10 Great Ways to Make Bad Hiring Decisions

With his tongue firmly in cheek, I'm sure, Lou Adler's article gives advice on how NOT to make hiring decisions! Here's a quick peek at the article:

"I wrote a rather controversial article last week comparing Obama vs. McCain using our 10-factor evidence-based assessment system. The stated purpose of the article was to propose that Presidential candidates should be vetted just as rigorously as any candidate for any job.

The underlying purpose was to demonstrate the point that many important decisions, especially hiring decisions, are based on invalid assumptions, false impressions, personal beliefs, and lack of objective data." Read Lou's article 10 Great Ways to Make Bad Hiring Decisions by clicking on the link.

Enjoy!

Are Your Sales People Farmers or Hunters?

I read Jeffrey Gitomer's articles, books, and newsletters every chance I get. I think Jeffrey is one of the top experts on sales - how to do it, how to manage those who do it; and his advice in his newsletter is always top notch. You can subscribe to his Sales Caffeine newsletter by clicking on the link. Do it now while you're thinking of it!

I read this article in Jeffrey's most recent issue of Sales Caffeine and it reminded me of how often employers hire the wrong type of sales person for their company. Many candidates have made hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and when they apply for a job, the potential employer is very excited thinking they will be able to do the same thing for their company. However, they should look into that person's previous sales track record more closely to see what KIND of sales they have done. Read David's article to see how that is possible.

Farmers or Hunters
by: David Steel

Are your salespeople a bunch of dummies or, probably more likely, are they just lazy? In response to this you have likely set up a lot of company rules and regulations designed to force them to work instead of goof off. Unfortunately, such rules and regulations are about keeping control instead of giving motivation or incentives to produce -- and it's those latter things that salespeople really need and thrive on.

The kind of salespeople you've probably unwittingly created are Farmers. These Farmers don't break new ground by getting new clients -- they just till the same old soil (already existing clients). And what's really bad about that is that once someone becomes a Farmer they get so comfortable that it's extremely difficult to change most of them back into the Hunters they were meant to be.

You see, Farmers know all their clients well and are old friends with them. Farmers don't have to do the difficult work of convincing total strangers to trust them enough to become clients and friends, but even though they would make much more money for themselves -- and you -- if they did, the money they get from Farming, which is like a salesperson's "busy work,” is just good enough in exchange for being allowed to stay in the comfort zone. Indeed, there's a place for Farmers in the sales force of most organizations: they keep the existing clients very happy and that brings in a certain dependable cash flow.

But that can't be permitted to be good ENOUGH for everyone or for your business.

In order to push the right salespeople to become Hunters (and you need some of these, for sure), every new salesperson you hire should be fully expected to: seek out new prospects; develop new relationships; and maintain the status quo with existing clients at the very same time that they are bringing in new business.

And -- that's just about ALL that these salespeople should be doing, all the time. And one of the best things to help free them from Farming tasks or make them flow faster and easier is the tried and true friend of business: technology. Your salespeople should be equipped with the latest and greatest technology that can contribute to their having more time on their hands so that they can use it to do more selling. It's "work smarter, not harder" put in motion.

And there's a side benefit to hiring and cultivating Hunters: they will either inspire or guilt-trip everyone else into working harder through their attitude. From out of the ashes of the Cain and Abel style friction that will arise will come a phoenix of productivity. Give the new Hunters old, underworked accounts; give them powerful titles when they earn the rights to them; and most of all, deliver on every incentive you promise and deliver it on time.

This is the beginning of how you let your sales force bring in more business than you can handle.

David Steel is one of the nation’s leading experts on the topic of Sales Motivation. He’s a popular and widely recognized author and motivational speaker who works with businesses and individuals as a sales management consultant, offering insights into hiring, compensation, goals and strategies, and teaching the use of sales management skills to build and maintain highly aggressive sales teams. To download a complimentary copy of his book "The Care and Feeding of Highly Aggressive Sales People" please visit www.feedyoursales.com

McCain vs. Obama Using Adler’s 10-Factor Scorecard

I am a long time fan of Lou Adler - I read his books and use his one-question interview technique a lot when I interview candidates for job openings. But I have to say, I'm glad the President isn't chosen using Lou's 10-Factor Scorecard! Here's a teaser from his newsletter on this issue (you'll have to click on the link to read the whole article! *smile*)

"In my book, Hire With Your Head (John Wiley & Sons, 3rd Edition, 2007), I introduced the idea of using an evidence-based assessment process when evaluating and comparing candidates. This is based on using ten factors that have been shown to accurately predict on-the-job success, and on having the hiring team rank each one in a group meeting on a 1-5 scale after the interviews are completed. Click here for a sample of the form we use for staffing and middle-management positions. I thought it would be interesting to use this 10-Factor Scorecard to evaluate who would make a better President, Obama or McCain." Read the full scorecard here