In the past several weeks I have been working with one of our clients on a sales position that they are desperately trying to fill. On numerous occasions they have said it needs to be filled quickly. I can appreciate this approach, however the actions of the client are not congruent with their words. Let me explain. We have a strong candidate that has interviewed several times in-person and on the phone. Unfortunately, he has been waiting 2 weeks for a follow-up call from one of the managers to set up what he was told would be the final interview. Before you pass judgement think back over your latest hires.… Read More
Continue ReadingCorporate Blogging Violations
From Podcasting News – Nearly One Out Of Ten Companies Has Fired A Blogger: Nearly one out of ten large companies has fired an employee for violating corporate blogging or message board policies, according to a survey conducted by Proofpoint, a company that specializes in corporate messaging security. 19 percent of the companies have disciplined an employee for violating corporate blogging or message board policies. It would be interesting to know what some of the violations entailed. We’re not familiar with what companies use for their blogging policy but we would be most interesting to know what is a typical policy.
Continue Reading2007 Fortune 500 List
This may be a topic that only interests me, but here is the link to the annual Fortune 500 list (h/t JustSell.com). You can sort the list on a myriad of criteria. I sorted the data by state and found that Minnesota came in with a respectable 20 F500 companies with an impressive 5 companies in the F100 (based on revenue): 21. UnitedHealth Group 33. Target 72. Best Buy 89. Travelers Cos. 97. 3M
Continue ReadingRecruiting Roadshow – Twin Cities’ Style
I wanted to just post a quick shout-out to Paul DeBettignies at MN Headhunter who organized one of the most impressive, impromptu conferences I have ever attended. Paul is a genuinely humble guy but he did yeoman’s duty as the driving force behind the conference. He has a post summarizing the event that you can read here. John Sumser has pictures here. 110+ people attended the event at Best Buy corporate headquarters yesterday and the feedback has been amazing. The discussions I had afterwards were all highly complimentary and those attendees were hoping for a continuation of the conference. That discussion has already started so I will pass on information… Read More
Continue ReadingBreak The Candidate’s Interview Routine
Here is a typical article about interview technique titled How to Keep Your Cool In the Interview Hot Seat from CareerJournal.com. The article promotes common advice regarding how to keep your nerves during an interview. Personally, I appreciate a candidate who has some nervousness in an interview. Granted, I don’t want them to curl up in the fetal position on the floor, but a bit of nervousness tells me that they have a desire to do well. Implicitly I then believe they are most interested in the position (not always true but a good way to hedge your bets). Now, here is the advice in the article that we derail… Read More
Continue ReadingTwo Weaknesses That Lead To Discounting
SellingPower.com offers an excellent article titled End Those Last-Minute Negotiations. The article quotes one of our favorite trainer/authors – Jeff Thull. Thull rightly ties together two critical pieces of closing a sale – value proposition and money. Many salespeople are clumsy with putting the right value proposition in play. If the salesperson is not asking the right questions, he or she will not know whether the value they offer through their solution is valuable to the prospect. To make matters worse, many salespeople struggle with the need to discuss budgets (money) with the prospect. Combine these two weaknesses and you have trouble. Thull€™s team conducted informal research of about 10,000… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Success Is In The Questions
A common myth – the best salespeople are great talkers first and foremost. Most people have heard that one yet it is simply not true. The ability to communicate effectively involves speaking and listening – it is difficult to find strength in both of these abilities. ManageSmarter.com offers The Power of Questions which is on topic for this discussion with a good analogy: The most effective way to control the sale is to ask more questions. Selling is like driving a car: The person who asks the questions sits in the driver’s seat and controls the direction of the sale, while the passenger€”the person who answers the questions€”goes along for the… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Respect For Policies
This week we focus on a thorn in many sales manager’s sides but this trait is one where strength may not actually be beneficial to success in sales. Respect For Policies The ability of a salesperson to see and appreciate the value of conducting business affairs according to the defined intent of company policies and standards. A salesperson with strength in this trait generally understands the philosophies of the corporate structure and will strive to conduct business according to those standards. They will honor the concept of doing things according to the rules and regulations of the company. A weakness in this area indicates a salesperson who does not have… Read More
Continue ReadingSpell Check Turned Off
I don’t know if there is a worst place to have a spelling error than in the title of an online ad. The title from an ad I read this morning: Inside Sales- Excellent Growth Opprotunity My thought that it was an oversight ended when I opened the ad – the first line of the ad: Inside Sales- Excellent Growth Opprotunities We posted last year about resume errors and the effect it has on a candidate’s opportunities. Well, obvious errors in the ad can stifle responses. My initial thought was that this company lacks detail – probably a loosely-run ship. The irony here is that the company provides a service… Read More
Continue ReadingTeam Selling Today
We are experiencing a seismic shift of the sales process as it moves from a single salesperson calling on prospects to to a team-based approach. A recent article at Selling Power lays out the roles the varies team members should play. The article comes from The Fisherman’s Guide to Selling: Reel in the Sale €“ Hook, Line and Sinker, authored by Joe DiMisa. Here are the 6 basic roles as defined by him: The Leader: This ONE person pilots the meeting or discussions. Color commentator: This person will add “color” or important facts or statistics relevant to key issues. Note taker: This person records comments, decisions, agreements, needs, and action… Read More
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