Recruiting and Selecting the Correct Salespeople：中国经济管理大学 MBA课堂笔记《销售管理学》
Recruiting and Selecting the Correct Salespeople
中国经济管理大学/中國經濟管理大學
Recruiting and Selecting the Correct Salespeople
Learning Objectives:
After completing this chapter, your students will be able to:
Understand why having a formal selection process improves the quality of newly hired salespeople.
Discuss why it’s important to analyze the skills a salesperson needs to succeed and include that information in a job description.
Name the sources from which salespeople can be recruited both within and outside of the firm.
Explain the five steps of the selection process.
Explain why it’s important to have a diverse sales force.
List common recruiting mistakes and ways to avoid them.
Introducing the Chapter:
By investing quality time and effort upfront into a structured recruiting and selection process, a sales manager can determine the most appropriate type of individual needed for the job, attract sufficient numbers of applicants, and select the best-qualified person for the position.
One way to introduce this chapter is to discuss the time and money at stake when selecting a new salesperson for the firm. For example, when a salesperson leaves the firm either voluntarily (quits, retires, takes a new position, returns to school, etc.) or involuntarily (is fired, promoted, or retires) the position is open and customer service suffers. It is possible for the sales manager or other sales personnel to call on customers, but at best this is a stop gap measure. The firm is trying to play a game against competitors with one less member of the sales team than is needed!
Better sales managers may have planned ahead and have potential sales applicants in their pipelines, but most sales managers have to wait while advertisements are placed and paper and electronic resumes arrive. Then the applicant packages have to be reviewed, interviews scheduled, tests conducted, references checked, and job negotiations conducted. All these activities to generate potential candidates and select the best (notice it is not perfect) candidate consumes time that would ordinarily be invested in customers or coaching the sales team.
A few sales managers may simply contact one or two applicants and call them in for a short interview before hiring a replacement that looks like the sales manager. This is a dangerous way to hire because poor hiring decisions lead to higher rates of turnover, poor performance, and lost customers. Sales managers must invest time into hiring the best person for the open position or the total cost of hiring the wrong candidate will be even higher when they leave prematurely and cause valued customers to move their business to a competitor! The bottom line: a poor hiring process that leads to poor hiring decisions that cost the firm tremendous amounts of time and money from lost customers and higher rates of sales force turnover!
Chapter Outline:
I. The Hiring Process
A. There are five inter-related steps in the recruiting and selection process:
1. Determine the number of sales people needed
2. Identify the unique skills, knowledge, and attitudes a salesperson needs to do the job successfully
3. Attract a sufficient number of applicants to form a pool of potential new hires
4. Conduct an interview process that accurately assesses the applicants’ qualifications for the position
5. Offer a sales position to one or more applicants
II. Planning to hire
A. Firms should have a selection process in place at all times
1. Considerations for process
a. Firm’s strategy
b. Predicted sales force turnover rate
c. The growth or shrinkage of sales territories
i. Can lead to loss of potential profits to competitors
d. Promotion and retirement of sales personnel
2. Turnover Rate- the annual percentage of salespeople that leave the firm for both controllable and uncontrollable reasons
a. Annual Turnover Rate = Number of Salespeople that left the firm during the year
Average Sales force size during the year
b. Should be investigated by firm’s sales managers and human resource personal to determine why staff is leaving
c. Helps managers determine how many salesperson left the firm or were terminated during a defined period of time
III. Conducting a job analysis
A. Firms must determine the essential characteristics that best represent the organization’s purpose
1. Sales managers “objective profile” for candidates:
a. Good listening skills
b. Ability to follow up
c. Adaptability
d. Tenacity to stay on the task and keep pushing
e. Organizational skills are important predictors of future sales success
B. Job Analysis- an objective examination of the duties, activities, and behaviors of people employed in a sales position
1. Provide the hiring manager with an understanding of :
a. What a salesperson currently does on the job
b. How the salesperson should ideally spend his or her time
2. Ways to develop a job analysis:
a. Field observations
b. Keeping field diaries
c. Looking at sales reports
d. Getting feedback from customers
3. Misunderstandings about job expectations for new hires lead to an increased turnover rate
C. Job Description
1. Consists of:
a. Nature of the products and services the salesperson will sell
