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 ReadingCandidates’ Decision Making Process
I’m never sure what to make of these surveys about employment decision processes among candidates. Pay always seems like the obvious response but rarely the significant driver of the decision. Nonetheless, the results always catch my eye so I put it up here anyway. From the most recent Workforce Recruiting Newsletter (sorry, no link) – the top attraction drivers by age group for U.S. employees in 2007:
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
Continue ReadingBrevity
Here is an excellent reminder from the JustSell.com newsletter: How long was your last presentation? What could be trimmed? Over the next couple weeks (outside the money hours, of course), invest some time examining the brevity of your sales presentations (both your formal and informal versions). For every point ask, €œWhy is this needed for my presentation?€ If you’re unsure of the reason, cut it — lean and effective is your goal (review the presentation checklist here). If you don’t have it written, planned, and practiced, commit to doing it within the month. The chances of rambling skyrocket without a formally developed presentation. Time is money and decision makers who… Read More
Continue ReadingCultural Fit Questions
We write often about the interview stage of a sales hiring process and how to use it effectively. One of the best uses of the interview is to determine the sales candidate’s fit to your company culture. In that light, Selling Power offers an article with some good questions to ask during the interview. These questions start the culture discussion and will be helpful in your hiring determination: €¢ What is your understanding of sales culture? €¢ How would you describe the sales culture of your present employer? €¢ Specifically, what do you like best about that sales culture? What do you like the least? €¢ If it were up… Read More
Continue ReadingSome States Cost More
A press release from the Milken Institute’s annual Cost-of-Doing-Business Index lists the most expensive states for doing business and the least expensive. First, the top of the list: Ten Most Expensive 1 Hawaii 2 New York 3 Alaska 4 Massachusetts 5 Connecticut 6 California 7 New Jersey 8 Vermont 9 Delaware 10 Rhode Island And then the inexpensive list: Ten Least Expensive Rank 50 South Dakota 49 Iowa 48 North Dakota 47 Nebraska 46 Idaho 45 South Carolina 44 Montana 43 Missouri 42 Tennessee 41 Arkansas I see lists like this and think one thing – taxes.
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