We often tell sales managers to allow salespeople to make mistakes, to stumble through a low value opportunity. These “bloody nose” lessons (as my father calls them) are just as valuable as huge successes. I often learn more from mistakes than successes. In that spirit, I stumbled across this article thanks to the JustSell.com guys. The article details different products that literally came about via mistakes. Some examples – Coca-Cola, Scotchgard, Silly Putty, car tires and many more. This one caught my attention: Yellow sticky notes, officially known as Post-it Notes, got their start in 1968 when a 3M researcher tried to improve adhesive tape. What he got was a… Read More
Continue ReadingGet ‘Er Done
You have probably read many “how to” articles that provide tips for jobseekers. One tip that almost always makes the list is to have a professional email address. Unfortunately, I was looking through resumes today and found one person who may not have read any of those articles. His email address: rednecktrucker@domain.com Next.
Continue ReadingPublic Sector Efficiency
This abcnews.com article will tweak every Utilitarian out there (my editing): The federal government has 2.6 million civilian workers, making it the nation’s largest employer. But, it turns out a growing number of these workers are not working. Coburn commissioned the report “Missing in Action: AWOL in the Federal Government,” which tracked the number of absent workers without leave, AWOL workers, across 18 government agencies from 2001 to 2007. It found that federal workers missed nearly 20 million hours of work in the last six years, not including vacation time or sick leave. On average, 2.8 million hours of work are lost per year because of AWOL absences. Can you… Read More
Continue ReadingYou Must Have…
Red flags should go up if those words appear in a cover letter. These sentences are from a recent graduate’s cover letter for a sales position: Please do not contact me if the position is commission based, or involves cold-calling. Also your company must have a valid website that can help me to identify what your company does. I will be following his clear orders and not contacting him.
Continue ReadingFunny Resume Title
I had to share this one: Offshore Employee – No Accent. Excellent. Memorable.
Continue ReadingWatch The Writing
I would not hire a single salesperson without first seeing a writing sample of some sort from them. The information age has made writing a priority skill in communicating with prospects. This cover letter sentence makes me lose my faith in proofreading: I relocated down south due to my wifes job and the maeket for my construction managment was not very good so I ventured in to new firlds. There are different levels of errors within cover letters and resumes. This example would fall in the “very bad” error pile.
Continue ReadingCover Letter Comedy
I’m all for standing out, but this line at the beginning of a cover letter is a swing and a miss. If you can get me excited about your business, I’ll bring the magic. I’d settle for a sales rep who brings the qualifying.
Continue ReadingWho’s Hiring Whom?
This excerpt is from a cover letter: If you think there might be a fit. Please send me a brief overview of your project or company. Let me know how I could help you if there’s a fit. If there’s any interest or a fit on my side I’ll drop you a note. Fair enough? You know, some times you do not need an assessment. I am quite certain this individual has a strong sense of self. His overuse of “fit” is only eclipsed by his cocky closing. I’m all for confidence, but I would have serious concerns about this approach.
Continue ReadingStupid Candidate Tricks
Here is a new one – candidates who use provocative usernames in the online resume submission software. From abcnews.com: …a candidate who entered his resume in the company’s online database — along with the username “Sexpig.” Yeah, what more needs to be said about that one? Well, this is much better: Poindexter, a community manager at Disaboom.com, a Denver-based Web community for those with disabilities, recently had to retract a job offer from an entry-level candidate who proved to be a LinkedIn liar. Shortly after extending the offer, Poindexter Googled the new hire and found that his assistant-to-be’s LinkedIn profile had been updated to include a nonexistent position at Disaboom… Read More
Continue ReadingOffice Sludge Known As Coffee
The Sales Machine blog on BNet features one of those posts I wish I had authored. The title – Why Office Coffee Tastes So Bad. A great topic for a Monday morning. This post contains some of the most detailed information I have read about bad coffee. Basically, it all comes down to tannins. Contrary to popular belief, coffee is not bitter. It is supposed to be a naturally sweet beverage. However, the way it is usually prepared tends to concentrate the tanins (sic) in the coffee, which makes it unnaturally bitter. Remove these tannins and you get a good cup of coffee. Tannins come from five sources: Exposure to… Read More
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