b. Customer types and the frequency with which they should be called upon
c. Salesperson’s specific tasks and responsibilities
d. Relationship between the salesperson and other people in the sales organization
e. Intellectual and physical demands of the job
f. Environmental factors affecting the sales position
g. E.g. amount of travel required
h. Compensation method used
2. Utilized to Develop a statement of job qualifications
D. Most exacting part of the sales selection process
IV. Finding and Recruiting Applicants
A. Recruiting- the process firms use to find and hire the best qualified candidates for an open sales position
1. Manager should determine an appropriate number of applicants that need to apply for the open position
2. Number of applicants needed = Number of Open Sales Positions
% of Applicants Selected X % of Acceptances
3. If too few quality applicants are generated, it is likely there is a problem with the sources utilized to find them
B. Internal Applicants- potential candidates for open sales positions that currently work for the company
1. Advantages
a. Information about these applicants is already known by managers
2. Problems with recruiting internal Applicants
a. Applicants seldom possess sales experience
b. Must conduct new job search to fill the open position of the transfer
c. Rarely produce the quantity or the quality of candidates needed by the firm
C. External Applicants- candidates for sales positions that are generated from a variety of sources
1. Referrals
a. Networking- the practice of forming relationships and consulting with other salespersons, executives, educational institutions, and friends to learn bout positions that may or may not be publicly advertised.
b. Salespeople offer receive a bonus for referring applicants who are offered positions
D. Advertisements
1. Newspapers, magazines, and/or on-line
2. Format
a. Title of the job opening
b. Minimum job qualifications
c. Preferred job qualifications
d. Location of the sales territory
e. Expected travel time in field
f. Discussion of pay and benefits
g. Statement of core company values
h. Who and how to contact the hiring firm
3. Blind advertisements- offer a limited amount of information about the sales position
a. Generates an applicant pool with a wide range of qualifications
b. Ineffective unless a sufficient number of applicants are qualified for a personal interview
c. High Cost of screening a large applicant pool
E. Private recruiters/Career counselors
1. Used to locate and conduct initial applicant screening
2. May be specialized in an industry or company and maintain a pool of applicants who would like to move up to higher paying and /or more challenging sales positions
3. Known for being expensive and nor producing long term employees
F. Educational institutions
1. Preferred Candidate Qualities
a. Enthusiastic
b. Think outside the box
c. Can work in a team setting
d. Demonstrate initiative
G. Job/career fairs and tradeshows – career conferences conducted by trade groups, student organizations, universities, cities, or business consortiums.
H. E-recruiting
1. Use of electronic bulletin boards to post job openings
a. Ex. www.sales.monster.com
2. Utilize key words to electronically evaluate and sort qualified from unqualified applicants
V. Five stages of the Selection Process
A. Application Forms- an electronic or paper form that asks the job candidate to provide a standard list of information about his or her background, education,
and work experience
1. Reasons applicants are required to complete and application form
a. Provide managers with consistent information about candidate:
i. Formal education
ii. Former positions
iii. Start/stop dates
iv. Levels of responsibility
v. Supervisors
b. Gives legal permission to verify the applicant’s information
c. Requires a job candidate to read and follow directions, respond to questions, and express themselves
i. Offers managers an initial impression of candidate
d. Information taken from application can be used to form personal interview questions
2. Applications should not include questions pertaining to applicant’s marital status, gender, religion, race, age, or handicaps
a. Grounds for illegal discrimination
i. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
ii. Office of Contract Compliance (OFCC)
B. Psychological Test- method of sampling small, representative sets of behavioral responses gathers under uniform conditions
1. Types of psychological tests
a. Personality tests- measure personality traits that motivate sales applicants
i. Multiple Personal Inventory
ii. Gordon Personal Profile
b. Intelligence Tests- estimate the quality of information acquired and used by the applicant
i. Test memory, reasoning, and verbal ability
ii. Wonderlic Personnel Test
iii. Otis Self-Administering Test of Mental Ability
iv. SAT Reasoning Test
c. Ability Tests- designed to estimate the current strengths and weaknesses of an applicant to effectively perform specific tasks
i. Includes abstract reasoning and complex problem solving
ii. Customer Contact Aptitude Series (CCAS)
d. Aptitude Tests- measure whether an applicant has an interest in or an ability to perform certain tasks like selling, their style of work, and how they interact with others
i. Campbell Interest and Skill Survey
