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Select Metrix
Newsletter |
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May, 2005
Vol. 1, Issue
5 |
Pressure Part 2
The next to
last step in the process provides the first face-to-face meeting
with the strongest candidates. These salespeople have made it
past four difficult stages to get a chance to sit across from
you and display their abilities. There is a reason why we front
load so many qualifying steps before actually meeting the
candidate face-to-face. The vast majority of salespeople,
whether skilled or not, have developed the ability to build
rapport and bond with people. Skilled salespeople use this
talent to start the qualifying process. Unskilled salespeople
use this talent to land on your payroll.
In the third step in our process, we
introduced the technique of using pressure during the Phone
Screen (see Under Pressure).
That technique is applicable to this step also. Schmoozers are
at their best in person when they can use their full arsenal.
They are able to pick up small, nonverbal cues regarding the
position, connect on a social/personal level with the
interviewer and deftly characterize their abilities . . .
whether accurate or not. We have used the previous two steps to
weed out schmoozers but they are sometimes able to make it to
this stage. The techniques outlined in this month’s newsletter
will guarantee that their true nature becomes evident.
The use of
pressure in this step also provides a view of the candidates in
a difficult scenario. Sitting across from a potential employer
and attempting to sell your abilities to them is stressful.
Candidates can have strong phone abilities and can have a strong
set of skills, aptitudes and styles. However, the final proof
of ability is to sit in a live interview and use those skills in
a stressful situation. That, by definition, is selling.
The
Initial Interview should not be too easy for the candidates.
Our definition of a bad interview is one in which the candidate
is allowed to provide a running commentary of their work
history. This approach may work for some positions, but in
sales, we need to get into the specifics of the candidate’s
ability to successfully sell in your typical market. Difficult
questions about their qualifying ability, disposition towards
handling rejection and reasons for previous sales success are
critical to ferreting out the top candidate.
Click here for the next article -
The Initial Interview |
