| To hire a superior sales talent, conduct short, intense | | | | score and do not get emotionally involved. Third, |
| interview sessions. First make sure the candidate has | | | | remember the philosophy here is they are auditioning |
| completed the formal sales screening process and is | | | | for the sales role. You should have in mind TV shows |
| hirable. Next, get an experienced administrative staff | | | | such as "America Has Talent," "American Idol," and" |
| employee to conduct a brief but structured phone | | | | Dancing with the Stars." And just like the TV shows, it |
| screening. The philosophy of using senior administrative | | | | will be best to have different judges scoring the |
| staff for this step in hiring a sales candidate is because | | | | candidate with specific interview questions around the |
| they have the intuition to know if the person on the | | | | four general categories. Having these various judges |
| other end of the phone sounds professional enough to | | | | will definitively allow your company to follow the |
| be allowed to talk with senior executives. | | | | guidelines set by the EEOC. |
| The person conducting the phone interview is | | | | Within the Resume portion of the interview you should |
| instructed to score specific characteristics from the | | | | be looking for specifics generated from their resume |
| call. The scoring is placed onto an electronic | | | | statements. Here is a question that speaks to that rule: |
| spreadsheet and filled in during and after each call. | | | | You indicated that you developed and implemented a...... |
| Some of the suggested characteristics the | | | | what exactly was your role in the development? |
| administrator is listening for are presence, rapport, ability | | | | - How did you implement it? - Was it successful? - |
| to articulate ideas, warmth, experience, meets | | | | What were the actual results? |
| qualifications, meets the technical aspect of the job, | | | | I construct my questions with a general topic and |
| has the it factor for accessing senior executives, and | | | | several follow up questions as the one above. Here's |
| confidence, not arrogance. Each characteristic is then | | | | a tip make sure you only ask one question at a time. |
| weighted, totaled, and used as part of the final scoring | | | | I usually break down the assessment portion of the |
| of the candidate, as well as who will be scheduled for | | | | interview under these headings: |
| the next phase of the interview process. After the | | | | - Compatibility - Skill Sets - Excuse Making (if present) |
| candidate has successfully made it through these initial | | | | - Interview Tips (questions from screening; I choose |
| filters, move on to the next phase. | | | | one to three with relevance) |
| The next phase of the interview process is for the | | | | You should then construct questions from each of the |
| administrative personnel to schedule candidates who | | | | headings above. Here is an example of how to |
| did well enough to qualify for a phone or in person first | | | | construct a question about excuse making (if it is |
| interview session. The person conducting this second | | | | present). |
| interview session must leave their "need for approval" | | | | One of my concerns while reviewing your report was |
| behind for this part of the process. The idea here is to | | | | that you have a tendency to blame circumstances for |
| schedule a fast paced interview where the goal is to | | | | any lack of results rather than taking responsibility. I am |
| apply pressure on a candidate similar to the pressure | | | | concerned about this because our culture requires our |
| they will experience in the field if they were out cold | | | | employees take responsibility. Describe how you will |
| calling. You are not there to sell your company at this | | | | adapt to our sales philosophy regarding excuses? |
| interview session. The introduction to the candidate | | | | There are numerous issues under Behavior and |
| sets the stage so I recommend you be very "matter | | | | Motivators you must explore. The initial way is to |
| of fact" in your tone and give the impression you are | | | | create a spreadsheet of crucial observations that you |
| rushed but not rude. You may say something to the | | | | will score on a scale of one to five. Some of the |
| effect: | | | | observations will be about warmth, energy, experience, |
| "Thanks you for taking time to visit here today. Due to | | | | overall self presence, and numerous others. If your |
| some unforeseen issues, we will not be able to use | | | | candidate does make it past this initial first interview, |
| the entire time allotted. In the short time available there | | | | then I suggest you then conduct a behavior and |
| is so much to learn about you. The consequence of | | | | motivators screening to use in subsequent follow up |
| our short stay is the questions will be fast paced to fit | | | | interviews |
| our time. You should not get upset by the pace." | | | | To wrap all this up, you need to describe the |
| At this point your pre-planning should have come | | | | opportunity from the 30,000 foot perspective, then |
| together in four general areas and many specific | | | | close by compiling a list of tough final interview |
| questions within each area. The four general areas I | | | | questions. Construct a scoring system where you can |
| prepare for are: | | | | rate the answers on 5 to 10 basic interview questions |
| 1. Resume | | | | such as "why do customers trust you?" on a scale on |
| 2. Assessment | | | | one to five. Next, as part of the close, you work on |
| 3. Behaviors, including intrinsic motivators and cultural fit | | | | building a script to describe the opportunity at the 5,000 |
| 4. The Opportunity and Close | | | | foot level and list who you are searching for and why |
| Before we briefly discuss what each of the areas is | | | | salespeople have failed at this job. The magic here is |
| composed of you should understand a couple of | | | | to ask the candidate to explain why they will not fail at |
| things. First, construct a scoring matrix to rank your | | | | the opportunity you just described. |
| candidates. Second, it is best to keep the candidate on | | | | I also provide my clients with a final scoring matrix and |
| the defensive. This is not your day to show off your | | | | coaching along the way to ensure compliance to the |
| bonding and rapport skills. Be respectful and very adult, | | | | interview process. |
| but make sure you understand your emotional quotient | | | | |