e. Emotional intelligence- an individual’s ability to process emotional information as it related to perception, assimilation, understanding, and management of human emotion
2. International Risk Management Institute (IRMI)
a. Identifies traits a salesperson needs in order to be successful
3. Disadvantages of testing candidates
a. No one personality or mental ability test will predict a salesperson’s success
b. Potential to be biased
C. The Personal Interview- job candidates appear before two or three of the firm’s sales managers and other employees
1. Structured interview- interview team prepares a list of questions along with a range of acceptable answers prior to the interview
a. Advantages
i. Gives confidence to sale’s managers with little experience with interviewing applicants
ii. Ensures important areas are covered
iii. Easier to record and compare applicants’ responses
b. Disadvantage
i. Inexperienced interviewers may simply follow the question list and not probe for responses that deviate from the expected answers
2. Semi-structured interview- interview team asks a series of open-ended questions that applicants can address in their own words
a. Mainly used for interviewing candidates for higher-level management positions
b. Allows the interviewer to gain insight about the applicant
i. More natural, logic course of responses
c. Often involves detailed questions about actual situations
3. Stress Interview- interviewer places the applicant in an unstructured situation to see how well he or she will perform
a. Role-playing techniques
4. Group Interview- group of applicants for the position are placed into a group or open forum and encouraged to ask questions
5. Panel interview- placing a single applicant before a panel of two ro more company representatives
6. Field observation- allows an applicant to travel with and observe a salesperson making sales calls on current and potential clients
D. Background Verification
1. Judgment-neutral questions
2. Reference categories
a. Business references
b. Financial references
c. Educational references
E. Physical Exam
1. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits pre-employment physicals
2. Employers can require all applicants to complete a medical exam that focuses on job-related physical requirements once a job offer has been extended
VI. Making the Job Offer Process
A. Interview team ranks applicants in terms of their fit and potential for contributing to the firm
B. Sales manager contacts top ranked applicant to see if applicant is still interested in the position
1. If applicant says “yes”, position’s responsibilities are described and job offer is made
C. Send finalist a first-class letter containing a formal offer of employment
1. Contains:
a. Deadline for accepting the position
b. Starting salary and allowable moving expenses
c. Formal training date
d. Time before his or her first performance review
e. When he or she will first be eligible for a raise
f. Number of vacation days allotted
D. Transitioning New Hires
1. Welcome package including apparel, pens, and other items with company name and logo
2. Company handbooks
3. Product sheets
4. Work materials
5. Invitations to company celebrations, meetings and other activities
6. E-mail and phone calls
VII. Creating a Diverse Force
A. Methods
1. Institute recruiting and selection procedures that do not discriminate against candidates based upon nationality, ethnicity, age, and/or gender
2. Offer opportunities for older salesperson to work later in their lives
3. Recognize that not all families are traditional which results in differing employee needs
B. Importance
1. Aids in working within the global market
2. Allows for different points of view
3. Ensures the best candidate for the job is selected
VIII. Avoiding Common Hiring Mistakes
A. Rushing to hire someone
B. Failing to conduct a proper job analysis
C. Not generating a sufficiently large applicant pool
D. Poor Interview Planning
E. Not conducting a comprehensive interview
F. Failing to perform a background check
IX. Evaluating the Success of the Firm’s Sales Force Recruiting and Selection Efforts
A. Allows the sales manager to determine the effectiveness of each applicant source
1. Matrix on a computer spreadsheet is often used to track sales applicant sources
X. Chapter Summary
A. Five Steps to hiring a sales person
1. Determine the number of salespersons needed
2. Identify the skills, knowledge, and attitudes salespersons need to succeed
3. Attract a sufficient number of qualified applicants
4. Perform an interview process that assesses applicants’ qualifications
5. Offer one or mores applicants a sales position
B. Thorough job analysis is needed for a sales manager to accurately access the qualifications needed to do a job
C. Sources used to generate applicants
D. The interviewing process
1. Application forms
2. Testing
3. Personal interviews
a. Structured, and unstructured semi-structured
4. Background checks
5. Physical exams
E. Remember the common mistakes made by sales managers during the hiring process
Questions and Problems:
1. Should a firm’s selection process be initiated whenever there is an opening? Or should the process on-going? Would the hiring effort vary by firm size or industry?
