Hiring Sales Archives

Why Your Commission-Only Sales Plan Is Costing You Money

Posted on November 13, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Commission-only sales plans are often very attractive to small business owners because on the surface it seems like an easy way to save money while growing your company. In reality, there are numerous hidden costs associated with sales rep turnover that can actually end up costing you more money in the long run. In addition to a fiscal loss, there are various intangible opportunity costs that may ...

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Your First Sales Rep

Posted on November 11, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

As companies start to grow, it becomes much harder for the founders to give enough attention to both selling and running the company without sacrificing quality along the way. When this happens, oftentimes the next step is to hire a sales rep to join the team. Hiring a sales rep can be a lot for a small business to take on, and there are some crucial things you should consider before you hire your...

5 Things to Consider Before Hiring Your First Sales Rep

Posted on November 4, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Too many small business owners believe the only way to take their business to the next level is to add a sales rep to their team. While hiring a new sales rep can be a great way to achieve that goal, you also need to make sure it’s the right time for you to hire and that your business is ready to take on a sales professional. There are five things you should consider before you hire your first sal...

Want to Hire Top Salespeople? Follow This 8 Step Process

Posted on September 16, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

When small businesses and startups are ready to start scaling, one of the first positions they look to hire is a sales representative. Oftentimes, these entrepreneurs and business owners have little to no experience with hiring and even less experience with hiring salespeople. However, the companies who are successful when hiring sales reps all have one thing in common: they start with a defined ...

7 Sales Interview Questions to Hire the Best Person for Your Position

Posted on August 14, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Adding a new sales rep to your team can increase sales and help you achieve revenue goals. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell which sales candidate is going to be successful at your company and make an impact right away, and which sales candidate will jump ship after 3 months. That's why when we interview sales candidates, we ask questions that focus on their skills, job experience, and career ambit...

3 Ways to Find Good Employees in the Candidate-Driven Job Market

Posted on August 12, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Finding good employees has never been an easy task, but finding good employees in a candidate-driven job market can seem nearly impossible. In this new job market, fewer people are looking for work and more jobs are available. In fact, 34 percent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in the third quarter, up from 31 percent last year, according to CareerBuilder’s 2015 Midyear U....

Guest Post: How to Identify Future Sales Leaders

Posted on July 17, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Unless you’re going through the carwash or getting frozen yogurt from a hole in a wall, there’s no such thing as good business without good people. Even that tile-wall fro-yo dispenser was someone’s (obviously) good idea. But even in today’s technology-filled world, nothing truly comes automated in sales. This is a people business, as we’ve said many times. To gain a competitive edge in today...

It’s a Candidates’ Market! How More Job Openings Impact Employers’ Recruiting Efforts

Posted on April 2, 2015May 9, 2022 by caitlinhoward

The economy is finally picking up and as businesses are starting to expand, they’re also starting to hire more employees. According to the Pew Research Center, since the recession’s end, fewer Americans are unemployed and there are more job openings. This is good news for skilled workers. The job market has shifted in their favor, and they are taking advantage of the high demand for top talent. Bu...

Don’t Be Fooled! – 4 Tips To Closing Top Candidates and Avoiding Offer Declines

Posted on April 1, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Although today is officially April Fool's Day, many employers feel they have been getting pranked by candidates for months. One of our new clients described a scenario where they extended an official job offer to their top candidate, but the candidate declined the offer for a position at a different company. The employer never saw it coming, and felt like they were on the receiving end of a practi...

What Wikipedia Can’t Tell You About Hiring Sales Leadership

Posted on March 26, 2015April 22, 2015 by caitlinhoward

If you’ve set your sights on growing your business and increasing your revenue this year, then you’re going to need qualified and competent professionals on your sales leadership team. One way you can find your next sales leader is by identifying high-potential employees with the right characteristics and skills to be successful in executive sales positions. Korn Ferry, a talent management orga...

