The disconnection between the managers of sales and recruiters causing challenges for both. Together, they can resolve this issue through the creation of his company& 39;s sales Talent Screening Program.
Candidate screening is one of the most difficult tasks that recruiters and managers face. Most will tell you that sales screening talent is the most difficult of all. Why? Sales people are trained in the art of persuasion. They know how to provide the answers to the questions you want. Even more frightening is when you are interviewing people who worked sales of a competitor. These sales people know the language and industry buzz words making it even more challenging to screen them. Traste not! It is possible to successfully screen sales talent, but there is still work to do before you even look r sum .
The another important step in a company can take is to develop a programme of sales talent screening. This helps bring focus to the initiative. The mission of this program is to provide data that enables the measurement of the candidate pedigree versus the desired profile. Think in terms of formulating a marriage, a marriage sales, which is.
This programme should be fully documented showing step by step the components of the programme of screening. It is best to define who will interview the candidates and their role in the process of the interview. He must define the tools that will be used, and its purpose. Below are seven key components of an effective screening of sales talent program.
1. Ideal sales person profile. It has always surprised me how many companies have completely documented profiles of its ideal customer. However, few have a profile of their ideal sales person. How can you screen when you do not know what it is you are sorting? Many of you have in mind a clear picture of the profile of their ideal mate. My bet is most of your close friends can rattle off his profile in a heartbeat. The same principle applies to sales talent. If you do not know exactly what you& 39;re looking for, as you vai find it?
This profile should be fully detailed. Some of the areas addressed in the profile are the experiences that you expect the candidate already have the skills that candidates should already have and the skills you are not willing to teach. Yes, this is a subject on which I have devoted extensive another article. (Send me an email and I& 39;ll send you a link to this article.)
The lack of a fully-defined the profile of the ideal person sales is the most common cause of poor sales marriages. It is also the main point of frustration among recruiters and managers of sales. Recrutadores often tell me that they feel they are throwing darts while blindfolded, because they have so little details about the desired profile.
2. Always be recruiting. In sales, there is an old expression. " The moment more difficult to make a venda is when you really need one. " The same applies to recruitment. When a slot is open on the sales team, it becomes an exercise all hands on deck to fill it. While the bank is open, revenue targets are in danger. This leads many to forget the profile of the ideal person profile sales in the interest of filling a seat. Playing it forward a little, the seat vacant again a short time later, when both sides determines that it is not a good fit.
Sales is recruiting a full year performance. The best sales forces are always on look by strong sales talent. Finding a company that identifies a strong candidate who meets their profile that would not find a way to hire this individual. It is a rarity to say the least. Sales teams have business or driven by the company or the employee. It is better to have a candidate in the portfolio than ready to begin a process of coating of candidates, when a seat is open. Poor hiring decisions are made in desperation to fill a seat. The bank is open a cost to society every day, is vague. However, the cost is more painful if the seat is filled by someone who does not fit.
3. Reverse Interviewing. Since the intent of the process is for both sides to determine whether a marriage should be made, a wonderful technique is to reverse the interview. This is an interview by a member of the sales team that would be a peer if the candidate was hired. It is important that the individual (s) selected to participate in this stage are loyal to the company, understood, and make a good impression. However, the " " interviewer not ask any questions of the candidate. As you know, is very easy to get into hot water if illegal questions are asked. So you do not want people without asking questions. There are two effects of this component of the programme of sales talent screening. The first is to give the candidate a chance to ask questions of who would be their peers if they were to be hired. In essence, is a way to get a picture of one day in the life of this job.
The second objective is to measure how the candidate prepares for a sales call. A debrief is conducted with the interviewer " reverse " to see what questions were asked. If the candidate take advantage of this opportunity, they brought prepared, insightful questions and wrote down answers. If not, what kind of preparation will be the candidate to make a sales call? As they are truly interested in this work? From time to time, a candidate must ask a question the person, such as sales, " You can take off at noon on Friday? " It goes without saying that the lapse of judgement raises a red flag of concern?
4. Standard interview questions. Often, many candidates are evaluated by a working slot. This creates a need to be able to compare the candidates to each other, beyond the profile. To do so, a standard set of interview questions are necessary. The answers are documented and reviewed during the interview after a candidate leaves the office. These questions are not designed to provide answers right or wrong. They are designed to see if he thought the candidate process is consistent with the needs of your company and the profile of the ideal sales person.
