This is the closing sentence from a long, detailed sales manager ad I read this morning: For full job details, to apply online, and to learn more about our dynamic organization, please visit our website at www.company.com and search for Req ID# XXXXXX. “Search for” a req on their website? I followed the link and it simply takes you to the home page of their rather extensive website. I went 5 clicks deep into the site and still did not find the specific job listing. Don’t do this. It may work for web developer positions, but not for sales positions.
Continue ReadingThe Chef-Hiring Analogy
I’ve been on this resume topic all week but it is important enough to continue. First let me give you the setup and then an analogy. We run a detailed, repeatable process to identify the strongest candidates for a specific position. Our process includes profiling the typical sale and then sourcing candidates based on the information revealed in the profile. We run candidates through a phone screen where we actually mirror the pressure they will encounter when calling on your prospects. We score them and have the top candidates complete a battery of objective, online assessments. We will even ask for candidates to complete written, essay-like questions so we can… Read More
Continue ReadingWhere The Jobs Are
In small businesses according to Inc.com’s short article Small Businesses Driving Job Growth. Private-sector payrolls rose by 64,000 jobs in April, including 45,000 new jobs at small businesses, according to the ADP National Employment Report. By contrast, jobs at larger firms dropped by 10,000, the fourth straight month of declines, the report said. Nothing wrong with that fact. We have been working with a wide variety of companies lately and there definitely seems to be hiring momentum in the “smaller” businesses.
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Attention To Detail
Ah, this week we look at a trait that tends to be foreign to many salespeople. But that need is changing as the market factors become more complex. If your sale typically includes a complex, detailed offering, this trait is definitely one to measure in all candidates. Attention To Detail This is the ability to notice and dedicate mental resources towards details. This trait includes recognizing the component parts of a procedure or object and verifying the correctness or error in an individual part or procedure. A salesperson with strength in this trait will likely be thorough in the execution of their job responsibilities. They will define each job function… Read More
Continue ReadingInterview Etiquette – When To Cancel
I am on the road this week in Dallas interviewing candidates with one of our clients and a situation came up in the last 24 hours that speaks to proper etiquette during the interview/hiring process. There are certain expected behaviors that should be followed by both the employer and the candidate in any process. Yesterday, I received a phone call in the evening from a candidate who wanted to tell me that she was canceling our interview scheduled with her for early this morning. She knew that I was traveling from Minneapolis to Dallas and had even confirmed her interview with us late in the afternoon the day before. So… Read More
Continue ReadingWhere The Ads Are
Newspaper circulation continues its precipitous decline. However, online employment ads have increased 24% from last April according to this Inc.com article. Surprisingly, I talked to a company last month that did not believe online job ads were the way to go. Their plan – post sales ads in the printed newspaper. Some stats: Online job ads totaled 4,365,000 in April 2007, an increase of 16 percent from the previous month, and represented approximately 2.9 vacancies for every 100 persons in the labor force in April, the report said. That is a significant number of ads especially compared to the number of people in the labor force (ever wonder how they… Read More
Continue ReadingKinetic vs. Potential
I’m not physicist, but I remember some teaching in class regarding the difference between kinetic energy (an object in motion) and potential energy (stored energy within an object). Salespeople are similar in that you want to hire the ones with kinetic energy and not the ones with only potential energy. I’m going to stay on this theme since it is so important to successful sales hiring – filtering candidates based on their resume does not allow for determining these two “energies.” Hiring managers attempt to divine kinetic energy from a document that is written to imply kinetic energy/activity. But is it true or is it an embellishment? Or was it… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Allure Of The Resume
When was the last time you read through a marketing piece concerning a product or service you were considering to purchase? Imagine you are in the market to buy a new vehicle. Do you read through the brochure and accept every statement as objectively true? Or how about attending a trade show and picking up a pamphlet at a booth? Do you consider that information to be an advocate’s view or not? Most people view this information as propaganda and rightly so. Yet when it comes to resumes, many hiring managers use this embellished “product” sheet as the definitive filter for interviews. That’s a mistake that leads to inconsistent sales… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Enabling Freedom Of Accessibility
We’ve posted about no-email Fridays and those companies that want to encourage face-to-face meetings and phone calls that day. Now ManageSmarter.com offers a different perspective on being accessible – Office Vs. The Field: Accessibility. The premise of their article is to pit one sales manager’s opinion against one salesperson’s opinion on a specific topic. This time the question is: Should salespeople be accessible 24 hours a day? Both manager and salesperson agree that they should be available. I concur. Technology today allows for salespeople to be responsive in ways that solidify the customer relationship. I particularly like the sales manager’s take on technology: It€™s a salesperson’s responsibility to keep on… Read More
Continue ReadingHow To Lose Revenue
CareerBuilder.com offers a short article titled The Cost of Leaving a Position Unfilled. Now that is an important understanding when it comes to hiring salespeople – the choice to do nothing comes with a price. First a reason that drives our business: When you receive the green light to make a new hire, your company needs you to move on it right away. It is easy for a hiring manager to sit back and tell themselves, as well as those counting on them, that they will get around to beginning the recruitment process shortly. Exactly. Most sales managers were not hired to spend the balance of each day hiring salespeople. … Read More
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