Sales managers understand that some level of turnover is inevitable. High quality salespersons will be on the lookout for better opportunities and life situations will cause other sales personnel to leave the firm. Thus better sales managers must be on the lookout for highly qualified sales reps. If a sales manager waits until a salesperson leaves the firm, then she must start the process anew and look for a replacement. If the firm is large then the human resource department may be generating sales applicants all the time. Sales managers may only get involved when HR sends potential applicant packages to them. Certain industries higher turnover rates as shown in the graphed chart in Chapter 8.
2. Suppose a firm typically employees 15 salespeople. During the course of the year, two salespeople leave the firm for higher paying jobs, one salesperson is fired, and one salesperson retires. What will the turnover rate of the firm’s salespeople be for the year?
Looking at the formula for calculating turnover rate, we divide 4 salespersons that left by 15 total salespersons for a turnover rate of 4/15 or about 27 percent. We see that two people left for uncontrollable reasons (higher paying jobs) and two left for controllable reasons (retirement and termination). The sales manager (and perhaps HR) needs to look at these reasons and see if there is a trend that needs to be addressed.
3. Why should sales managers investigate reasons for turnover? Why is it important to compare a firm’s turnover against industry turnover rates?
Sales managers should investigate why salespersons leave the firm. For example, if your best sales staff members are leaving for better positions, then what would keep them on board—higher pay, a new title, greater responsibility? Likewise, if significant numbers of salespersons are not working out and they quit in frustration for jobs in other industries, then the sales process is not working. Only by understanding what drives turnover can the reason(s) be identified and addressed.
4. What benefits are likely to be gained by conducting a job analysis? What options does a sales manager have to analyze how a salesperson performs their duties? How is the information gathered and a job analysis utilized?
Since sales jobs vary tremendously, it is essential for each firm to determine the characteristics that lead to the best representatives for the organization’s purposes. Determining these characteristics or abilities requires the sales manager or human resource specialist to conduct a job analysis.
A job analysis is an objective examination of the duties, activities, and behaviors of people employed in a sales position. When sales managers lack the technical expertise or do not have the time to conduct a job analysis, a human resource specialist or consultant should be contacted for assistance. A comprehensive sales position job analysis provides the hiring manager with an understanding of: (1) what a salesperson currently does on the job (2) and how the salesperson should ideally spend his or her time. To answer these questions, the person performing the job analysis should interview current salespeople and their sales supervisors. A job analysis may also involve conducting field observations, keeping field diaries, looking at sales reports, and getting feedback from customers. By observing how the more successful members of the sales force prioritize their time and activities, sales managers can identify successful on-the-job behavior.
5. How are job descriptions and statements of job qualifications related? Why is it difficult to determine the necessary qualifications for a new hire?
Once a job description is written and approved by management, the document can be utilized to develop a statement of job qualifications. That is, based upon the identified job qualifications, the sales manager lists the necessary skills, knowledge, attitudes, and experience needed by applicants. It should be clear that without an accurate and current job analysis and job description that accurately lists job qualifications, sales manager will have trouble selecting the best person from a pool of applicants. This initial stage of the process----that is, determining the qualifications for a new hire---is the most exacting part of the sales selection process.
6. How many applicants should be recruited if a firm needs to hire three salespeople, 20 percent of applicants are offered a job, but only 50 percent accept the offer?
To compute the Number of Applicants Needed = Number of Open Sales Positions
% of Applicants Selected X % of Acceptances
Then 3/.20 x .50 = 30 applicants are needed to fill the three positions! Fewer applicants would be needed IF their quality was higher and/or the job offer resulted in a higher level of acceptance.
