Interesting article here from RecruitingTrends.com that highlights a speech given recently by Dan Hanyzewski, staffing director from Nike. There is one piece of data that caught my attention immediately: “This is the first time in American history that we’ve had four generations at work at the same time,” Hanyzewski says. How do you communicate an employer brand that will attract such a broad audience? Quite a dilemma, isn’t it? The task of branding your company effectively for 4 different generations is a tremendous undertaking. But the discussion then turns to a critical point (my editing): “One of the most powerful metrics is time,” Hanyzewski says. But, what’s does it mean?… Read More
Continue ReadingBe Conservative On The Compensation
I read this line in a sales employment ad this past weekend: Actual Year 1 average earnings – $100,000 – $200,000 ++ REALISTIC A $100K spread? You know, this type of line is an immediate red flag for a jobseeker. It may be true, but most salespeople will be skeptical. They will put a multiplier of <1.0 on the number. The sad part of this ad is that it was posted by a sales recruiting company. The best bet in these ads is to be somewhat conservative on the compensation and keep a tight range on the potential.
Continue ReadingAlways Be Interviewing Salespeople
From Inc.com’s Sold! blog (my highlighting): The number one mistake in building and maintaining an effective sales team is a flawed hiring process. While there are many elements to consider, my first concern has always been to interview constantly. Always look for exceptional people in and out of your industry. Here are some of my other suggestions for hiring: • Pass on experience and look for people who show some element of emotional intelligence and personal magnetism. • Interview each person at least three times before you send them to another team member. • Prepare questions that take the applicant past normal responses. Get them to solve a sample problem,… Read More
Continue ReadingTrophy Hires
Some companies focus on hiring from their competition almost exclusively and I am not exactly sure why. I realize they believe they are bolstering their sales department while depleting their competition’s. But taken too far, this approach becomes a detriment to a successful hiring campaign. I’ve seen it with one of our customers who has become infatuated with hiring someone away from a certain competitor. His desire to do so is driven by the fact that a third competitor recently hired someone from the second competitor. It doesn’t matter if you tracked that last sentence, the fact of the matter is still the same. I now refer to this approach… Read More
Continue ReadingDefinition Of Insanity-ATS And Sales Hiring
According to Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. According to a recent post on Recruiting Trends and a 2007 survey from DDI & Monster regarding corporate hiring systems: Less than 50% stated that they were satisfied with current selection systems. At least two-thirds expressed dissatisfaction with the efficiency of hiring systems, even with access to automation technology to help organize and track applicant information. From our experience in the sales world, I would have to say those dissatisfied numbers are much higher when it comes to the results of their hiring system or process for salespeople. So why not… Read More
Continue Reading“You Can’t Grow If You Aren’t Selling”
Isn’t that the truth? Entrepreneur.com has an excellent archived article (from 2002) titled Hire and Hire that discusses hiring salespeople during a recession (no, we’re not in a recession). The point is valid – economic downturns are the best time to upgrade and/or expand your sales team. Pick the right talent, and your new salesperson will pay for himself or herself many times over. After all, Buckley points out, because your ability to make sales is the “engine that drives growth,” salespeople are “pay-for-themselves-type expenditures.” That “pick the right talent” piece is not so easy, but it is the keystone of the approach. Run a hiring process and make sure… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Urgency Of Hiring
BusinessWeek.com has a terrific article about executive recruiting that applies to more than just executive positions. Sales hiring mirrors the same issues from the article. The pull quote: Not surprisingly, corporate bosses usually want to play a role in interviewing and assessing top candidates’ experience, qualifications, and fit with senior leadership. The problem arises when those leaders just don’t commit to the executive recruiting process. Often they fail to appreciate its urgency, the fact that candidates may be weighing other offers, or that candidate interviewing can be a process that’s unpredictable, and one that isn’t completely in their control. Even the hiring of a top-notch executive recruiter can’t guarantee there… Read More
Continue ReadingIt Ain’t Experience
BusinessWeek.com discusses recruiting strategies based on who you are trying to attract in Recruiting Today: What Are You Promising? There are some excellent examples of different programs initiated by different companies. However, this one jumped off the screen: In some cases, offering young employees a unique opportunity can have special appeal. DHL, which used to hire only experienced salespeople, offered nine recent college grads a shot at sales last year (and a comprehensive training program to support the move). The company, which is expanding the program this year, says the program not only attracted nine top candidates, but the new hires generated more revenue and more shipments per sale. Many… Read More
Continue ReadingEgomaniacal Business Beliefs
My father likes to state that your ego is your most expensive business partner. I’ve seen this firsthand in companies where the leader regularly proclaims their position or superiority. I’m all for it when it is accurate and not overstated. I’m thinking of one particular company where the President consistently stated: Our company does things better than any other company. We are the best in our industry. Nobody can do what we do. Unfortunately, in this instance, these statements were just not accurate. The outcropping from this situation was painful for us. We were searching for a regional sales manager for this company. We lost good candidates because the President… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat Qualifications Determine Sales Success?
Here’s what we often see from hiring managers or recruiters that focus on a wide variety of positions. They tend to look for qualifications in their sourcing activities. Obviously, this approach is warranted and required when sourcing for positions like accountants, medical personnel, IT, engineers and so forth. But what about sales? What qualifications determine sales success? A college degree? 5, 7 or 10 years tenure? Industry experience? The difficulty in sales is that there are so few, if any, verifiable qualifications that properly filter applicants out. The better approach is to list the skills that the sale requires. Notice I didn’t write “position?” The typical sale is what needs to… Read More
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