I have seen versions of this statement appearing in quite a few sales ads: The ability to work well independently and within a collaborative environment I think I understand what they are saying, but it is a poorly constructed bullet point. Independent salespeople tend not to work well in collaborative cultures. The same is true of collaborative salespeople, they tend to struggle in an independent role. For me, this type of writing is either lazy, unfocused and/or wishful. The better approach here is to define what a typical sale looks like in your company. Use that information to determine if you need a salesperson with an independent mindset or a… Read More
Continue ReadingTrends From The Tech Support Line
Everything is so serious these days that it is nice to find some levity. This is good – a company recently tracked aspects of 75,000 tech support calls. They have some gender-related data (emphasis mine): Male callers: 64% didn’t bother to read the instruction manual before calling for help. Female callers: 24% didn’t bother to read the instruction manual before calling for help. Male callers: 12% just needed to plug in their gear to “resolve their issue”. Female callers: 7% ditto! Female callers stayed on the phone with tech support 32% longer than male callers. 66% of tech support operators said they preferred dealing with female clients, anyway. So according… Read More
Continue Reading‘Help Wanted’ Has Become Obsolete
Isn’t that the truth? Here are some sobering points from a CNNMoney.com article: Businesses with fewer than 50 employees cut another 75,000 workers in October, according to estimates released Wednesday from payroll processor ADP. … A telephone survey of 830 small business owners conducted by management consulting firm George S. May International from Oct. 28-30 found that 74% of the owners polled do not plan to increase their staff headcount in the next 90 days. It has been our experience that sales hiring typically slows down during the holiday season, but companies often discuss their Q1 hiring plans with the intention of a fast start to the new year. Unfortunately… Read More
Continue ReadingTalent Is Dreadfully Cheap
How about this quote from Stephen King’s Danse Macabre (h/t JustSell.com): … talent is a dreadfully cheap commodity, cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work and study; a constant process of honing. Talent is a dull knife that will cut nothing unless it is wielded with great force — a force so great that the knife is not really cutting at all but bludgeoning and breaking… Discipline and constant work are the whetstones upon which the dull knife of talent is honed until it becomes sharp enough, hopefully, to cut through even the toughest meat and gristle.
Continue ReadingDecline Of The Dinosaur Boards
Here is a job title of a job posting I read this morning on one of the 2 large boards: SECRET CASH LOOPHOLE Here is the opening line of the ad: EARN AN EXTRA $1,000 a Week Working Less Than an Hour a Day, or $500 a Day Working 2-3 Hours a Day. As an aside, it is a good policy to be highly suspicious of any position that leads with your ability to earn more doing less. Perhaps couch potatoes are their top prospects. I realize in a recession with extremely high unemployment that these types of positions materialize. However, the two big boards are being overrun by these… Read More
Continue ReadingA Minimalist Job Posting
Here is a sales job posting I clicked on this morning: Regional Account Executive- Minneapolis About the Job That is it – the rest is a scrollable white page. It gets better – the hiring company is in computer software.
Continue ReadingDon’t Trust The Dow
I have heard many cheerleader reports attempting to claim the recession is over and the recovery has begun. I’m not so certain especially when these people note the stock market as the leading indicator. This article from CNNMoney.com explains why this cheerleader approach is flawed (my bold): Several experts point out than many of the relatively strong earnings reports helping to lift the markets in recent days are being driven by cost cuts, rather than strong revenue growth that would be a better indicator of consumers and businesses being willing to spend again. If businesses keep cutting costs to make the numbers that Wall Street wants to see, that can… Read More
Continue ReadingThis Is 85% Of Sales Success
From an article in our local StarTribune.com (bold mine): A Carnegie Foundation study once found that only 15 percent of a businessperson’s success could be attributed to job knowledge and technical skills — considered an essential element but overall, a small contribution. A whopping 85 percent could be determined by “attitude” and the “ability to deal with people.” I grant you that “attitude” is a fat word – I’m not sure exactly how he defines it in this survey. Nonetheless, you get the point when it comes to hiring. I would estimate that 85% of sales hires are based on technical skills as opposed to the ability to deal with… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Employment Rate
I was having an economic discussion with my father this past weekend and we got on to the topic of the unemployment rate. I remember hearing John Sumser in talk last year state that having a national unemployment number is pointless. Unemployment is local – it depends upon the region and, even more, the city in which you are employed. I agree completely with that premise. The current national unemployment number is listed at 9.8%, but there is much discussion about what the real number is. I have heard that it is closer to 16% if you factor in the people who have stopped looking and/or had their unemployment benefits… Read More
Continue ReadingHumble Ad Writing
Honestly, I came across this title to a sales ad: I make more money in a month than you make all year Fantastic! That is one humble title. As you can imagine, the ad is written in a casual, confrontational style to challenge the most aggressive sales candidates. I wouldn’t write an ad this way, but true confession – I got a kick out of it.
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