2 Questions to Ask Sales People

One of the most frequent questions we get on hiring is, “What do I ask sales people to get past the BS?”

For many, hiring sales people is difficult. The fact is most sales people think they can sell anything, when in fact the sales processes are so different, many don’t actually sell as much as take orders.

Here are two screening questions I use to at least eliminate sales people that embellish and claim to be hard charging.

1) “Give me an example of where you demonstrated high initiative?”  Seems to me like a simple question, yet most sales people can’t answer it because most sales people don’t take high initiative. So often I get one of two answers. One is that they tell me about a sale they made where they had to call on the customer  5 or 6 times to get the deal. WOW. Doesn’t every salesperson have to do this? Isn’t that just part of the job? I don’t consider this high initiative and if they do I’m not impressed. The second common answer is that they go back three or four jobs for the example. So what have you done for me lately? They don’t consistently demonstrate high initiative.

2) Every sales person has on their resume a bullet that reads in one way or another, “Increased sales by X%.” Usually some figure between 30 and 60 percent. The obvious question to me is, “What two numbers did you divide to get that percentage?”  I find 1 in 10 can answer this question. Not because they made it up (although I don’t rule that out), but because they take the position the company grew by X% and I’m in sales, so I did it.

For me, these are phone screening questions I like to ask. It does eliminate a lot of candidates, that in the past, I might have presented to one of my clients and for hiring managers desperate to hire a sales person. It is tough to eliminate candidates, but I have found the ones that can answer these two question have been successful.

Just released our 2010 Complete  Success Factor Hiring Methodology System. This is the most comprehensive hiring methodology on the market. If you want to build a hiring system based on successful people and a system that puts candidates in the job BEFORE you hire them, then this system will show you how. CLICK HERE to learn more.

Our, “Cost Of A Bad Hire” calculator is available to help you get a handle on your total cost of hiring. Download our free worksheet at http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/index.php/cost-of-hire

 

We welcome your comments and thoughts.

Brad Remillard

 

 

The Top Ten Mistakes Executives Make in Choosing Recruiters

How do you pick the right recruiter?

How do avoid making a mistake in selecting such an important trusted advisor?

In a survey project conducted over 3 years with 425 CEOs and Senior Executives we identified the Top Ten Mistakes that are made in choosing executive recruiters. We took on this survey project after hearing over 25 years horror story after horror story from companies who had retained recruiters to help fill critical positions.

We began to wonder why so many CEOs and Senior Executives were frustrated by the process of choosing and working with executive recruiters.

In my following ten blog postings I’ll identify the Top Ten Mistakes of Choosing Recruiters. You’ll probably want to LOLROFL as my daughter is fond of texting – you’ll first want to Laugh Out Loud while Rolling on the Floor when you read the Top Ten Mistakes. Then laughter will give way to anger and frustration as you realize how your company has made multiple mistakes in choosing and working with recruiters over the years – the bad hires, the painful experiences, and searches not completed – all the result  of mistakes in choosing recruiters – and which could have been easily avoided.

Do you have a pet peeve about choosing or working with recruiters?

What’s your horror story that you could share with our blog readers?

If there was one mistake you’ve made in the past in choosing a recruiter, how would you avoid making that same mistake in the future?

Listen to our recent Radio Show Broadcast in our FREE Audio Library on this subject of the classic mistakes companies make in choosing recruiters.

Join us in our LinkedIn Discussion Group on Hiring Top Talent for a conversation about choosing and working with recruiters.

Barry Deutsch

Number 1 Biggest Hiring Mistake Radio Show

This mistake just by itself leads to so many problems in the hiring process it is no wonder only 56% of hires are successful. In a research project we commission of over 130 companies and 230 executive hires we identified the 10 biggest mistakes companies make when hiring. There wasn’t even a close second.

This one mistake is so powerful it impacts, sourcing, interviewing, references, compensation, title and on-boarding.
It is truly the powerful hiring mistake.  We give you the simple, but not necessarily an easy, solution that all companies can do to ensure they don’t make this mistake.

You can download the complete research study from our website at: www.impacthiringsolutions.

