Another CareerJournal article – When It Comes to Job Offers,It Pays to Ask for More Money – that discusses strategies for negotiating pay in the interview process. The short article has good suggestions for candidates but I want to take a myopic view of the article for sales candidates. First, from the article (my emphasis): CareerBuilder.com’s survey of 875 hiring managers revealed that about 60% leave room in the first offer for salary negotiations, 30% say their first offer is final, and 10% say it depends on the candidate. Meanwhile, four out of five corporate recruiters said they are willing to negotiate compensation, according to a study conducted by the… Read More
Continue ReadingBad Interview Techniques
Great post from Seth Godin this morning that makes a not-so-subtle point about typical interview techniques. Here is the post in its entirety: Omer sends in this riff from Peopleware: Juggler Interview Circus Manager: How long have you been juggling? Candidate: Oh, about six years. Manager: Can you handle three balls, four balls, and five balls? Candidate: Yes, yes, and yes. Manager: Do you work with flaming objects? Candidate: Sure. Manager: …knives, axes, open cigar boxes, floppy hats? Candidate: I can juggle anything. Manager: Do you have a line of funny patter that goes with your juggling? Candidate: It’s hilarious. Manager: Well, that sounds fine. I guess you’re hired. Candidate:… Read More
Continue ReadingEmployee’s Sticky Fingers
I am probably naive about this topic, but I found this Inc.com article to be surprising regarding theft: While only one in 10 workers admit stealing from their employers, close to 40% of hiring managers say they have fired an employee for theft at the office, according to a recent survey. The survey, conducted by CareerBuilder.com, found that the most commonly purloined items were office supplies (15%), money (14%), and merchandise (11%). 40% just seems incredibly high. However, this motivation does not surprise me: “One of the biggest reasons employees steal from the companies they work for is they feel the company owes them,” Marasco said. Much of this does… Read More
Continue ReadingUltimate Accountability
The most important sales management action may be to hold your salespeople accountable. We constantly preach this responsibility to sales managers with whom we work. Salespeople are independed animals but they still need to answer to their manager in regards to their activities. The remarkable thing here is that sales managers don’t have to be good at holding their salespeople accountable, they just have to do it. I caught up to this quick post from What Would Dad Say and got quite a kick out of it. Some times exaggeration is the best method for making a clear point.
Continue ReadingLabor Day History
From the Justsell.com daily email: The first U.S. Labor Day was celebrated September 5, 1882, when the Central Labor Union organized a demonstration and picnic in New York City, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Eleven years later, more than 30 states had passed bills to adopt the Labor Day holiday, and in 1894, Congress passed a bill establishing Labor Day as a federal holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. A few labor statistics: 151 million employees compose the nations labor force 10.5 million workers are self-employed 7.5 million people work more than one job 5 million people work from home I had a coach years ago… Read More
Continue ReadingIf you have a spare $80K
Oh to dream. I would truly enjoy Michigan footbal on that thing.
Continue ReadingHow To Change Behavior
You can’t. How’s that for a start? Selling Power has an article titled It’s All About Changing Behaviors. I bring this topic up since core behavior, or natural style, is typically static. Some people can adjust their behavior (style) for short periods of time even up to 90 days or so. However, someone’s core behavior or style does not drastically shift over their lifetime. This chameleon ability partly explains why certain candidates can appear to be something they are not in the interview process. From the article: 1. Determine what’s working. Evaluate your top performers with an eye toward identifying which behaviors set them apart and help them achieve high… Read More
Continue ReadingAnecdote – Communications Major?
Is it Labor Day weekend yet? Let’s go with an anecdote for now. I received this email with only a resume attached for a position that was advertised on Monster. In the ad, candidates were asked if interested to call or email Lee. Our client needed a salesperson with excellent communication skills. Their sales cycle is 1-2 years and it is a complex sale requiring formal written and verbal presentations to multiple people. Here is what I received in my inbox: Lee- I am a Communications Major with more that 10 years experience. I am sending a cover letter and resume for your consideration to fill this position. Please contact… Read More
Continue ReadingDesperado
I’ve said it before, desperation is a tough sell. I received an email last night from a company that I have not contacted directly. I used their free service one time 3 months ago. Now the desperate-sounding rep sent me an email pushing for business. See if you can spot his approach (I removed some names): We are currently at the end of another month and I promised to catch up with you to let you know about Month End incentives, pricing discounts and free services. Forget what you know about company’s pricing as it stands now. We have lowered all prices on all services and even lowered minimum commits… Read More
Continue ReadingWhen Photoshop is a Verb
At the risk of piling on about Katie Couric’s doctored photo in the news, I thought I would reference a prescient post regarding Work & Health. If you look at the article’s stats, perhaps Katie’s new anchor position is getting to her. Personally, I thought she looked great in the first picture. I’d write more but I am off to photoshop my own image before uploading it to this site.
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