{"id":1421,"date":"2008-02-13T16:26:58","date_gmt":"2008-02-13T22:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/02\/how-does-your-city-rank-in-terms-of-stress\/"},"modified":"2008-02-13T16:25:05","modified_gmt":"2008-02-13T22:25:05","slug":"how-does-your-city-rank-in-terms-of-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/02\/how-does-your-city-rank-in-terms-of-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Your City Rank In Terms of Stress?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/edit_special\/62.html\">This article<\/a> ranks 50 metros in terms of relative \u201dstress\u201d and I was glad to see my metro did not make the top 10. We did, however, miss the \u201cTop 10 Least Stressful\u201d metros (by one place). Distressing, to say the least. Those of us who live in the Twin Cities love to brag on our quality of life, even more so than our weather. We love being in the top 10 of any silly survey.<\/p>\n<p>It made me think about the stress of working in sales. The constant pressure to perform. The uncertainty of the deal. The hidden power centers and arcane purchasing rules. The shifty clients and the wayward economy. Off-shore competition. Crabby sales managers (OK, that was a dig, but I am entitled having lived on both sides of that aisle).<\/p>\n<p>Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re interviewing for that next sales person, you better find out how they handle stress or you might simply be adding to your own. Does the candidate shut down? Blame others? Avoid confrontation (and thereby avoid closing the tough deal)? Or do they readily accept the conditions of the job and figure out ways to succeed without exploding?<\/p>\n<p>Now, you say to yourself, if this is such a key attribute, how do I evaluate that candidate? Ask them during the final interview?<\/p>\n<p>Better to address it with a careful assessment, up front. Our friends at Select Metrix capture a lot of key information during their online assessment of sales candidates, including skills, motivations and rewards. Plus, they use their unique approach as another proving ground, each conversation or contact with the candidate carefully crafted to place that salesperson into facsimiles of real-life sales situations. The candidate is evaluated not only by their answers to the assessment questions, but also in how they respond to the challenges, topic shifts and intentional obstacles that the Select Metrix interviewer throws at them. It\u2019s like this \u2013 they try to intentionally stress them out to see how they handle it!<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the analogy that pops into my head \u2013 an NFL quarterback who can\u2019t handle crowd noise won\u2019t succeed, despite all the basic skills and athletic ability. So too, a sales professional needs to be able to handle the stress of our highly competitive and fast-paced world of commerce.<\/p>\n<p>Assess the stress and stay out of the scary forest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article ranks 50 metros in terms of relative \u201dstress\u201d and I was glad to see my metro did not make the top 10. We did, however, miss the \u201cTop 10 Least Stressful\u201d metros (by one place). Distressing, to say the least. Those of us who live in the Twin Cities love to brag on our quality of life, even more so than our weather. We love being in the top 10 of any silly survey. It made me think about the stress of working in sales. The constant pressure to perform. The uncertainty of the deal. The hidden power centers and arcane purchasing rules. The shifty clients and the&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/02\/how-does-your-city-rank-in-terms-of-stress\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,16,5],"tags":[316,1762,315,317,318],"class_list":["post-1421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-assessing","category-hiring-salespeople","category-trends","tag-handling-stress","tag-hiring-salespeople","tag-stress","tag-stress-assessment","tag-stressful-cities"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Oho-mV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24909,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2019\/02\/the-stressful-interview-real-world-sales\/","url_meta":{"origin":1421,"position":0},"title":"The Stressful Interview = Real World Sales","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"February 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The BBC provides a look into a \"stress interview\" which is an interview approach that places an inordinate amount of stress on the candidate.\u00a0 The goal is to learn how the candidate handles the pressure in an unexpected environment.\u00a0 This approach should sound like a sales call.\u00a0 It does to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Steam-Presssure-Valve.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Steam-Presssure-Valve.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Steam-Presssure-Valve.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":444,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2006\/11\/sales-aptitudes-series-handling-stress\/","url_meta":{"origin":1421,"position":1},"title":"Sales Traits Series &#8211; Handling Stress","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"November 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"You could argue that this week's aptitude - Handling Stress - is a key component in almost every job. In sales, it is critical because the typical sales position involves multiple levels of stress. Whether it be presentations in front of many Directors and VP's or dealing with an irate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aptitudes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aptitudes","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/assessing\/aptitudes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1158,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/08\/sales-traits-series-internal-self-control\/","url_meta":{"origin":1421,"position":2},"title":"Sales Traits Series &#8211; Internal Self Control","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"August 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This week's trait is one that measures a salesperson's ability to remain detached from an emotionally-charged situation.\u00a0 Sales requires a cool, level-headed approach even in instances where emotions are high.\u00a0 We highly value salespeople who can keep their personal self detached from their work self. Internal Self ControlThis is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aptitudes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aptitudes","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/assessing\/aptitudes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25469,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2019\/02\/emotional-intelligence-of-leaders\/","url_meta":{"origin":1421,"position":3},"title":"Emotional Intelligence Of Leaders","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"February 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"What are the keys to EQ?\u00a0 This post from TTI provides great insight into the entire topic.\u00a0 A couple traits to consider: 1.\u00a0Possess self-awareness Before someone can be effective interacting with others, they need to have a conscious knowledge of their own character, feelings, motives, and desires. The \u201cfeelings\u201d part\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Communication&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Communication","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/communication\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Emotional-Chess.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Emotional-Chess.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Emotional-Chess.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":786,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/03\/sales-traits-series-emotional-control\/","url_meta":{"origin":1421,"position":4},"title":"Sales Traits Series &#8211; Emotional Control","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"March 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Sales can be an emotional roller coaster.\u00a0Sales can be frustrating\u00a0and anger-inducing.\u00a0 Conversely, sales can be joyful and exciting.\u00a0But what about salespeople who allow these emotions to rule their behavior?\u00a0Successful selling requires poise in the midst of an emotionally-charged environment.\u00a0This week we look at one of the top 10 traits for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aptitudes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aptitudes","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/assessing\/aptitudes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47946,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2019\/05\/soft-skills-needed-in-sales\/","url_meta":{"origin":1421,"position":5},"title":"Soft Skills Needed In Sales","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"May 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The customer experience shift occurring right before our eyes is causing a sea change in sales.\u00a0 The transactional sale is being consumed by a myriad of company websites offering products and solutions.\u00a0 I think this description from the TTI blog deftly describes the trend in sales hiring: Only a few\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sales Techniques&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sales Techniques","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-techniques\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Heart-Hands.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Heart-Hands.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Heart-Hands.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1421\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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