10 Mistakes Companies Make Working With Recruiters – Radio Show

Many CEOs and Executives are disappointed by the performance of the executive recruiters they have chosen. Through extensive surveys, IMPACT Hiring Solutions has identified The Top Ten Mistakes and False Assumptions companies make in selecting executive recruiters. Don’t fall victim to one of these mistakes. Your next hire is too important to make false assumptions, errors, and mistakes on selecting the recruiter who will help you bring top talent to your company. Discover mistakes ranging from assuming the recruiter must have industry/functional knowledge of the position to false assumptions about the interviewing process used by most recruiters to recommend candidates. After listening to this audio program, you’ll never again fall victim to the top ten mistakes companies make in selecting executive recruiters.

The cost of a bad calculator is available to download for free and a cultural assessment worksheet on our website www.impacthiringsolutions.com

Why Passive Candidates Require Special Handling. A True Story.

I asked a candidate after an interview, “How did the meeting go with the CEO?”

The candidate sarcastically replied, “Remind me again, why would I want to leave my current position and go to work there?”

Not exactly the sort of answer I was searching for.

He was what we refer to as a, “passive candidate.”  Meaning, he wasn’t actively on the job market. He wasn’t in any hurry to make a job change. He was open to exploring opportunities and seriously evaluating them, but would only make a change if all aspects of the position were beneficial to him and his career. He had to have good chemistry with the CEO, understand the company’s vision, and his role in helping achieve the vision. Basically, he wasn’t going to just make a move.

In the same way, the stars have to align for the company to want him. They also had to align for him to want them. A new concept for many companies to really comprehend at a deep level.

Yes, the hiring process is a two way street.

Needless to say, I wanted to understand what happened. As the candidate explained it, “I have now been out to the company three times and spent approximately 4 to 5 hours interviewing. I first met for an hour and  a half with HR going over my background. I then met with the person leaving the position. Once again we spent roughly an hour plus going over my background. Both gave me an overview of the position and about 10 minutes to ask questions. Then comes the CEO. Both previous interviewers spent time explaining how the company was reinventing itself and how this role was critical to helping in that process. I expected when I met with the CEO that we would discuss some of those issues, his plan for the reinventing, how my background would add value, and that I would finally have time to ask some of my questions.”

Sounded right and reasonable so far. As he continued to explain the problem, “After taking the morning off work for the 9 AM interview, I waited in the lobby for 25 minutes for the CEO. I was ready to leave when the assistant came to get me. The CEO explained he has to leave for a plane by 10:30, so I’m thinking why are doing this? There isn’t enough time to discuss any of the issues in any depth. Instead of discussing any of the issues, he proceeded to go through my background now for the third time. Don’t these people communicate? By the time he finished it was about 10:20 and he asked if I had any questions. I indicated that I did, but there wasn’t enough time to discuss them, and would it be possible to schedule another meeting, which we did.”

My conversation ended with the candidate asking me to cancel the meeting they scheduled, as he wasn’t really that interested, so why waste the time.  Is it any wonder?

The company was surprised the candidate wasn’t interested. Even after I relayed the above story to them. This had never happened before.

• A candidate turning them down?
• A candidate canceling a meeting with the CEO?
• A candidate that doesn’t want our job?
• A candidate that doesn’t understand waiting 25 minutes in the lobby for an interview?
• A candidate that isn’t desperate for our position?

They didn’t respect the candidate, his time, his position, and didn’t take any time to build rapport. They didn’t give him any time to address what was on his mind.

Why would a passive candidate be interested?

So I recommended the following changes:

1. All candidates must be met in the lobby at the designated time, the same way a customer would be met.
2. Spend some time marketing the position.
3. Learn about the candidate’s motivations and interests.
4. The candidates meet the CEO on the first interview. This demonstrates the importance of the position to the candidate and starts the rapport building process which is critical to passive candidates.
5. It is an interview, not an interrogation. Make it a discussion.
6. Every candidate is given ample time to ask questions and interact. The interviewer will learn more from the candidate’s questions than from the answers they give.
7. More time to explain the position, the importance this role will play, the impact on the organization and time to build rapport with the candidate.

These simple changes would have made all the difference with the candidate. Instead, they lost a great candidate for not treating the person as an executive and a person.

Every interview is a PR event. It is doubtful this candidate will have much good to say about the company should he encounter another candidate considering employment at the company.

