits fell by a sharp 15,000 to 298,000 last week; economists expected claims to rise to 320,000. We continue to see great activity in our own business. At some point you have to wonder if the media is attempting to “talk down” the economy. I give you this sentence from another CNNMoney.com article titled Economy shows growth, but misses forecasts (emphasis mine): A deepening housing slump and a painful credit crunch since the spring has darkened the mood of individuals and businesses alike. Stephen King would be proud of that writing especially in light of a 3.8%… Read More
Continue ReadingA Good Way To Handle Degrees
Reading through sales ads this morning, I came across this line: Bachelor€™s degree preferred but not necessary with qualified experience. I think that is a good way to frame the requirement. I would not want to prohibit a strong sales candidate from applying because of a degree requirement.
Continue ReadingWho Doesn’t Like Interview Questions?
I found a pile of papers on my desk that contained a few sheets of interview questions. I don’t know where they are from, but I found myself reading them today. Aren’t interview questions interesting to read? I think most people like to see if they can find a good question to take for themselves. At least that is my approach. Some standard questions: Why do you want to work here? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What good books have to read lately? Why should I hire you? (I despise this question) That is all pretty standard fare. But I did find a few more interesting offerings:… Read More
Continue ReadingDefining Experience
Quick hitter – say a candidate has worked at a particular company for 5 years. When phone screening and interviewing them about that experience, it is important to determine if they have 5 years of unique experience or 5 years of the first year over and over. That is a twisted sentence, but I hope you get my point. We’ve run into this issue with salespeople in previous positions. Did the salesperson grow in the position over their tenure or did they simply perform the same tasks repeatedly over their tenure. Don’t underestimate the importance of this distinction. We’ve seen decent salespeople go “stale” over time and, in most instances, it… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Gaining Commitment
Sales managers need to focus their team on specific objectives. This requires the manager to gain commitment from each salesperson…on a regular basis. It is an important aspect of successful coaching and empowering the employee. Gaining CommitmentThis ability develops and invokes a self-starting attitude in employees in their pursuit of goals. It is the capacity to motivate employees to do their best and to provide them with concrete, practical ideas and methods by which they can achieve their goals. A sales manager with a strength in this trait will be able to effectively use empathetic ability, communication skills and leadership ability to create a sense of personal motivation to be successful… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Right Perspective From Customer Service
I interviewed a customer service manager candidate this past week who had a good approach to her job. I asked her as a manager how she wants her reps to handle customers. Her response, “Like eggs.” She went on to explain how she would personally handle the difficult customer situations and so forth, but I thought that initial, quick response was quite good. And obviously memorable.
Continue ReadingSales Managers Must Set Expectations
I had a sales manager many years ago whom I really disliked. We had little in common, he went out of his way to annoy and he was cheap. I mean really cheap. Anyway, he did one thing that changed me as a salesperson – he asked me for qualified information on any prospect I put on my forecast. It sounds simple, but trust me, it was effective. He wanted to know why they were on the forecast, who was the decision maker, what was their budget, what was their time-frame and who was our competition. I was selling high-tech, capital equipment so this information was crucial to advancing a… Read More
Continue ReadingYou Need To Know Skills
The resume discussion rages on. Today’s ERE article by Dr. Williams is an excellent discussion about why skills are important in hiring. Resumes cannot clearly display a candidate’s skills so you have to do more digging. Here are a couple of excellent excerpts from the article (emphasis mine): Once you get past an executive’s glowing resume, dig for details. Most important, try to understand the skills and motivations he or she will bring to the job. Often these will not be evident in the resume, nor will they be evident in the interview. Both usually address results, but “results” are often not the same as skills. Think of results as… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat Can You Learn From A Resume?
I’ve run into this resume issue many times and have realized I may be missing the boat here. When I look at a resume, here is what I believe I can learn: -Work History – Obviously, where they have worked, positions they have held, successes they have achieved, how long they have earned a paycheck in an industry. Oh, and it is probably embellished. And next-to-impossible to completely verify. -Education – I can find out where they attended college, what degrees they earned and whether they graduated magna or summa cum laude. And this is the section that contains the most falsehoods on any given resume. The information must be… Read More
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