Here is a good tip from Tory Johnson via the abcnews.com website. Is MySpace a Professional Liability? provides insight into her technique for researching a candidate. It is surprising how many employers do not take a minimal amount of time to search the web for a candidate’s information. I must confess, I am a neophyte when it comes to the social networking boards. I have cruised around MySpace.com a couple of times looking at the business-related information. There wasn’t much that I found. However, the individual information is quite extensive. Yes, I have heard the punchlines on Leno about MySpace, but this article does lay out an excellent use of… Read More
Continue ReadingTop 10 Sales Killers
CareerBuilder put out a well-written newsletter this week that I am still trying to find time to read. This article by Tom Hopkins provides 10 fundamental sales points that apply to all selling situations. My favorite: Sales Killer #5: Lack of a qualification system. A certain percentage of the people you talk with won’t be good candidates for your product or service. If they don’t have the need or the money for your product or service, there’s no sale. Your challenge is to figure this out as early in your communication with them as possible. Come up with at least three or four questions, the answers to which will tell… Read More
Continue ReadingTop 10 Recruiting Myths
CareerBuilder.com – Top 10 Recruiting Myths – Busted. I’ll tease you with my 2 favorites: 2) Good questions reduce hiring errors Good questions are essential but are fallible. Many hiring managers think that asking good questions will result in good answers and that’s it. Listening, observing and adjusting the interview is as important as a list of good questions. By noting how the candidate reacts to the questions, and listening intently do the details of the answer, the interviewer can learn much more about the individual and reduce hiring errors. 10) The ‘perfect fit’ employee is out there somewhere All hiring managers would like to think that the ‘perfect fit’… Read More
Continue ReadingWhen To Place An Ad
We constantly debate when is the best time to place an employment ad online. Lately we have been receiving mixed signals from other articles, our job board reps and our own experience. There certainly is not a consensus opinion on this topic. When I was younger, we used to go to beach parties where everyone would bring a liquor, a juice and a fruit. We would throw everyone’s “donation” into a large vat, mix it up and call it a Wapatui. For years I had no idea what that meant, but I think employment ads often resemble a Wapatui. A little of this, something from there and we’ll post it… Read More
Continue ReadingDiscussing Pay Range in the Hiring Process
CareerJournal.com has a dated article regarding compensation titled When to Disclose Pay To a Prospective Boss. This is an important topic for hiring strong salespeople. There are many salespeople who have tremendous difficulty discussing money with prospects. Their weakness leads them to spending inordinate amounts of time with “prospects” that will never close (logically speaking, the lack of money means these are not truly prospects). A weak money-qualifying salesperson may choose to spend time calling, meeting, quoting, pursuing a prospect without questioning them about their budget. This fear of a money discussion leads to gross inefficiencies in the salesperson’s performance. Most likely, the deals they close will be ones that… Read More
Continue ReadingRight Rewards for a Money Motivation
Money motivation amongst salespeople is one of the most misconstrued points in successful sales management and hiring. At the risk of splitting hairs, motivation needs to be separated from reward. This distinction is the key to differentiating between what motivates strong salespeople – money – and what rewards them. This Selling Power article – Cash In on Cash-Based Motivation – fails to make this distinction. However, the quick read does offer 3 solid points for commission plans. The highlights: 1. Don’t Penalize Performance Gonzalez refers to the practice of capping salespeople’s commissions as one of the gravest mistakes I’ve seen in the commission-based environment. 2. Be Careful with Team Incentives… Read More
Continue ReadingWorking Close to Home
If you read The Hire Sense, you already know we love lists. This one is timely considering the current oil prices (they closed at a record high yesterday). Relocating for a Job That’s Closer to Home lists the shortest commutes based on time. No. 1: Wichita, KS = 21.1 minutes No. 2: Omaha, NE = 21.3 minutes No. 3: Toledo, OH = 22.2 minutes I know, tenths of a minute is a fine resolution for measurement. Nonetheless, I have recently driven to both Wichita and Omaha and you can certainly get around both towns quickly. Telecommuting will continue to be a hot hiring topic as there are few signs that… Read More
Continue ReadingCheerleaders as Salespeople
In all my years, I have never heard of this: Cheerleading to Sales: The Leap is More Common Than One Might Assume While the idea of recruiting current and former cheerleaders to work as professional salespersons may seem like a stretch, in reality it isn’t. If you want individuals who aren’t afraid of performing under pressure, are outgoing, dedicated, and are enthusiastic about getting others involved, cheerleaders are a perfect fit. Pharmaceutical firms and network communication equipment companies have both found cheerleaders to be phenomenal at sales. The leap from the football field to the sales profession is so common that it can support a placement agency known as Spirited… Read More
Continue ReadingUsing Your Value Proposition in Hiring
Why Should I Work For Your Company? provides a blending of a company’s value proposition in to their hiring process. The article is written towards recruiters, but the principles are excellent and timely. Sourcing strong candidates is becoming more difficult every day so companies will not want to lose a strong candidate to a better prepared competitor. Here is an excerpt that caught my eye: Growth and Career Runway: What opportunities for growth exist, both vertically and horizontally? By horizontally we mean this: Can a strong individual contributor become more influential in a company without becoming a manager? How clear is it to employees what they can do to move… Read More
Continue ReadingSelling the Failures
For the past 5 years, we have helped companies hire people who have started their own companies, worked as 1099 contractors or were freelance workers. Some companies shy away from these people since the natural inclination is to assume they have failed in some way. We strongly encourage companies to refrain from filtering these candidates out of their process simply for their recent experience. Their experiences and skills are often broader and richer than a career corporate employee. How to turn failures into selling points provides tips to candidates for explaining their recent career failures. The author provides coaching to candidates regarding their failures – I like this advice: Rather… Read More
Continue Reading