Here is another line from a sales employment ad (emphasis mine): The primary role of this position is to build a revenue generating sales pipeline which will primarily consist of prospective accounts. Pipeline bloat is something we encounter with sales managers on a regular basis. As you probably know, salespeople have a tendency to…overestimate their pipeline. This is done for a number of reasons, but the primary one is to make their sales manager believe that the salesperson is on the cusp of big revenue. Many a sales manager has been drawn in by potential deals. So with that as a backdrop, I am surprised to see a sales ad… Read More
Continue ReadingLinguistic Gymnastics
This line is from a sales ad I read this morning: Pre-qualified prospects are provided by <company> (cold leads). Reminds me of President Clinton saying, “It depends on what the meaning of the words ‘is’ is.” “Pre-qualified prospects” and “cold leads” seems to be a stretch, at least in my mind, to be used in the same sentence.
Continue ReadingWrite It Don’t Hide It
There seems to be some ethereal ad writing of late that I am not certain I understand. I read a sales manager ad this morning that was written by a recruiting company for their client. Here is the “Job Requirements” section: All sales will be direct at this time. What? I have no idea what that means in context of the requirements. The simple, best approach to writing sales ads is to use descriptive language that allows the reader to see themselves in the position. Our goal is always to write ads that make the right candidate know that we are describing their abilities. This ad falls far short of… Read More
Continue ReadingObvious Red Flags In Employment Ads
Don’t do this: If you have the contacts in these areas with such customers, let us know! That line is from a sales employment ad I read this morning and it is a tremendous red flag to savvy salespeople. The ad is also from a recruiter and not the hiring company which makes it worse. It is this approach that makes sales recruiting so difficult. Clearly this recruiter is less interested in ability and more interested in an existing network. Fair enough, but having a network is one thing, getting customers to walk over to a new company is another. It rarely works in spite of what the salesperson thinks… Read More
Continue ReadingChaotic Freedom In Sales
I read this line from an sales employment ad this morning: Reps are NOT restricted by territory. The unrestricted territory seems innocuous enough…maybe even valuable. It usually isn’t. As a salesperson, I would read this ad with some skepticism in that the company may be trying to add salespeople without a cogent management plan. Back in my early years I took a job with a company that had no territories. There were approximately 15 salespeople in there serving the local market. What I learned is that the “old-timers” had effectively squatted on all of the accounts, whether they had an active relationship or not. Since there were no defined territories… Read More
Continue ReadingCustomers Are Pigs
I have a new favorite title for a sales ad: Territory Manager, Swine-Minnesota I’m not making that up, it is an actual title. This seems remedial, but employment ad titles do matter. Most of us remember the days of looking at ads in a paper where space was limited and costly. Titles were less important then because the ad was still displayed. Not today – I only see the title of the ad and the company in the electronic format. The title has to be strong enough to elicit the click. I think there are many companies that still miss that critical point. And the major culprits are companies with… Read More
Continue ReadingCopy-Paste Before Proofing
Proofread your ads – a simple, simple task that seems to be ignored by some companies. From an ad I read this morning (my editing): A fast growing ______________ is seeking one great sales person to take the Minneapolis/St. Paul market to the next level. Innocuous enough, but when you read through the ad you find this requirement: Organization, computer proficiency, a valid Massachusetts driver’s license and proof of insurance required. That is going to drastically reduce their candidate pool in the Twin Cities. I wouldn’t recommend writing the entire ad in bold font either, but that seems minor compared to the Massachusetts license requirement.
Continue ReadingGPS-Buster
I’m perusing the employment ads again and came across one for a position in North Dakota. The company is using a large, national recruiting firm which is clear from the ad. One problem, the city listing for the ad: Bismarck, MN Since I know we have readers from around the country, Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota…there is no such town in our home state of Minnesota. Could be an oversight, but my guess is the recruiting firm passed on the chance to visit their North Dakota customer in winter. I’ve said it before – some errors simply cannot be made in an ad. This would be one of… Read More
Continue ReadingJob Ad – Requires Skin Lotion
Another example of proof-reading being foolishly replaced by an automated spell check: Lead the development, scheduling and distribution of market/sales client tough points (new product launches, enhancement announcements, holiday cards, etc.) That is from an employment ad that, despite using lots of words, does not identify the industry beyond – manufacturing. Maybe Mickey Rourke will apply.
Continue ReadingProof There Is No Proof-Reading
Just when I thought companies had finally taken my advice and started proof-reading their employment ads I come across this title: Build Enginerr Of course the ad states this requirement (emphasis mine): –Excellent written, spoken, and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to communicate ideas in both technical and user-friendly language. I suppose the descriptor “excellent” is all relative.
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