Month: October 2017

Pre-employment Assessments: Identify Top Candidates, Save Money and Reduce Turnover

Posted on by hiredna

Pre-employment sales assessments play an important role in the overall hiring process.

They help organizations identify candidates that are most likely to excel in their sales role. Pre-employment assessments also provide additional benefits like decreasing time and cost in the candidate hiring process, reducing turnover and improving morale. These added benefits are crucial to sales organizations as they are facing an average annual turnover in their sales force of 25 – 30 percent, according to Harvard Business Review. This equates to hiring and training an entire sales organization approximately every four years. Talk about expensive!

There are a variety of pre-employment assessment tests organizations can use to screen potential candidates: personality, cognitive, skills and job knowledge, just to name a few.  According to the HireRight 2016 Annual Employment Screening Benchmark Survey:

“Sixty-five percent of businesses that responded planned to make investments in improving their ability to find qualified job candidates.”

But how do you know which assessment(s) your sales organization should implement? Below are a few tips on how to determine which pre-employment assessments would be best for your sales organization

1.   Valid

Analysis: Pre-employment assessments must be valid for the open sales role.

Methodology: Ensure that tests measure specific job-related abilities or skills. Assessment results should be quantifiable and predict the success or failure of the candidate’s future job performance. Sales organizations should be able to demonstrate that candidates who do well on the test perform well in their sales job, versus those that do not perform well.

2.   Relevant

Analysis: Pre-employment assessments must measure skills, abilities or characteristics that are relevant to the job the candidate is applying for.

Methodology: A simple way for organizations to verify relevancy on a pre-employment assessment is to perform a Job Requirement Analysis against the sales position being filled. Once an analysis has been completed of the objectives, skills and abilities needed to complete the sales role, organizations will be able to quickly identify appropriate and relevant pre-employment tests.

3.   Reliable

Analysis: Pre-employment assessments must provide consistent results.

Methodology: For a pre-employment assessment to be reliable in measuring a specific job skill or ability, a candidate’s score should be consistent each time they take the test. Significant variances in a candidate’s test results decreases the value of the assessment predicting future job performance. 

4.   Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

Analysis: Pre-employment assessments must meet all EEO laws.

Methodology: Periodically, pre-employment tests are challenged in court. Organizations must verify their tests do not violate local, state or federal EEO laws, including Title VII

These are just a few tips sales organizations should be aware of prior to implementing pre-employment assessments. Revecent’s Sales Consultants can help your organization assess, recruit and optimize sales talent to accelerate revenue growth.

Interested in an evaluation of your organization’s pre-employment assessment process? Revecent can complete an analysis of your sales force hiring strategy to identify areas of strength and areas of opportunities. Request a consult now and start seeing powerful results.

Revecent is a national sales recruiting and sales enablement consulting firm. We help technology and professional service companies recruit and optimize sales talent to accelerate growth. Contact us today to see how we can help your organization’s sales team exceed expectations.

3 Sales Candidate Screening Techniques That Demonstrate Ability

Posted on by hiredna

A recent study by CareerBuilder found that “extended vacancies cost companies an average of $800,000 annually.” 

Organizations need to be able to quickly identify and hire the right candidates for their sales force. But how?

Businesses that commit to building and executing a quality screening process significantly improve their chances of:

  • Identifying candidates who demonstrate the ability to perform the job
  • Are the right fit for the position
  • Can integrate seamlessly with the organization’s sales culture

Why else should organizations screen their candidates? Because resumes are regularly embellished.  According to HireRight’s 2017 Employment Screening Benchmark Report:

“Eighty-five percent of survey respondents uncovered a lie or misrepresentation on a candidate’s resume or job application during the screening process — up from 66 percent five years ago”.

Below are three screening techniques that can help your organization fill vacancies within your sales force. They help identify the ability of the candidate to perform the sales role prior to moving them on to the next stage of the interviewing process saving valuable time.

1.     Communication Screening

Approach: Prior to the actual screening of the candidate, you will have had a glimpse into their communication style via their resume and email correspondence. During the screening process, ask an open-ended question such as “Tell me about yourself,” or “Tell me why you feel you would be a good fit for this position.”

Analysis: During the screening, you will be able to observe a lot about your candidate’s communication style. Do they make eye contact? How well do they articulate their response? How is their body language? Does the interaction feel sincere or uncomfortable? An assessment of your candidate’s verbal and non-verbal communication skills will enable you to determine whether they would fit in and perform the role required in your sales organization.

2.     Presentation Screening

Approach: As part of your screening process, provide candidates a product brochure prior to the in-person interview. Ask them to come prepared to pitch the product during your meeting.

Analysis: During the candidate’s presentation of the product, you will be able to measure various parts of their presentation skills. How much research did they complete? How creative was their sales pitch? Did the presentation flow in a logical sequence? And did they establish how the product features would benefit the target customer? Presentation screening will ensure that you are hiring candidates who are confident, can build customer engagement and can close sales opportunities.

3.     Role-Play Screening

Approach: Conduct a role-playing exercise with potential candidates. Ask them to take on the role of your company’s sales rep while you take on the role of the customer.

Analysis: Does your candidate create a connection with the buyer? Do they demonstrate active listening skills by addressing customer needs with specific product features? How well does the candidate do in taking initiative to close the sale? Role-play screening your candidates allows you the ability to measure their problem-solving skills and how quickly they respond to challenges that arise with potential customers.

