The title of this post is an age-old battle much like lions and hyenas, isn’t it? Brian Carroll has an interesting post on his B2B Lead Generation Blog – Optimizing Lead Generation – What’s the Payback? The dilemma he addresses is where should executives invest resources – in more salespeople or into lead generation programs. I suspect many executives view salespeople as lead generation programs. Granted, some salespeople are relentless prospectors who generate many new leads. This style usually comes at price, that is, their ability to retain customers is usually degraded. A strong hunter normally requires a back-end support team since they tend to move on to the next… Read More
Continue ReadingInternet Talk Radio
We may be behind the times here at The Hire Sense, but we keep trying to catch up. I’m sure most readers are familiar with You Tube which is a fantastic site for uploading videos to share. Today I just discovered WSRadio which is internet talk radio. I was shocked at the number of business shows already on the “station” (is that what it is called?). These are completely web-based radio shows – no over-the-air versions that I could find in a cursory scan of the site.
Continue ReadingJob Postings, Rewards & Databases
Careerbuilder.com in their Small Business Advisor Section has a great article that takes you step-by-step in posting an effective online ad. As is to be expected, the article is specifically written to CareerBuilder’s site specifications. The information is still valuable and can be used to effectively write an ad for any of the online job boards. One tip that I would add that the author does not address is describing how the position is rewarded. One attribute that seems to appear in most ads is the desire to find a “self-starting” salesperson. This aptitude can be measured by our assessments. However, in order to maintain a self-starting aptitude, the salesperson… Read More
Continue ReadingManagement Shortage
Forbes.com article – Are You Corner Office Material? (I am not) The article discusses techniques companies use to assess candidates for C-level positions. These techniques include a $12K, 1 day in-person assessment. Now that is pressure-packed role playing. The quote that caught my eye: Michael Butler, a vice president at Valtera, an HR consultancy, says companies are increasingly interested in his firm’s executive evaluations, partly because so many retiring baby boomers need to be replaced. Many firms will lose half of their senior executives in the next few years, “and they don’t even know it,” Butler says. “It’ll be a crisis in three years.”
Continue ReadingQ3 Hiring Outlook
The upcoming quarter looks to maintain the strong growth in hiring that has been occurring for the past 2 years. Some interesting statistics from the Manpower survey: Construction, 24%, down from 28% in the second quarter Durable-goods manufacturers, 23%, flat from 22% in the second quarter Finance, insurance and real estate, 23%, about flat from 21% Services, 23%, about flat from 21% Wholesale and retail trade, 21%, flat from 22% Transportation and public utilities, 20%, about flat from 17% Mining, 18%, down from 33% Non-durables manufacturers, 18%, about flat from 19% Education, 17% about flat from 16% Public administration, 16% up from 12%
Continue Reading“Digital Dirt”
I’ve never heard that term before (the title of this post). This CareerJournal article discusses methods for candidates to clean up their digital dirt. I suspect the solutions offered in this article sound good but I doubt they clean up the dirt all that quickly. Google seems to cache information for some time. Still, there are some good tips for using Google and I am a big fan of Pubsub. Now do what I just did, go Google your name!
Continue ReadingCommunicating with Style
From Tough Talks on monster.com: Generally, we recognize that open, constructive communication is crucial to business success. But many dodge these chats at all costs. Others charge right in loaded and ready. Others try to dance around the topic and not hurt feelings. None of these strategies is likely to accomplish your goal, so you end up where you started. Let’s parse this paragraph out and look at the Selling Style for each line: But many dodge these chats at all costs. (High S) Others charge right in loaded and ready. (High D) Others try to dance around the topic and not hurt feelings. (High I) The only thing they… Read More
Continue ReadingVulcan Qualifying
First things first – I’m not a Trekkie. But there is a good lesson from Mr. Spock in regards to qualifying. Basically, emotions kill good qualifying. What I mean is that salespeople who become emotionally shackled to a prospect or opportunity lose objectivity. Once objectivity is gone, the salesperson tends to abandon their selling system and rationalize reasons without pursing facts from the prospect directly. The best salespeople we have encountered and assessed are the ones who are able to use their empathy to connect with the prospect and nothing more. They are able to build rapport yet stay emotionally detached so that stress, rejection, joy, anger and desperation do… Read More
Continue ReadingAnecdote – Biggest Sales Contribution
It’s Friday so let’s go with another anecdote. During a phone screen, I asked a candidate a fairly innocuous sales interview question, “What is the biggest contribution you made in your last job?” He took several moments to gather his thoughts and then offered this: Good question. I would have to say hands down that the greatest contribution thus far with my current company is the fact that I have increased RFQ’s (request for quote) by over 200%. RFQ’s? Obviously, I was hoping to hear something about increasing sales, improving the closing ratio or turning around an underperforming territory. Nope, it was far worse. Generating a quote with his employer… Read More
Continue ReadingExpiring Ads
A quick note about expiring ads that we have experienced. Expect a small bump in responses as your ad posting is about to expire. We consistently see a handful of responses that come in within the last 3 days of an ad expiring. Although risky (the position may be filled by then), it is still an interesting and some times effective approach by candidates.
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