Here is an excellent reminder from the JustSell.com newsletter: How long was your last presentation? What could be trimmed? Over the next couple weeks (outside the money hours, of course), invest some time examining the brevity of your sales presentations (both your formal and informal versions). For every point ask, €œWhy is this needed for my presentation?€ If you’re unsure of the reason, cut it — lean and effective is your goal (review the presentation checklist here). If you don’t have it written, planned, and practiced, commit to doing it within the month. The chances of rambling skyrocket without a formally developed presentation. Time is money and decision makers who… Read More
Continue ReadingPhone Screens – See The Candidate In Action
Selling Power offers a quick article titled Successful Phone Interviews (the headline writer must have had the day off). I’m not aligned with all of the suggestions, but I cannot stress this one item enough: She also says to pay close attention to candidates’ phone manners €“ especially if they’re going to be using the phone on the job. How does their voice and tone sound? Do they project energy and enthusiasm or do they ramble on, putting you to sleep? How do they answer the phone? The key here is to talk less than the candidate. If you are talking, you are not qualifying. Paying attention to the candidate’s… Read More
Continue ReadingVideo-Conference Interviewing
I have been working through many phone screens and phone interviews over the past few weeks. These interactions are tough for the candidate and for the interviewer. I was at a communication conference this past weekend that restated something I already knew – 55% of all communication is non-verbal. This fact is never more obvious than during a phone interview. So SellingPower.com has an article in their latest hiring newsletter that caught my eye – Three, Two, One, Action. The article discusses video-conference interviewing. I am currently working on national positions in every region except the Southeast. Video conferencing would make this task much easier. Some points: Rooms can cost… Read More
Continue ReadingA Question For Every Candidate
We never, ever phone screen a sales candidate without asking some form of this question: Why are you looking for a new opportunity? This question is revealing especially if you drill down a bit on their initial response. You will learn much about the candidate. We also ask it of previous positions – why did they decide to leave those positions. Listen closely to their response. Just in time comes this line from an email cover (emphasis mine): The company is closing their doors in Minnesota and abolishing all positions. Therefore that is why I am seeking new employment. Dramatic. This respondent certainly gets right to the point on the… Read More
Continue ReadingA Quick Screening Tip
I’m working through another week consisting of one phone screen after another. There are few things that are more revealing than spending time on the phone with sales candidates. One topic I enjoy hearing is a candidate who clearly has experience building a territory from nothing to a significant revenue level. This ability is highly valuable and it doesn’t take long to discover if the candidate has truly done it or not. The candidates who have done it have detailed accounts of successes and failures in growing the revenue. Drill down a level or two on their responses and you will hear either past-tense experiences or theoretical strategies. Listen for… Read More
Continue ReadingSimple Sign Of A Schmoozer
I’m working through many phone screens today and came across a respondent who displayed one of the hallmarks of a schmoozer. A question I often like to lead with is some variation of this: “Give me an overview of your skills and how they would fit into this position based on the ad that you read.” A simple question that assumes they are familiar with the ad. Yet, you would be surprised how often the candidate does not have the ad in front of them or how little they remember from the ad. Some respondents are wise enough to state they don’t have the ad in front of them so… Read More
Continue ReadingWant A Better Answer? Ask A Better Question
The title of this post is a statement often offered by my father. The statement can be slightly aggravating in certain situations, but there is much truth in it. Who? What? Where? When? How? and Why? When phone screening or interviewing salespeople, one of those 5 words should be the lead-in to your question. Yes, I crossed out “Why” for a specific reason that we will get to shortly. We have covered this technique before but it is immeasurably important when screening sales candidates. Do not ask questions that leave you “boxed” in a corner. Those questions tend to have a structure that leads with a verb and always elicits… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Phone Screening Essentials
I have read numerous article over the past few weeks about phone interviewing or screening sales candidates and every one of them miss the mark. Instead of going at what is wrong with each of these articles, I will give you some essentials that make this an effective step in our hiring process. These are the steps we incorporate into each recruitment process we run for our clients. These techniques have been developed through conducting thousands of sales interviews and phone screens over the past few years. What are the main requirements of the job? I am not talking about the job description. Instead, think about a wish list, so… Read More
Continue ReadingQuestions Often Reveal The Skills
We’re working through some sales candidate sourcing activities this week for some new customers and uncovering some strong salespeople. There are many reasons why we incorporate a screening step in our recruiting process, but one of the most important reasons is the questions posed by the candidates. A crucial component of selling is asking the right questions. I laugh as I write this because a saying my father uses came to my mind – “If you want a better answer, ask a better question.” The question content, the question pattern and the follow-up questions are all highly revealing of the quality of sales candidate. A real-life example from one candidate… 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
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