Copy-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.

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Spooky Accurate Assessments

From Inc.com’s article on how to screen sales candidates: It cost $400 a candidate, and the recruits took the tests online. Dolan and Kinaxis’s star salesperson took the test, too, and Opus analyzed their test scores and created a personality benchmark. Afterward, Opus discussed the results with each of the candidates to see if any of them disagreed with the assessments. None did. “They’re spooky accurate,” Dolan says. We use spooky accurate assessments for all of our sales candidates.  Assessing sales candidates is one of the best ways to cut through the veneer and see what they are truly made of.  This article places a priority on personality assessments which… Read More

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Companies Get It Wrong Too

I was recollecting about a job I took in which I felt I did everything right.  It is doubtful I did, but it is my recollection so bear with me.  I qualified the opportunity, the sale, the expectations and the ramp time.  All of the responses were a good fit to my abilities. The ramp time was 6 mos. before getting to a steady revenue stream according to the hiring manager.  I knew I could beat that and I did by cutting it in half.  I had closed a handful of fairly sizeable deals within 3 mos. and was chasing a handful of large deals. And then I was laid… Read More

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Impending Movement

In sales there has always been career movement.  Most successful salespeople have a “hunting” ability for closing deals.  They also use this ability to close new deals for themselves in terms of a new job. I believe this approach is intensified in the younger generations – Gen X and Gen Y.  This current economy is going to erode much of their loyalty as they watch companies shed employees.  This downturn is far worse than that of 2001, but it is two career-altering downturns in less than 10 years.  That has to have an effect on younger workers. Some of this movement can be seen in this article from Managesmarter.com: Even… Read More

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Hiring A System

If you have noticed a decrease in hiring topics of late there is a reason why…few companies are hiring.  We have seen it affect our business too.  We had an early glimpse of it last year around Q2 as our assessment business started to decline gradually.  That is a painful path to go down as you try to figure out a way to counteract the trend. At any rate, companies are still purchasing assessments and some are still hiring.  Yes, it is true despite what you see in the media.  As you might imagine, there is some serious talent available to companies that have the wherewithal to hire right now.… Read More

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Hiring Without Knowledge

Selling Power’s Hiring One of the Team focuses on finding superstar salespeople that will fit into your existing team.  Clearly that is the goal for all sales hiring and this article supplies some sound advice.  Other parts of it I will leave to your judgment. Here is a quote I enjoyed (emphasis mine): “Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind. Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good… Read More

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“Stable” Sales Recruiting

There is a common marketing approach used in recruiting that states some form of “we locate the candidates who aren’t looking.”  I suppose the hook is that we can find amazing candidates that you can’t find.  It’s a hook, I guess.  Anyway, here is one I received in an unsolicited email: What we do is go after the best candidates & the elite that are not currently looking for a job as they already have one. We personally present and sell your specific company’s opportunity to their individual needs. Our clients find that these hidden candidates are more stable, more qualified and haven’t been interviewing all over town. Stable?  More… Read More

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An Alternative Trend

We get many press releases every day that mainly announce new products.  However, I did get one from CareerBuilder.com that was fairly interesting.  The topic is sales hiring in 2009 and, not surprisingly, many companies are going to be “cautious.” The format is basically a survey of 2009 trends and the press release lists highlights of their findings.  I apologize for not having a link though I suspect it may be on the CareerBuilder website now. Here is what caught my eye: 2. More Flexibility – Flexible work options continue to be an important benefit for sales employers to provide workers. Nearly four-in-ten (37 percent) of sales employers will provide… Read More

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Salespeople With Emotional Needs

One of the reasons we are so adamant about assessing sales candidates is to know what motivates and rewards the person.  Once identified, these factors can be explored during a face-to-face interview.  There is one reward that requires an in-depth discussion with any sales candidate who possesses it – Status & Recognition. This salesperson is rewarded by prestige, social acknowledgement and tangible trophies.  Let me be clear – this is a strong reward structure for a salesperson.  However, when it is over-amplified, it becomes a detriment. I have a friend in sales who has this issue.  He is incredibly knowledgeable about his complex product line.  He speaks about it on… Read More

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We’re Back…

Ok, we never really went anywhere, we just took the holidays off and enjoyed a time of relaxation.  Now the new year is upon us along with what I consider the best selling time of the year.  From now until Memorial Day, companies are implementing plans, purchasing equipment/services and focused on business.  It is a window for any salesperson to start strong on their 2009 quota. This year definitely will challenge many salespeople as the worldwide economies have been in a funk.  However, sales still occur.  One thing about being a successful salesperson – you have to have passion with controlled emotions.  I’ve seen salespeople allow themselves to get into… Read More

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