hiring salespeople
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2 Biggest Mistakes Companies Make with Sales Candidates
- February 24, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
At this point in the process, the candidate is the appetizer, movie trailer, and test drive – all rolled into one. If they don’t complete the application and assessment, then why do sales managers and HR managers try so hard to get them to do it? Haven’t these candidates already shown you all you need to know about their follow-through, follow-up, attention to detail, ability to work a sales process, ability to take direction, and commitment to the result? These candidates might even be thinking, “Not if I have to work this hard…”
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What Google Might Know about Hiring Salespeople
- June 22, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The NY Times posted a story on June 20 about Google, their recruiting efforts, and big data. The story really doesn’t reveal that much, but there is an interesting quote (that I will get to shortly) that is relevant to hiring salespeople. When we help companies get the sales selection piece right, there are several components that we tweak. We help them get the following things right:
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Latest Research on Personality Assessments for Sales Selection
- April 15, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Two articles caught my attention today.
The first, 10 Traits of Successful Salespeople, was typical of the misinformation that often passes for must-read information:
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Sales Hiring Chronicles: The Doctor, The Drug Dealer and The User
- January 31, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Recruiters think that all of their candidates walk on water. Clients think that because of our assessment, quality advice and guidance that we walk on water.
So the recruiter sends 5 of the best candidates ever to the client, who has them assessed, and 3 are not recommended. The recruiter is upset, “Why are you using that stupid assessment? You don’t need that! I know these candidates and they’re awesome.”
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Top 10 Things – The First Minute of a Sales Candidate Interview
- February 2, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
In the first minute of your interview with a sales candidate you should know whether you don’t want that candidate working for you. Think about it. If you decide in minute one that this candidate is NOT for you, there are options. You can end the interview and find yourself an hour that you didn’t expect to have. You can complete the interview for practice or you can do it to see if the candidate succeeds at winning you over during the remainder of the interview. If you can be won over after you have written a candidate off, that is exactly what you want in a salesperson.
What should you look for in the first minute that would suggest you don’t want this candidate?
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After Accepting the Sales Job Will the Salesperson Back Out?
- January 17, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Did a sales candidate ever accept your job offer only to back out prior to the agreed upon start date because the individual decided to stay with the current employer?
This happened to a client and it had a tremendous ripple effect.
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Selling Power Hit and Then Miss the Mark on Sales
- November 17, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Yesterday it was the Harvard Business Review article and today it’s a Selling Power article.
They pointed to three qualities that are highly predictive indicators of a top sales performer. Let’s see how their claims (using data from personality assessments) stack up against real sales science (using Objective Management Group’s data from sales specific assessments).
They said the 3 highly predictive qualities are:
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The Hidden Power of the Sales Candidate Follow Up Letter
- November 15, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
You receive follow up letters from your sales candidates all the time, right? And you probably make notes in their files that they sent those nice follow up letters and you might even rank them higher as a result.
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How to Refine Your Sales Candidate Pool and Selection Criteria
- August 13, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
If you aren’t happy with the salespeople you are selecting, you can look in the mirror. Ask yourself to what degree you are putting your likes and dislikes ahead of the data. The data never lies but your eyes will tell you you’re hungry right after you eat! There is a place for gut feel, but it should never take place at selection time when following your gut means overruling the data.
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Bench Strength – The Key to Replacing Salespeople
- July 19, 2010
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to worry about your new salespeople. Once they’re on board, make sure you have a structured, effective 90-day ramp-up program to assure they succeed instead of setting them up for failure.