7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of recruiting internal versus external candidates for sales positions?
Internal candidate qualifications—both good and bad—are known. For example an engineer that has worked for the firm for five years has a work history, interactions with others, and their commitment to the firm is known, etc. However, other departments don’t like sales to siphon off their better employees. Likewise, less is known initially about external candidates, but many times these applicants have a desire to be in sales and possess excellent experience gained in the marketplace.
8. Discuss the four types of tests that firms rely upon when screening candidates. Why is it important for firms to validate the tests they use?
Personality tests are designed to measure personality traits that motivate sales applicants----traits such as their empathy and ego. Since it is difficult to identify specific traits for a sales position, personality tests are the most difficult to validate. Examples of personality tests include the Multiple Personal Inventory and the Gordon Personal Profile. Firms use intelligence tests to estimate the quality of information acquired and used by the applicant. Intelligence tests, such as the Wonderlic Personnel Test, can be completed in 12-15 minutes. This test measures applicants’ memory, reasoning, and verbal ability. Another intelligence test is the Otis Self-Administering Test of Mental Ability. A few firms also ask sales applicants to list their SAT Reasoning Test scores. Ability tests are designed to estimate the current strengths and weaknesses of an applicant to effectively perform specific tasks, such as abstract reasoning and complex problem solving. For example, the Customer Contact Aptitude Series (CCAS) is an ability test that measures the core reasoning capabilities related to sales and customer service positions. Aptitude tests, similar to ability tests, measure whether an applicant has an interest in or an ability to perform certain tasks like selling, their style of work, and how they interact with other people. The Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (www.pearsonassessments.com/tests/ciss.htm) is one such test. The applicant’s aptitude test scores can be compared to the scores of the firm’s current successful salespeople who have also taken the test. Obviously, then, aptitude testing is less appropriate for applicants who have no sales experience. Firms have started testing for emotional intelligence or an individual’s ability to process emotional information as it relates to the perception, assimilation, understanding, and management of human emotion.
Regardless of the test administered, a firm must ensure it is “valid.” That is, the test must differentiate applicants based upon who will be successful and unsuccessful on the job. If a test routinely indicates that men, women, minority, or other members of society are less qualified, it’s possible the test is biased. There are statistical procedures for validating these tests. If challenged to defend its tests in a legal venue, the firm will be required to provide this information to the courts.
9. Why is the personal interview the most important step in the sales selection process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of structured and semi-structured interviews? What can a sales manager learn about a candidate by conducting a stress test or requiring a field observation?
The personal interview is considered the most important step in the hiring process because the applicant and sales manager meet like the seller/buyer and the sales manager relies upon his or her impressions and evaluations of how well the applicant handles themselves in a one-on-one meeting. Structured interviews are easier to plan, conduct, and compare, but new sales managers may fail to follow up on important hints given by the applicant. Unstructured interviews, on the other hand, appear to work best for evaluating a candidate’s strategic sales vision rather than assessing right or wrong answers to questions. Stress exercises allow sales managers to observe how the applicant behaves and interacts in a day-to-day business environment. A sales manager should understand, however, that if any interview is too stressful, the applicant might become discouraged and look elsewhere for employment. Firms that use stress and role-play interviews do so in conjunction with either structured or semi-structured interviews.
10. Why is it important to conduct a background check on a candidate prior to offering them a sales position? What specific information should be verified by a background check?
One way to gauge the honesty of applicants is to ask judgment-neutral questions on the application form---questions such as the applicant’s starting and ending dates of employment, position(s) and ranks held, accounts managed, level of sales, sales training completed, and, where permissible, salary earned. If background checks uncover the applicant has given false information, this raises questions about the applicant’s basic honesty, trustfulness, and reliability. It is also helpful to require applicants to provide different categories of references. That is, business references such as former clients or employers, financial references like banks and financial institutions, and educational references such as professors or counselors.
11. Can a firm require a candidate to take a physical exam prior to being offered the sales position?
No, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits pre-employment physicals. However once the job offer has been extended, the employer can require all applicants to complete a medical exam that focuses on job-related physical requirements.