Finding Your Own Top Sales Dogs

Posted on February 18, 2015January 7, 2021 by Kevin Steffey

Sales Recruiting and Westminster Dog Show

So, what does the Sales Recruiting industry have in common with the Westminster Dog Show? In watching the event this year, I started thinking about the handlers that work with these well-bred champions and present them to judges for the honor of top dog. These handlers play some of the same roles that sales recruiters play in finding the new top sales dog for your organization. (more…)

4 Resolutions for Finding Top Talent in 2015

Posted on December 31, 2014May 11, 2022 by caitlinhoward

By Susan Ricker (The Hiring Site Blog) Top talent is hard to find, but with the right strategies, you can make this an attainable goal. Keep reading to learn about 4 resolutions you can make to start finding and connecting top talent to the right positions in 2015. 4 Resolutions for Finding Top Talent in 2015

How To Create a Successful Job Description

Posted on August 8, 2014January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Creating a job description involves more than just Googling a generic sales rep position and copying the job requirements to your own job posting. A job description should be carefully crafted to portray the type of person that will thrive in your company environment and include the criteria that interviewers will use to assess candidates. That being said, there are two distinct audiences that wil...

How Do I Know When to Replace a Sales Rep?

Posted on July 25, 2014January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

No sales rep is perfect. It’s expected for them to have an occasional off week, or even a month where they don’t hit their numbers. But how do you know when these mistakes aren’t just the consequence of a rough patch and actually warrant serious consequences? There are four key performance areas you should use to evaluate if it’s time to replace a sales rep or not. Examining a sales rep’s behavior...

7 Questions to Ask When Interviewing Sales Reps

Posted on July 18, 2014January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Interviews are an opportunity to see which sales candidate is the best fit for your company and for the position. Asking candidates specific questions about their skills, job experience, and career ambition will help you match a candidate’s qualifications with your current opportunity. Consider asking these seven fundamental questions in your next interview to help you find your ideal sales candid...

Common Sales Hiring Mistakes

Posted on November 26, 2013January 8, 2021 by caitlinhoward

It’s no secret that hiring a sales representative is a difficult task, but oftentimes the sales hiring managers make this task even harder by committing detrimental mistakes during the hiring process. Through years of experience, Kathleen Steffey, CEO of Naviga Recruiting & Executive Search, narrowed down the top 3 sales hiring mistakes she witnesses on a daily basis. Hiring a job hopper, hiri...

Is Your Business Attractive to Top Talent?

Posted on August 2, 2013May 10, 2022 by Kevin Steffey

How do I attract top sales talent? I find this question being asked repeatedly when speaking with business and sales leaders. It is nearly unanimous that they all struggle with finding and keeping good sales professionals. Solving this tough challenge involves selling your company as much to prospective employees as to prospective customers. Too many businesses set up all of their marketing and c...

On Boarding New Sales Reps

Posted on May 8, 2013May 11, 2022 by KathleenSteffey

by Richard Ruff Today a sales team must not only be able to sell a competitive advantage; they must be a competitive advantage. In most companies, it is increasingly difficult to sustain a competitive advantage by traditional means. Traditional factors such as superior products, scale, and innovative manufacturing technology may provide short-term advantages but unfortunately, they can be replicat...

7 Things to Look for in a Sales Manager

Posted on September 24, 2012June 16, 2023 by KathleenSteffey

By Lee Salz Many execs put industry experience at the top of their criteria list for sales-management candidates. “The successful applicant will have 10 years experience in the widget industry.” Hogwash! The end result of this approach is that companies hire the industry retreads. Perhaps, employers think that this person will bring along valuable competitive secrets — maybe even some clients. Wh...

Role of HR in Achieving Business Goals

Posted on July 30, 2012January 8, 2021 by Kevin Steffey

By Sherrie Scott for Demand Media Human resources professionals have many roles within an organization. They are responsible for formulating strategies that focus on recruiting and retaining top employees as well as overseeing projects that promote company-wide productivity. Most human resources departments control the overall operations of a business, making the department a key component of...

What employers look for in hiring salespeople

Posted on May 18, 2012May 12, 2022 by KathleenSteffey

By Tom Searcy, CBS MoneyWatch (MoneyWatch) Salespeople are hired to be fired. So when it comes time to find that next sales job, just what is the person doing the hiring looking for in a new salesperson? Research suggests there are three key factors prospective employers look at to predict the success of an employee. If you hire salespeople, you should be looking for these factors. Shockingly, m...

