We’ve defined Self-Starting Ability in a previous post – now let’s define a similar, but still different sales trait that is crucial in any role. Initiative This ability directs ones energies toward the completion of a goal without an external catalyst. The ability to initiate actions based on ones own interpretation, or understanding, of a situation. A salesperson with strength in this capacity has the ability to take action as a result of his or her own decisions. They feel comfortable enough in their own abilities to act on their own decisions without consulting others. They will adapt to a dynamic situation and move around unforeseen obstacles without waiting for… Read More
Continue ReadingEnergy Prices and Recruitment
In a recent survey of 3,000 workers and hiring managers by Robert Half and CareerBuilder, almost 50% of the hiring managers think higher energy prices will hamper their ability to recruit skilled workers in the next year. It is very common for hiring managers to be very focused in finding candidates who are extremely local, said Rosemary Haefner, CarererBuilder.coms Vice President of Human Resources. Job seekers are being a lot more selective now of opportunities that are closer to home or can take advantage of mass transit, she said, so they can have a better work/life balance. Now this article takes this information a little far in attempting to paint… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Advancement or Job Hopping?
I just reviewed a sales management resume I received from a gentleman. The resume contains a handful of spelling and grammatical errors which is a concern. But this is what caught my eye, for the past 10 years, he has changed companies every 2 years. This employment pattern is always a red flag for us. Sales is a difficult position to successfully hire as most people know. A main problem is that bad salespeople often use their good rapport-building skills to subtlely, but emotionally, persuade a hiring manager to hire them. We refer to these types as schmoozers. They look like John Wayne in the interview and perform like Elmer… Read More
Continue ReadingDo or Do Not. There Is No Try.
We’re sourcing for an outside sales position in a sunny climate (not here in Minnesota) and had a candidate respond to an ad. He has tremendous industry experience and was good on the phone screen. He was quite inquisitive and asked strong questions about our customer and their market position. He did his due diligence in researching the company which led to his questions. As is our process, we asked him to complete the online assessments as the next step. The candidate paused. He did not complete them. Instead, he decided to research sales assessments and then contacted us to run through his questions on this topic. We answered some… Read More
Continue ReadingEmployment Ads – What Not To Do
I just read a detailed employment ad for a sales position that made me cringe. The ad has 34 bullet points describing everything from the company culture to job responsibilities to candidate qualifications. Too much, too long, to detailed. I read it and thought how will they be able to tell if a sales candidate can qualify? Every possible piece of information is in the ad. Then I read the last sentence of the ad: No calls please. Those 3 words should never appear in a sales employment ad.
Continue ReadingUsing Email At Work
Emailing from work is a high risk endeavor especially now that company’s are required to store all company emails. Right on cue, CareerBuilder.com offers Netiquette: The Niceties Of Workplace Email Use. They quote a survey with a rather small sample size, but there is a surprising statistic: A 2006 survey of 416 companies by the ePolicy Institute in Columbus, Ohio, concludes that 26% of them have fired employees for inappropriate email conduct. That’s up from 21% in 2001. I have seen some egregious emails come from corporate email accounts. I have also dealt with many candidates who use their company email to converse with me regarding a job opportunity. I… Read More
Continue ReadingDon’t Talk. Write.
I’ve been reading up on articles that are discussing how to use email for prospecting as opposed to the traditional cold call. The process has some merit since email has become so ubiquitous and accessible(BlackBerries, PDA cell phones, etc.). The cold call is an interruption in the prospect’s day no matter what time you reach them. Caller ID tied to voicemail provides a great screening tool for prospects. Email has a unique property to it – people do not view it as an interruption since they can check it at times that are convenient for them. Also, most people still enjoy receiving emails. I know spam is an issue, but… Read More
Continue ReadingEmail Cover Letter Advice
BusinessWeek.com with an article written for me – How to Write an E-Mail Cover Letter. If you have read The Hire Sense for some time, you know I have a weakness for poorly-worded cover letters. This quick Q&A article provides a good intro answer: Skip the cover-letter attachment, and turn your e-mail message into a cover letter. A great cover letter shares a bit of your background but mostly talks about the company’s need (for a marketing research manager, an actuary, or whatever) and describes why your experience is perfectly suited to the opportunity. One paragraph is the perfect length. I couldn’t agree more with that advice. However elementary this… Read More
Continue ReadingCustomer Retention Rate
Starbucks card brings sales reward caught my eye first because I have a tremendous coffee addiction and read almost any article I find regarding coffee shops. Second, there is an amazing statistic inside of the article: Most major retailers have been offering gift and loyalty cards for years, but industry observers say few have seen so many of their customers hang on to them as long, use them as often and reload them as regularly as they do at Starbucks. Almost one in eight customers pays with a Starbucks card these days, Stark noted. About 96 million Starbucks cards have been activated in the United States and Canada since November… Read More
Continue ReadingCEO Trend
I’m a fan of Anthony Meaney’s blog over at Recruiting.com. He has a great riff today on an interesting trend – publicly traded company CEOs leaving to join privately held equity firms. The reason from Anthony: Private equity firms are not publicly traded and are not beholden to shareholders, activists, wall street analysts or reporters. Therefore they don’t have to produce unrealistic linear growth every quarter and can make financial decisions for the long term. I am all for CEOs receiving the best pay package they can. It is a free market which means the market will determine the CEOs value to the company. Plus, not all CEOs are crooks,… Read More
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