12. Why is it important for sales managers to try to increase the diversity of their sales forces?
The need to hire a diverse workforce has become even more important because so many businesses today are expanding globally to either remain or become more competitive. How better to understand a diverse customer base than to employ a diverse sales force?
Caselets:
Caselet 8-1
Southeastern Industrial
James Johnson, regional sales manager for Southeastern Industrial, is concerned that the turnover rate for Southeastern Industrial needs to be reduced. He wants to analyze the situation and make a proposal to upper management to change the recruiting and selection process.
Questions:
1. What recommendations would you offer James Johnson for evaluating the current recruitment and selection process at Southeastern Industrial?
It is not clear, based upon the information provided in the caselet, that the situation at Southeastern is a recruiting problem. Retirements are controllable—that is the sales manager should have an idea when an older sales rep is approaching retirement age. If Johnson determines through his analysis that inappropriate sales reps are being hired, then this would lead to answers to the question: what type of personnel should we hire that we are not!
2. How would it help to compare the performance of each salesperson who either resigned or was let go?
Resigning to take a better job suggests one of two things: the salesperson was not committed to the sales organization or pay and benefits are lower than at competing firms. If the better sales reps are leaving the firm, then it is important for management to stop this since losing better sales reps is a greater loss for the firm. If a number of sales reps have to be terminated then there is quite likely a problem with the hiring process.
3. Would it be helpful for Johnson to know how each salesperson was originally recruited?
Yes, it would be very insightful to know the source of each salesperson that left the firm. For example, were the turnover sales personnel recruited internally or externally? Second, if externally recruited did the firm use newspaper ads, internet sites, job fairs, referrals from current employees, etc. This tells you if the source of the salespersons that leave the firm might be the problem.
4. Should Johnson scrutinize the notes from the former salespeople’s personal interviews or their pre-employment test scores? Assuming these items were available, what insight might they give Johnson?
Yes, Johnson should look back through the hiring notes, exams, references, etc. for signs of instability or uncertainty in the applicant’s skills, commitment, or fit. Did something show up in the recruiting process that management missed but should be aware of interviewing future hires?
5. How would you recommend that Southeastern recruit and select new salespersons?
Southeastern should follow the selection process discussed in this chapter. This includes formal application forms, tests, reference checks, well-planned interviews by multiple managers within the firm, and a full physical examination. By devoting time to the hiring process, turnover will be lower and a higher quality sales rep will join the firm.
Caselet 8-2
Harmony International
Win Ho is the Asian Regional sales manager for Harmony International. His sales force is comprised of local hires (salespeople from the country in which they sell). One of Harmony’s reps in
Questions:
1. How helpful would a job description/qualifications be in this situation?
Very helpful. Without the job description/qualifications it is necessary to hire based upon more subjective standards.
2. Given that the territory is predominantly Chinese, how should this influence Ho’s decision?
Ho is likely to hire a Chinese Singaporean since about 85% of citizens in
3. Can you identify factors that might disqualify any of the finalists?
C.R. Rao’s behavior toward Ho, his admission that he is considering other positions, and his performance during the interview will probably eliminate him from further consideration.
4. What explanation might you offer for Asri’s behavior during the interview?
What is your recommendation for Ho? Why did you reach this decision?
Asri is exhibiting appropriate cultural behavior for someone who is interacting with a superior. Thus, Ho should understand that Asri is behaving appropriately. Ho should hire Win or Asri, but he is likely to hire Win since 85% of the customer base is Chinese and Win can speak Chinese and will be accepted more so than will Asri. However, Asri appears to also be an excellent candidate.
Role Play:
The goal of this role play is to have students apply the knowledge they learned in this chapter to put an effective interview process into place. The three managers involved in the process include human resources, sales management, and marketing management. The first thing that Olsen needs to do is forward the questions he has previously used to HR so that they can insure all are bona-fide and do not ask about an applicant’s: marital status, gender, religion, race, age, or handicaps. Human resources should also pass judgment on all interview plans. Olsen should plan on asking each of the six finalists the same list of questions, with acceptable answers, and potential probing questions for answers that fall outside the acceptable range. If other managers are involved in the interviews, they must be trained and questions that are different but probe the same important areas must be developed. Finally, Olsen must identify several salespersons who can take the finalists on ride along visits without biasing the experience and these individuals must be trained on how to interact and report their findings to him. All of these actions are taken to insure there is equal opportunity, standardization of interviews, and objective reporting of findings.
