This week’s trait is one that measures a salesperson’s ability to remain detached from an emotionally-charged situation. Sales requires a cool, level-headed approach even in instances where emotions are high. We highly value salespeople who can keep their personal self detached from their work self. Internal Self ControlThis is the ability to maintain a steady and controlled level of internal emotion in a stressful or emotionally charged situation. Although it directly affects self-composure in a difficult situation, this capacity is more an examination of a person€™s tendency to allow the external environment€™s level of stress to affect their internal levels. If Internal Self Control deals with an ability to keep… Read More
Continue ReadingBenefits Are A Benefit
I think many Gen X’ers like myself grew up in the era of $10 copays and the assumption that health benefits were required of employers. Now that I am older and dealing with grey hairs, I have learned the truth about that topic. One thing we try to stress with candidates is the fact that health benefits are 1.) a perk since they are not required and 2.) a significant piece of the compensation pie. This quick blurb is from the Career News newsletter (sorry, no link): WASHINGTON, DC –The percentage of U.S. residents covered by employment-based health insurance declined again last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday. In… Read More
Continue ReadingDining At The Corporate Cafeteria
Ok, this may only interest me, but I am fascinated by the large corporate environment. So it is obvious that I had to read BusinessWeek.com’s The Most Innovative Corporate Cafeterias. Of course is there is the obligatory Google mention to start the article: Google’s Mountain View (Calif.) headquarters€”dubbed the Googleplex€”boasts 15 cafeterias, each with its own theme and menu. Options range from regional American cuisine to tapas to dishes emphasizing locally grown ingredients. Ok, we get it – Google has unbelievable benefits. Microsoft boasts 26 cafés at its main Redmond (Wash.) campus, with several more slated to open this year and next€”and that’s not counting the pantries scattered throughout the… Read More
Continue ReadingLoyalty Amongst The Younger Generations
A quick read from Inc.com – Younger Employees More Loyal. Some excerpts: In a survey of 2,469 adults nationwide, 56 percent said they feel appreciated by their employer, according to the latest Workplace Insights Survey by Adecco, a Melville, N.Y.-based workforce-solutions firm. It doesn’t get any fuzzier than to use the words “feel appreciated.” Three-quarters of respondents reported that they are committed to their employers, with members of Generation X — ages 30 to 42 — feeling the most secure in their jobs. I suspect the Gen Xers are moving into management positions and are more confident. However, the survey also found that feelings of company loyalty often vary by… Read More
Continue ReadingValue Differentiation
We work with our clients in a variety of levels from simply assessing candidates to full-fledged sales management. For one of our clients, we are hosting their weekly sale conference call for their geographically-dispersed sales team. We are building this team by recruiting salespeople and a sales manager to take over the reins. The chance to work with these sales reps every week has reminded me of the critical nature of value differentiation. These reps are located throughout different states in the Western US and each one is chasing slightly different markets. But one thing is clear, they all have focused in on their value and how it differs from… Read More
Continue ReadingNew Sales Position – Google Clicker
I kid you not – I just read the employment ad for it. The ad does not describe the position in any way but it does mention that this opportunity is “legitimate.” A good rule of thumb – if they have to say it is legitimate, it probably isn’t.
Continue ReadingDefining Entrepreneurial Traits
Since assessments are a large part of our business, we are naturally drawn to these types of stories – from CareerJournal.com’s How Some Entrepreneurs Manage To Score Big Again and Again (emphasis mine): In 2000, Mr. Stewart published a study with two other researchers looking for common traits among serial entrepreneurs — which he defined as those who had owned and operated three or more businesses. Of the 664 entrepreneurs studied, only 12% fit the bill. But those who did scored higher in all three categories examined: They had a higher propensity for risk, innovation and achievement. They were less scared of failure. And they were more able to recover… Read More
Continue ReadingA Clever Ad Test
I was reading this article from BusinessWeek.com titled Gateway to Better Hiring and I enjoyed this test that the author incorporated into her employment ad. Here is an example. I was hiring an editor, and so I included this instruction in the job ad: “If you are interested in this job, please write to me at this e-mail address with your comments on the most recent edition of our newsletter.” (I included the URL for the newsletter, of course.) That is a simple enough gate. Curious to know what percentage of candidates followed the instruction? Ten percent. The rest probably never saw the instruction at all, “buried” as it was… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Job Ethic
This week we look at a trait that provides a measurement that is difficult for any interviewer to ascertain on their own. Job Ethic The capacity to fulfill the professional responsibilities with a strong sense of moral duty and obligation they have been given. A salesperson with strength in this trait will have a positive self-direction, a realistic understanding of their role and a positive goal/direction focus. A weakness in this area indicates a weakness in one of the above abilities which may lead the salesperson to have trouble applying his or her abilities to a given task.
Continue ReadingThe Pull Effect Of Gen Y
Steven Rothberg at CollegeRecruiter.com has an insightful post regarding the use of Facebook in recruiting Gen Y workers. His point: But to Gen Y, the other employees can also be a powerful recruiting tool. They want to know who they’ll be working with because they’ve been raised to work effectively in teams. If their team members aren’t up to snuff, their work product will suffer and they’ll be unhappy and looking for a new gig. He then provides an example of how Jennie-O (seriously, the turkey people) is leveraging their current employees to recruit. I must confess, I did not think of Jennie-O as a cutting-edge company in the social… Read More
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