Selling Power’s Hiring Newsletter takes a look at assessments used in the hiring process. This is a topic near and dear to our hearts in that we assess sales candidates with online tests. One paragraph jumped out (emphasis mine): According to Whittle, the average test runs around $200, but there were some tests that tacked on extra costs for interpretation up to $600 to $900 extra. Her company usually conducts the tests after at least two behavioral interviews to save time and costs. However, Whittle reminds us – the cost of testing is nothing compared to the cost of a bad hire. “We conduct the tests to validate what we’ve… Read More
Continue ReadingGood Selling Is Subtle
Have you noticed that the best salespeople are usually subtle? They have a way of moving through a discussion that is conversational in tone, but focused in purpose. Some are so good at it that you don’t even notice if you are involved in the discussion. ManageSmarter.com offers up an article with a direct analogy of sales questioning – comparing it to dating. What I appreciate is the author’s description of how salespeople are trained to ask leading questions. This is not a subtle approach as you will see from his example in the article. The primary issue here is that you lose rapport quickly when you go down this… 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 Reading2 Jobs In 1
The Wall Street Journal offers an article about companies combining 2 jobs into 1 and then hiring based on the lower level job. The author explains it better than me: Some job hunters have been encountering a new kind of downsizing: companies that aren’t eliminating positions entirely, but are combining a mid-level position with a more junior one — then advertising it as a junior slot and offering a lower salary. I’m not sure this is the best approach to hiring in that you often get what you pay for. One of my suggestions would be to assess the candidates if you go this route. There are many talented, young… Read More
Continue ReadingA Senseless Tragedy
The recent murder at the Olympics hit home for me this past weekend. The family is from my hometown of Lakeville, MN. I was in Lakeville this weekend for my 20th anniversary high school class reunion. Needless to say, this tragedy was the topic of the weekend. I think most people are aware of the story, but you can get the details here. Suffice to say, I am still stunned by the senselessness of it all.
Continue ReadingA Candidate Shortage
CNNMoney.com reports on a specific area that is experiencing a hiring problem – lack of candidates: Despite the slump at lowlier levels of the job market, there’s currently a war for senior management talent. In fact, 70% of executive recruiters surveyed by networking organization ExecuNet (www.execunet.com), say there’s a shortage of people who can step in and run things. We’ve seen this shortage first-hand in the sales arena. Strong sales leaders are in demand right now, especially in one corporate segment (emphasis mine): Companies doing the most executive hiring aren’t necessarily the biggest, the ExecuNet study found. Employers with revenues between $51 million and $200 million are expanding their senior-level… Read More
Continue ReadingHow To End Time-Management Excuses
I currently reading Jason Seiden’s new book How To Self-Destruct Making The Least Of What’s Left Of Your Career. You may have guessed from the title that part of the book is written tongue-in-cheek. In fact, it is quite entertaining and a fast read. I’ll provide a full review once I complete the book, but I had to share this insightful commentary for all sales managers. When it comes to excuse-making, one of the favorite topics is time. “I didn’t have time.” “I ran out of time.” “There wasn’t time to ask that question.” These are excuses that need to be corrected. I realize time constraints do occur, but I… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Best Social Networking – In-Person
I don’t think this is a big surprise, but in-person networking is the most important. From the Career News newsletter (sorry, no link): While the execs expected the importance of online networking to grow from 24% now to 38% in two years’ time, that’s still less important than developing personal contacts (81%), contacting recruiters (63%) or using job boards (51%). Some 93% of the senior executives surveyed said putting time into developing their ‘personal brand’ was a wise career move. While some three-quarters said this was best done offline, two-thirds said they do use social networking sites to look good. Commenting on the findings, Carol Rosati, director at Harvey Nash,… Read More
Continue ReadingYou Won’t Last Long
I just read a sales ad with this position title: Disposable Sales Representative The context of the position makes sense when you read the entire ad (food service industry), but I would think the title could some serious tweaking. Can you imagine handing a business card to a prospect that listed that title? They may decide to “dispose” of you right there.
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