Self Assessments:
In your copy of Sales Management, you will find an Access Code Card. By using this code at www.pearsonhighered.com/tanner, you will gain access to the SAL program. Students will find an Access Code Card in their copy of the book as well.
Testing has become a large component of the interview/selection process at many firms. Both SALs allow the student to take similar personality tests that sales applicants take during the selection process. The outcomes of these two SALs will provide each student with a feel for the information sales managers gain about applicants and an idea of how their personality might align with a sales job.
IE1 – What’s My Emotional Intelligence Score?
IA1 – What’s My Basic Personality?
Using Videos:
To access these videos, go to www.pearsonhighered.com/tanner and consider the two videos selected for this chapter. Listed below are potential ways to introduce each video and questions that can be asked to spur discussion after you show the videos.
Video 1: Recruiting Top Performers – Irina Haydon
According to Irina Haydon, the biggest challenge for a sales manager is to find the right person who is a top performer. She looks for candidates—regardless of their background—who have chemistry, character, and competence. Chemistry means are they likeable and are they a people person. Character refers to integrity and competence relates to a candidate’s ability to achieve results. Haydon tries to get at the three “C’s” by asking questions such as: what have you achieved in your life that you are most proud; how did you handle rejection when it occurred; what drives you to success? Haydon admits that her failures in hiring have come when she ignored her gut feeling that this person was not a good fit, but she hired them anyway. A few questions you could ask the class to look for and consider:
1. What are the three C’s that Haydon uses to organize her interview?
2. What types of questions does she employ to understand the applicant?
3. Is Haydon able to accurately measure these three criteria or does she have to go with her best impression? What roles do listening and probing play in the interview?
4. When has Haydon made mistakes in her hiring approach?
Video 2: How to Interview Sales Candidates – Dr. Chris Croner
Chris Croner is a clinical psychologist who owns a sales testing and selection firm. Croner believes that successful interviews are driven by asking the right questions in the correct way. For example, Croner wants to look at achievement, competitiveness, and persistence of applicants. To understand how competitive an applicant is, Croner asks for an example of the last time they were competitive. Then there is a follow-up question that makes the applicant relate competitiveness to the workplace. The sales manager must be smart and probe. For example, if an interviewee states that there was a misunderstanding and he left his last job, the sales manager could reframe the question by asking: what are three things you would change that would have allowed you to stay at that position? Croner also plugs his test and advises sales managers to use the same set of questions for every candidate so that answers can be compared. A few questions you could ask the class to look for and consider:
1. According to Chris Croner, what leads to success in interviews?
2. Why must sales mangers be smart about asking questions and probing?
3. How can a sales manager reframe a negative response into a positive probing question?
4. Why should a sales manager use the same questions for each applicant?
Full Case Recommendations:
There are no long cases in the book designed exclusively for this chapter. The case – Pacific Medical Supply Company – has one part that discusses how the central character was hired and asks if great salespersons are born or made.
In Case 6, Nicole Landis is hired after meeting the owner of Pacific Medical Supply, Jim Shine, on a flight. Nicole is a great hire, but is significantly more motivated than all of the other salespersons. This creates problems for Nicole and most other workers within Pacific Medical Supply.
Also, both short cases at the end of the chapter can be used to drive home both the importance and difficulty of hiring well-qualified sales reps that match the company’s cultural values.
Other In-Class Exercises:
Selection Exercise
You are recruiting for an entry-level sales position at your company. In response to advertisements placed in a regional newspaper and on two Internet websites, you have received 37 applications/resumes. What steps would you undertake, in each of the following areas, to insure that a qualified applicant is hired and unqualified applicants are identified and eliminated?
