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Select Metrix
Newsletter |
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March, 2005
Vol. 1, Issue
3 |
Under Pressure
Last month we introduced the key areas for
authoring ads that
attract the right salespeople.
The second key in the ad was to move the candidates to a phone
call. This month’s articles introduce the third step in our process-The Phone Screen.
Sales is
different in that most salespeople have highly refined people skills.
Their careers require an ability to build rapport with strangers
which initiates the selling process. Unfortunately, many
salespeople possess only that rapport-building ability
and they use it to land on your payroll.
The troubling
signs start to surface after a few weeks on your payroll. We
have heard everything from refusing to pick up the phone to
the “deer in the headlights” look at company meetings. The sales
manager then attempts to determine if this salesperson’s career
at their company is salvageable or terminal.
Schmoozers,
as we like to call them, get past even deft interviewers.
However, we have found the antidote for them . . . pressure.
The subtle use of pressure has a disarming, revealing effect on
salespeople. Since sales is a high-pressure occupation, the
sales superstars are adept at handling stressful situations and
tend to shine in those moments. The schmoozers stammer, stumble,
or at worst, bail under unexpected instances of pressure.
The Select Metrix approach to hiring
salespeople takes advantage of every hiring interaction to
observe the applicants under pressure. This month’s articles
present some of the tactics we incorporate into the
Phone Screen.
This initial contact with the applicants is an opportune time to
get your first indication of whether you have superstars or
schmoozers on your hands.
Click here for the next article -
The Phone Screen |
