In this issue:

Application in Action:  Writing the Ad

As discussed in our featured article this month, Attracting the Right Candidates requires translating the information from the profile of your ideal sale to the written ad.  Let’s say we profile our client’s sale and discover they have a relationship sale that ideally takes 4 months to go from first connect to closing the order.  The relationship is with the Vice President of Marketing and they are entering a new vertical market – trade shows and business expos.  Our client is a high value player but they do not possess a top ten market share in their other verticals.  They compete on the value of their services as opposed to being the lowest-priced option.

Immediately we know the ad needs to incorporate extra background information on the company.  The vast majority of strong relationship salespeople greatly value their personal relationship with their employer.  We need to access that value by building some corporate background for them.

Next, we need to define what aptitudes and skills will lead to successfully closing sales in this role.  The salesperson will need skills to enter at the VP level of the prospect company.  Do not assume all candidates have this ability!  There is nothing more aggravating to a busy Vice President than to receive a clumsy cold call from a nervous salesperson.

The salesperson must open up a new market for the company so prospecting for new customers is required for success.  Developing existing customers will not be a factor at this point.  The ideal salesperson will need to be comfortable spending 75% of their time prospecting via the phone and email in a new market.

Lastly, they will need to have the ability to sell value in a new market that has downward price pressure.  The company does not have a name to powerfully leverage so success will require the ability to sell the value of the company.  We have seen numerous salespeople who move from a market leader to a relatively unknown company in the same industry and flounder about trying to get meetings with prospects.  They do not possess the skills to get in front of prospects without a market leader’s name on their business card.

There is far more information from the profile of the sale that gets incorporated into the ad.  This abbreviated example illustrates the key importance of writing the ad to the successes the job requires.  The ideal salesperson will recognize these items as a match to their strengths.

Here is a general outline to follow when authoring the ad:

Title – keep it interesting and use more than just the position title

Introduction – describe your company’s history, environment and market position

Requirements – define the skills & aptitudes that lead to success in the position

Responsibilities – highlight critical functions of the position

Qualifications – desired experience and/or certifications

Response – method by which candidates should respond (phone, email, fax)

We have found this basic format to be highly effective.  However, each position, company and market requires differing styles.  The content of the ad is what will move the right salesperson into action.  The best action response is to have them pick up the phone and call in to your company.  Next month we will explore the phone screen techniques that effectively separate the wheat from the chaff.

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