Application forms:
Send emails directing the applicants to go to an electronic site that requests standardized information for each individual. This will gauge an applicant’s resolve for the position, their ability to follow directions, and their attention to detail. Many such sites use intelligent software to identify key words that assess applicant qualities.
Test(s):
Once electronic application forms are reviewed and ranked, the sales manager or team should select the top applicants and ask them to take tests that have been validated and are shown to predict success on the job.
Personal interview:
The sales manager or sales team should review the test scores and invite 3-5 applicants in for a personal interview. Prior to interviewing applicants the interviewers must be trained how to interview, to include coordination of what will be asked and how, and sales managers must decide if the applicants will be team interviewed, put through stress tests, and/or sent on a “ride-along” with better sales reps.
Reference checks:
Once the applicants have completed the personal interview, the sales manager should check references (in some cases sales managers may do some initial checking prior to bringing selected applicants in to interview). It is important that sales managers check facts—when did the applicant start and end work, what were their duties, how many times did they meet quota, were they given supervisory responsibilities, when and for how many people. If there are factual inconsistencies, many sales managers are reluctant to hire an applicant.
Physical exam:
Once the final applicant has been offered the job, many firms will require a physical exam to insure the applicant can meet the standards established for the position. For example, if you asked the applicant if they can lift 35 pounds (a necessary requirement), then the physical should check to insure this is possible.
Which of these steps appear to be the most important? Why?
Normally sales managers view the personal interview as being the most important. This is because the personal interview is similar to a sales call and many sales managers place the highest emphasis on how well the applicant handles the interviews, poses follow-up questions, etc. Poor interpersonal skills, adaptability, and relating to the sales manager will not bode well for an applicant for a sales position.
What can you do, as a sales manager, to maximize your success in hiring/selection?
Develop a formal selection process that develops an accurate job description that can be used to advertise for the open position. Once applicants send in their resumes/applications, the sales manager must follow a formal process that validates that the applicant selected has the appropriate skills and goals that closely match those deemed important by the sales firm. Investing more time on the front end of the selection process will result in fewer incorrect hires and lower turnover among the sales force.
Generating Applicants for WRT
WRT, Inc. must hire a replacement for a senior sales representative that was promoted to sales management. The position requires interaction and negotiation with different level managers, engineers, and executives to sell electronic components manufactured by WRT to OEM (original equipment manufacturers) accounts. Thirty percent overnight travel in the U.S. is required. Salary is commensurate with experience. Benefits include: dental, BCBS insurance, 401K retirement, paid legitimate business expenses, company car, and potential annual bonus. Assume that you are the person to whom applicants should respond.
Write an ad for placement in the WSJ or on an internet site that will attract the best possible candidates.
Looking in the WSJ for sales manager ads helps drive home to the students what their ad should look like and show the current style used by leading firms. An example is:
Senior Sales Representative – WRT, Inc.
WRT, Inc., a leading manufacturer of electronic components, is recruiting for a senior sales representative to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Position requires 30% overnight travel and an ability to interact and negotiate with different level managers, engineers, and executives. Minimum qualifications include a B.S. in Engineering or Business and three years sales experience, with a preference for an MBA degree and five-years of successful technical sales experience.
The successful applicant will be paid a highly-competitive salary based upon their experience with additional bonus paid for performance. Benefits include: Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance (health and dental), a 401K retirement account, company car, and expense account.
If you meet the strict requirements for this position (education and previous experience will be verified), please forward your resume to “Student’s name” at SalesPosition@WRT.org.
WRT is an equal-opportunity employer and women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.
What additional information would be helpful for your effort?
Knowledge of specific accounts called upon, how the customer base may be changing, specific activities performed by the salesperson, and individual skills used daily.
How many qualified applicants do you want to generate?
The larger the applicant pool, the higher the probability of finding an outstanding salesperson. If possible, at least 10 qualified applicants would provide WRT with a chance to choose the most highly qualified salesperson. There may be a large number of applicants (30+), but many will be minimally qualified or unqualified and hoping for a miracle hire!
How would a job description help you write an advertisement?
The job description would provide all the information listed in the answer to question 2 above. The job description provides a detailed explanation of what the salesperson does, who they interact with, and what skills are needed to successfully perform the job.
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