Which is a shame as it really is a good company with good people.

Our “Cost Of A Bad Hire” calculator is available to help you get a handle on your total cost of hiring. Download for free worksheet. http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/index.php/cost-of-hire

Culture is one of the biggest reasons a good hire goes bad. Find out what your culture is, and how people in your organization define it.  Click here to downloand your Culture Assessment.

What Are The Total Costs Of A Bad Hire?

Business guru Peter Drucker has said, “Of all the decisions an executive makes, none are as important as the decision about people because they ultimately determine the performance capacity of the organization.” Warren Bennis, professor of business at the University of Southern California and author of Managing the Dream, calls the search for top talent “the most significant problem facing all organizations.”

According to a study by the Corporate Leadership Council, hiring the wrong executive can cost an organization as much as three times their annual salary. The Gallup Organization has noted that the cost of poor hiring decisions may even be much higher than previously estimated. Some researchers have calculated the cost of a bad hire can be as high as twenty four times the position’s base salary.

Presidents, CEOs, Boards of Directors, and Hiring Managers should never underestimate the ramifications of a bad hire. The fallout can affect an entire organization, doing far more damage than leaving the position empty would have.

While reasonable experts may disagree about specific salary-to-cost ratios, the fact remains that the cost of new executive failure is much higher than merely search costs and salary. Those are just two of the direct costs.

Indirect costs typically add up to much more.

Some of the direct and indirect costs noted in various studies we reviewed include:

• wasted salary, benefits, and severance
• lost recruitment fees and training costs
• lower personal productivity among dissatisfied employees
• disruptions caused by dissatisfied employees
• higher turnover rates among productive employees
• damages to reputation and market share
• lost management time
• increased stress and anxiety from people problems

The person hurt most just might be the executive who was set up for failure. This person accepted a position based generally on a vague job description, and then found reality did not match up to their or the hiring manager’s perceptions.

Having a structured, formal, and sophisticated hiring process, with well trained people in the process will ensure that these bad hires are significantly reduced and often eliminated.

Calculate the total cost of a bad hire using our “Cost Of Bad Hire” worksheet. CLICK HERE.

What’s the most stupid interview question?

Amy Andrews at The Secrets of the Job Hunt Blog, posted an article titled “The Dreaded “Tell Me About Yourself”. Right after posting, my partner Brad Remillard posted an article on our Job Search and Career Management Blog titled “Tell Me About Yourself. Why Is This Question Asked In An Interview“.

As I mentioned in my comments on her blog posting, I consider this to be one of the most stupid interview questions of all time. Why bother to ask it? What does it really tell you?

After 25 years in executive search, having sat in thousands of interviews with my clients, this is one of the most common interview questions – if not THE most common interview question. The first time my clients ask this question in an interview is the last time they’ll ever ask it.

Once we’ve trained them in the 5 Core Question Interview structure, they know if they do the “Tell me About Yourself” – I’ll literally take them into the hallway and slap them around.

This “Tell Me About Yourself” is a throw-away question.

It’s asked by hiring managers who have not been trained in effective interviewing techniques.

It’s a tribal hiring question passed down through the generations of “I learned it from the old guy who learned it from the dead guy”.

Many hiring managers fail to explain to me why they’re even asking the question. The usual response is either “That’s what I thought I’m supposed to ask” or “That’s how I learned to start an interview (based on what I was asked 22 years ago when I got interviewed for the first time).

For a better set of questions that can yield accurate interview results well into the 80%-90% range, examine our 5 Core Question Interview . These questions have been deeply researched by Brad and I over 25 years and well over 100,000 candidate interviews. The first 3 of the set are the primary behavioral elements for top talent, and the last two are specific to the job. The questions can be asked at every level in an organization – from the part-time warehouse clerk to the Senior Vice President of Marketing.

As an additional resource, Brad and I have posted our radio shows talking about interviewing and the proper questions to predict future success. You can find these in our FREE Resources.

Stay tuned for the my next blog posting on a better way to open the interview instead of asking a canned, inane, and useless, unfocused question.

Barry

Don’t forget to join our LinkedIn Discussion Group for Hiring Managers on How to Hire and Retain Top Talent.