When make its list of standard questions, it is useful to include some sales scenarios that are common in your environment. " His client balks at the price of its proposal. What do you do? " It is also useful to have doubts that shows what makes this person tick. Since some colleges have " sales " as a major, is always interesting to see how someone came to a career in sales. " Of all the careers you could choose, why did you choose sales? "
The hot topic in today& 39;s world is recruiting behavioral interviewing which is a powerful tool. Behavior interview, also called competency-based interviews, focuses on the behavior of the past. As a doctor friend of mine always says, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. The idea here is not to ask questions arbitrary but to ask questions that help expose areas that affect the marriage sales. If your company is always changing, you can determine how the candidate deals with change. " please, share with me a moment when you had to adapt to change. " As in any good interview, further probe is needed to reach the root of the problem. " How did you deal with that? What did you learn from the experience? "
You can probably imagine how hard it is to formulate questions that show whether this marriage vai work if you do not have a profile against which to compare. If that vai help you, send me an email and I will send you my favorite 28 standard questions when interviewing a person.
5 sales. Mock sales call. What better way to see if someone fits in your environment than venda of the company to put them right in it! To do this effectively, you need to create a scenario for the candidate. I found it more beneficial to the candidate with the scene one day in advance so they can prepare. Shall be provided with the same amount of information from a sales person in your company is usually before making a first members of venda call.
Those your company participating in the exercise should be a little full. I say a little " " because you do not want it to be so dry that it is not realistic, but without any scripts that may be difficult to remain in character.
The last piece you need to do this well is a bulletin of play. I know what you& 39;re looking to measure the score in the process and accordingly. They can carry out a thorough analysis of needs? Do they identify the challenges faced by this prospect? Would you buy from them?
It is best when the scoring is done by a non-participant of the so-called simulated sales. It is hard to distract the candidate if someone jots notes as they are speaking. What happens is that the candidate spends the rest of the year trying to read what was written.
6. Assessment tests online. There are a multitude of tools that are very useful in the screening process for both personality and ability. When some mistakes in the application is the data from these tools. Few, if any, assessing online companies suggest that the tool should be used to a rental / lease any decision. The application is more appropriate treat it as a point of additional data on sales talent screening program.
Linda Moeller, Director of Product Continuum employee leader, has seen companies use this great tool incorrectly. " We have seen many organizations do not have the context of an organization into account in deciding the most appropriate assessment of use. For example, many organizations assume that the implementation of an assessment of sales will guarantee them better sales performance. This is not necessarily the case. For example, the personality characteristics required for a person who sells office supplies sales to purchasing agents are very different than those required for a vendor selling everything needed for a dentist office. To be successful, an organization needs to consider the kind of relationship they have with their clients and skills that will make these relationships successful. "
7. The last screening tool. Writing is a lost art. However, we are more dependent on written communication than ever. E-mail! There is something worse than a poorly written email is sent to a prospect? No matter how good is your product or service, your company now looks sloppy and unprofessional.
An effective technique for screening sales talent is the use of mini-business plan. When the candidate has satisfactorily completed all other steps in the pre-bid, the request is made by a business plan for a page that shows how they approach the job. I mention three times that I am only looking for a one-page plan and ask when they can send it to me. It is important that the date will be requested to present the candidate, not the opposite as you will see in a moment.
Of of all the techniques I have used over the years, this is the only one where I have most of the candidates drop out and I was always happy to hear that sales this marriage would not work, before being formulated.
This technique allows it to evaluate a number of important areas:
? They can communicate in written form coherent? If you were a customer receiving this document, which you receive messages about the perpetrators?
? Do they understand what the role requires? Since this component is done late in the process, they should have a clear view of work and expectations.
? His approach is consistent with the expectations of management? We know better now do not feel comfortable with her game plan.
? They can meet a self-imposed deadline? If the plan is late, the candidate is no longer considered to role.
? They can follow directions? I asked for a one-pager, and not an epic. Having a talented sales screening program has many benefits. The most obvious impact is a longer-term sales of its sales team, which means an increase in the performance of sales and a reduction in staff turnover. It can do anything except to help the bottom line of any company.
Lee B. Salz is president of sales Dodo, LLC and author of " Soar Despite His Dodo Sales Manager. " He specializes in helping companies and organizations to adapt their sales and thrive in the ever-changing world of business. Lee is available for keynote speaking, business consulting, training and sales. He can be reached by email at lsalz@salesdodo.com on your site www.salesdodo.com at 763.416.4321 or by phone. This article is reproduced with the permission of ERE www.ere.net. nicotine withdrawl
