We work with customers from around the country who sell in a myriad of markets. Some positions are far more difficult to fill than others. I am speaking in terms outside of the position itself. Some hiring managers provide difficult roadblocks to sales hiring success. One of the most important reasons for running a hiring process is to remove biases. Biases are the single largest detriment to successful hiring we encounter. We released an article last week that speaks to these gut-level decisions. There is no accounting for these biases. There is no repeatable measurement for these biases. We preach this approach constantly – run a hiring process that pushes… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Evaluating What is Said
Many people believe the preeminent ability required to be successful in sales is a good speaking ability. Verbal graces are beneficial in selling, but the ability to listen will always be more effective. Good salespeople are good listeners. Evaluating What Is Said This capacity is based on a person’s openness to people and their willingness to hear what the other person is saying – not what they think they should say, or are going to say. A salesperson with a strong aptitude in this capacity will be able to objectively evaluate feedback and hear the concerns, intentions or opinions being stated as opposed to inserting their own feelings or opinions.… Read More
Continue ReadingAn Open Letter to Sales Managers
Time and time again we see a similar process play out to the detriment of a company. XYZ Company determines that they need to hire a new salesperson and the sales manager is going to spearhead the search. A problematic approach. The primary focus of most sales managers is to coach, motivate and hold the sales team accountable. Part of these responsibilities includes some direct selling and some organizational tasks (sales reports, meetings, etc.). Hiring is usually not a weekly sales manager activity unless there are larger issues inside the company. So where does this menu of responsibilities leave running a sales search? Larger companies have HR personnel to place… Read More
Continue ReadingJobseekers & Sites – Take Two
About a month ago I posted on an article from Weedle’s regarding job boards & recruiting. In their latest newsletter, they have surveyed 1,063 people on how many times per month they visit an employment site on the Internet. Here are their finding’s: 35% visited a job board 13+ times/month, 20% visited such sites 5-8 times/month, 18% visited them 2-4 times/month, 17% visited job boards 9-12 times/month, 8% visited these sites 1 time/month, and 2% said they visited job boards 0 times/month. As you can see about 72% visit job boards at least once per month, 55% visit them about twice a week and 35% visit the sites roughly three… Read More
Continue ReadingResume Veracity
Adria offered an interesting comment on our post regarding Resume Enhancements. Here is her comment in whole: I currently teach a Resume class in a Texas Workforce Center. I tell my attendees to never lie on their resumes. I also try to emphasize they should never put something in print about themselves which they cannot prove, or for which they cannot provide a witness if necessary. Will recruiters simply dismiss the truth in the resume style Im teaching as more embelishments or is there a trustworthy means to note integrity on a resume? First off, good news that candidates are being taught a specific manner for maintaining the veracity of… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Handling Rejection
We’re going to start a short blog series on some specific sales aptitudes that predict success in a majority of sales roles. Our first one may be the most important aptitude – handling rejection. Sales is overflowing with rejection. I know because getting “no’s” was a hallmark of my sales career – nobody did it better. Getting the “yes” was my struggle (still is). Anyway, this aptitude is one we pay close attention to in all sales candidates. Sales that require many prospect contacts to reach 1 close require candidates with strong handling rejection aptitudes (an extreme example – telemarketing). Handling Rejection: The capacity to exhibit persistence and strong will… Read More
Continue Reading“Bet On Yourself”
CareerJournal.com has a long article entitled Get the Most Pay Out of Your Job. The article follows a typical format of 10 tips for employees and there are some solid suggestions. In the list, point #2 hit on a topic dear to my own belief: 2. Bet on yourself Having a bonus tied to performance goals and hitting them can get you more money annually…The key to receiving more bonus money is superior performance. If you meet your goals, you should receive your target bonus amount. But at some companies, if you exceed the targets set for you, you may receive an award that exceeds your target bonus. At Biogen… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Aesthetics of Resumes
Resumes seem to be getting a lot of air time on the internet lately, including our blog. I just read an interesting article this morning and thought I would share a couple of points that the author brought to my attention. The article is written for the job seeker, but if you would like to read it, you can find it online at the Minneapolis StarTribune website. It is titled – Don’t Sell Yourself Short. One of the author’s sources gives these suggestions: I like to see key words (job titles, degrees) in bold – that way I can immediately see whether the work history and education matches the needs.… Read More
Continue ReadingDebunking the High D Myth
Many companies believe that the High D (Dominance) selling style is ideal for successful sales. First, some descriptors of this style: Direct Daring Innovative Blunt Competitive Bold Risk Taker Problem Solver Challenge-Oriented Self-Starter Inquisitive Power These traits are all admirable in a salesperson but this style, if unchecked, if a ticking time bomb. Yes, sales requires a drive, even an aggressiveness to be successful. In a previous post, I briefly discussed this style in regards to a current news story. The salesperson I mentioned could be a case study in High D sales behavior. Another experience from this salesperson. He used to visit prospects and put an intense sales push… Read More
Continue ReadingDecreased Employee Loyalty
Inc.com has an article from earlier this week discussing worker loyalty in regards to age. I don’t think there are any surprises here in that older workers are more loyal than younger workers. First off, I think this analogy is one of the best I have seen to describe Gen X and Y’s approach to employment: Kevin Marasco, vice president of marketing at Jacksonville, Fla.-based Vurv Technology, a provider of Web-based workforce-management systems, explained that younger employees manage their careers as they would an investment. Just as they want to buy and sell a stock at the right time, younger workers want to build career equity by joining and leaving… Read More
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