Last week, Lee posted about a company that terminated a salesperson via voicemail while he was at home sick. That’s low, but this company is one that has a long-standing problem regarding turnover. We know this salesperson fairly well and we know he has significant sales talent. Yet he is one of many strong salespeople who have left this company or been terminated by them. It is almost part of their culture (that’s not hyperbole). This CareerJournal.com article – Best Way to Save: Analyze Why Talent Is Going Out the Door – addresses this very issue. Rather than deny a talent bleed, executives should carefully analyze why it is happening.… Read More
Continue ReadingLawyers, iPhones and Money
In case you haven’t noticed, senseless lawsuits absolutely push my buttons. So now this comes along – Woman sues Apple for $1M over iPhone price cut. The gist of her complaint: A New York woman is so angry at Apple Inc. for lopping $200 off the price of the iPhone that she’s filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages. Dongmei Li of Queens, N.Y., claimed the company violated price discrimination laws when it slashed the price of the 8-gigabyte iPhone by a third, from $599 to $399, within two months of the gadget’s June debut. … According to Li’s lawsuit, filed on Sept. 24 in the U.S. District Court,… Read More
Continue ReadingCreativity In Selling
Much of the filtering that occurs in sales hiring incorporates the all-too-familiar standards of industry experience and college degrees. The interview follows a step-by-step history of their career much like the old TV show This Is Your Life. The candidates have learned the proper rote responses to most of the questions. It is a dull process that leads to marginal results. But what about creativity? Creativity often gets overlooked or ignored in sales hiring. “Creativity belongs in marketing.” “Salespeople should be money-motivated, driven hunters who complete one-call closes.” Boring and antiquated. Creativity is the overlooked, undervalued aspect of selling that can be the differentiator between an above-average salesperson and a… Read More
Continue ReadingTermination By Voicemail
A couple of days ago I put up a post about the rise of email terminations and how inappropriate I thought that practice was. Well I must say I have now learned of one example of a termination that does this one better (or should that be WORSE!). I talked with a salesperson this morning and would like to pass along his story of his termination experience. The President of his division was going to be in town and wanted to meet with him so they scheduled a time to meet in the morning. When the day came the salesperson was in bed with the flu so he called his… Read More
Continue ReadingMore Surprises In The Economy
From CNNMoney.com’s headline: Jobless claims post surprise fall New applications filed for unemployment benefits fell by a sharp 15,000 to 298,000 last week; economists expected claims to rise to 320,000. We continue to see great activity in our own business. At some point you have to wonder if the media is attempting to “talk down” the economy. I give you this sentence from another CNNMoney.com article titled Economy shows growth, but misses forecasts (emphasis mine): A deepening housing slump and a painful credit crunch since the spring has darkened the mood of individuals and businesses alike. Stephen King would be proud of that writing especially in light of a 3.8%… Read More
Continue ReadingA Good Way To Handle Degrees
Reading through sales ads this morning, I came across this line: Bachelor€™s degree preferred but not necessary with qualified experience. I think that is a good way to frame the requirement. I would not want to prohibit a strong sales candidate from applying because of a degree requirement.
Continue ReadingWho Doesn’t Like Interview Questions?
I found a pile of papers on my desk that contained a few sheets of interview questions. I don’t know where they are from, but I found myself reading them today. Aren’t interview questions interesting to read? I think most people like to see if they can find a good question to take for themselves. At least that is my approach. Some standard questions: Why do you want to work here? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What good books have to read lately? Why should I hire you? (I despise this question) That is all pretty standard fare. But I did find a few more interesting offerings:… Read More
Continue ReadingDefining Experience
Quick hitter – say a candidate has worked at a particular company for 5 years. When phone screening and interviewing them about that experience, it is important to determine if they have 5 years of unique experience or 5 years of the first year over and over. That is a twisted sentence, but I hope you get my point. We’ve run into this issue with salespeople in previous positions. Did the salesperson grow in the position over their tenure or did they simply perform the same tasks repeatedly over their tenure. Don’t underestimate the importance of this distinction. We’ve seen decent salespeople go “stale” over time and, in most instances, it… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Gaining Commitment
Sales managers need to focus their team on specific objectives. This requires the manager to gain commitment from each salesperson…on a regular basis. It is an important aspect of successful coaching and empowering the employee. Gaining CommitmentThis ability develops and invokes a self-starting attitude in employees in their pursuit of goals. It is the capacity to motivate employees to do their best and to provide them with concrete, practical ideas and methods by which they can achieve their goals. A sales manager with a strength in this trait will be able to effectively use empathetic ability, communication skills and leadership ability to create a sense of personal motivation to be successful… Read More
Continue ReadingTermination By Email
Over a year ago Derrick posted on Radio Shack’s faux pas regarding the emails they sent to their employees telling them that they had been terminated. If you would have told me then that this trend would be on the rise, I would have never believed you. Unfortunately, a recent survey of 752 people found that 75 of them had experienced or knew someone who had been terminated/laid-off via email. Maybe it’s me, but does anyone else out there think that this is beyond inappropriate? Firing or laying off an employee is never a fun thing to do and I have had my share to do, but emailing some one… Read More
Continue Reading