7 Hiring Mistakes and How Not to Make Them

Posted on December 7, 2011January 8, 2021 by KathleenSteffey

BY S. ANTHONY IANNARINO I am not throwing the first stone here (or the last). I have personally been guilty of half of these. But, alas, it is how one learns. Hiring Out of Desperation One of the fastest ways to build an underperforming sales force and burden yourself with human resources nightmares is to hire out of desperation. If you desperately need someone to fill the position, or if you are ...

Will This Sales Candidate Really Fail If We Hire Him?

Posted on October 26, 2011January 8, 2021 by KathleenSteffey

Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert. This week I called the type of candidate that traditional HR professional love - his resume was formatted, there were no typos, his background was exactly what my client craved - but the assessment wasn't so impressed with him; he was a borderline candidate at best. Normally ...

Startups Need To Hire A Recruiter…Now

Posted on June 15, 2011January 8, 2021 by KathleenSteffey

Jeff Bussgang, Seeing Both Sides The unemployment rate in America is hovering around 9%. But if you are a competent engineer, sales executive, online marketer or general manager in Silicon Valley, NYC, Boston, or other startup hotspots, the unemployment rate is 0%. The talent market has gotten as competitive and aggressive as I have ever seen in the last 20 years. CNN recently reported that 4...

Sales Interview Questions from JustSell.com

Posted on May 2, 2011 by KathleenSteffey

Interviewing your next superstar? Looking for your next sales position? Here’s a list of 31 interview questions in no particular order. If you’re interviewing candidates, use what you like and improve what you don’t. If you’re in the hunt for a new sales position, use them as a prep tool and work your way through. When you come out the other side, you’ll be completely tuned and ready for action...

Selling a Pen (and Yourself) in an Interview: Outdated Tactic or Timeless Question?

Posted on September 24, 2010June 11, 2015 by KathleenSteffey

A question was raised in one of my LinkedIn groups recently that got me and other members thinking about the tactics used by hiring managers during the interview process. The question: If you were interviewing for a sales job and the sales manager said “sell me this pen," how would you respond? The feedback from the group was varied. Some offered recommended responses to the actual question. Ot...

13 Reasons for Poor Sales Hires by Hard Working Sales Managers

Posted on September 8, 2010June 11, 2015 by KathleenSteffey

Lance Cooper of Sales Manage Solutions invites you to imagine this picture... Turnover occurs - sometimes at an excessive rate. Sales managers work hard and struggle to find quality candidates for open sales positions. They place ads in local newspapers and get many responses. Some use Monster. Some use recruiters. However, many of their candidates come from people who cannot find a job anywhere e...

Who’s Most Likely to Fail the Background Check?

Posted on September 7, 2010May 5, 2015 by KathleenSteffey

Original Post: Monster.com By Dona DeZube, Monster Finance Careers Expert If you’re working in construction, there’s a good chance you’re laboring next to someone with a criminal past. But if you’re working in the nonprofit sector, you’re more likely to be sitting next to someone who has lied about his education. Those differences came to light when Kroll analyzed “hit ratios” for the eight...

Sales Recruiting & Gen Y: Nightmare or a Learning Opportunity?

Posted on July 30, 2010June 11, 2015 by KathleenSteffey

With Generation Y continuing to expand its numbers in the sales force, employers and hiring managers alike are finding that these young professionals present some unique challenges. The camps are decidedly split on how business will be affected by this generation, which has earned a reputation for being difficult. I believe that the challenges presented by Generation Y are offset by the fact th...

Always Be Recruiting!

Posted on July 19, 2010May 10, 2022 by KathleenSteffey

Dave Kurlan wrote an outstanding post: Bench Strength – The Key To Replacing Salespeople. He mentioned that managers must always be recruiting. It’s such a simple concept, but Dave Brock is constantly amazed at how few managers–at all levels do this. Here’s how the cycle goes. We have a bad performer in place, we worry about firing the person because it leaves an open territory - too often we thi...