These are just a few examples of screening techniques that can be used to identify ability in sales job candidates. Revecent’s Sales Enablement Consultants can help your organization assess, recruit and optimize sales talent to accelerate revenue growth. Interested in an evaluation of your organization’s candidate screening process? Revecent can complete an analysis of your sales force hiring strategy to identify areas of strength and areas of opportunities. Request a consult now and start seeing powerful results.

Revecent is a national sales recruiting and sales enablement consulting firm. We help technology and professional service companies recruit and optimize sales talent to accelerate growth. Contact us today to see how we can help your organization’s sales team exceed expectations.

3 Proven Techniques for Assessing Sales Candidates

Posted on by hiredna

The hiring process for filling sales positions can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. 

According to a recent study on Global Recruiting Trends by LinkedIn:

“Finding suitable candidates is the biggest obstacle (46 percent) for hiring.”

Thus, the ability to identify early on whether a candidate is ideal for your organization is imperative for saving time and resources. One way to manage this is through screening candidates to identify their potential to fulfill your sales role prior to moving them into the interview process.

Did you know? A recent study of nearly 20,000 businesses

determined 46 percent of all new hires fail within their first

18 months, and 89 percent of the time it’s for attitude not skill.

Below are three screening techniques that can help your organization save time and resources by qualifying candidates and gauging compatibility prior to moving forward.

1.     Attitude Assessment Screening

Approach: During the screening process, ask the candidate what their expectations are for the sales position.

Analysis: Identifying the candidate’s attitude and aptitude for the role is equally as important as uncovering their qualifications or skillsets. Understanding the candidate’s mindset regarding the sales position is critical for ensuring whether or not they will fit into your organization’s culture and sales force. Poor attitudes can be destructive to overall team morale. 

2.     Behavioral Assessment Screening

Approach: Ask the candidate to complete a behavioral profile assessment as part of your organization’s screening process.

Analysis: A behavioral profile can provide your organization with information on how your job candidate will act or respond in different scenarios. The assessment can help identify what motivates a candidate, how they address problems and what their stress triggers are. While there is no one-size-fits-all behavior profile, assessment results can assist in identifying candidates that will mesh well and add value to your sales force. It can also help identify areas to focus on during the onboarding process for the candidate.

3.     Sales Assessment Screening

Approach: As part of your pre-screening interview process, ask your candidates to complete an online Sales Candidate Assessment.

Analysis: A sales candidate assessment can help your organization predict the candidate’s sales performance and role compatibility. Sales assessment data can identify a candidate’s natural selling

ability, communication style, strengths and areas for improvement. Sales managers can use the sales assessment data to provide coaching and guidance for new hires.

Above are just a few examples of screening techniques that can be used to identify the potential in your sales candidates. Revecent’s Sales Enablement Consultants can help your organization assess, recruit and optimize sales talent to accelerate revenue growth. 

Interested in an evaluation of your organization’s candidate screening process? Revecent can complete an analysis of your sales force hiring strategy to identify areas of strength and areas of opportunities.  Request a consult now and start seeing powerful results.Revecent is a national sales recruiting and sales enablement consulting firm. We help technology and professional service companies recruit and optimize sales talent to accelerate growth. Contact us today to see how we can help your organization’s sales team exceed expectations.

Want to Hire the Right Salespeople? Ask These 4 Behavioral Questions

Posted on by hiredna

You’ve narrowed down your selection of sales candidates for your open sales position. Looking at their previous sales roles,you see they have the experience needed for your sales organization. But how do you confirm whether or not the candidate has the specific skills, competencies or traits required for your sales position? Behavioral questions during the interview process can help you assess whether the candidate has what’s needed to get the job done. Why is that important?

Because filling headcount is expensive and time-consuming! According to Glassdoor’s Essential HR and Recruiting Stats for 2016, “On average, it takes 52 days and $4,000 to fill a position.”

Behavioral questions are designed to assess a candidate’s suitability for your sales role based on how they behaved in similar situations in previous positions. Using these behavioral questions can help ensure you get the right people hired for your sales force.

1.   Coachability

Questions: Spend a few minutes letting your candidate roleplay selling a simple item to you, for instance, a pen or a chair. Once that task is finished, ask them to review their process. What did they do well and what could they improve upon?

Analysis: Candidates that are forthright in their assessment of themselves are more likely to be accepting to feedback and coaching. Sales reps that desire coaching are generally committed to developing their sales skills.

2.   Achievement

Questions: Ask the candidate what their most significant achievement was to date and why. How did they accomplish it, and how did they measure their success?

Analysis: In sales, you want to hire someone who not only has a record for achieving goals but can also articulate how they did it and quantify it. 

3.   Passion

Questions: Why does your candidate want to go into sales? Are they passionate about your organization’s products or services, the mission or culture?

Analysis: Studies have proven that when people are passionate about their role in an organization they stay engaged and invested in the organization’s overall success. According to a 2014 article by Deloitte University, “Up to 87.7 percent of America’s workforce is not able to contribute to their full potential because they don’t have a passion for their work. Passionate workers can drive extreme and sustained performance improvements for organizations.”

4.   Persistence

Questions: Ask your candidate to tell you about a time they established a challenging goal for themselves. How did they stretch outside of their “comfort zone” to achieve their goal?

Analysis: You want a sales rep who is goal-oriented and purpose-driven, someone who is persistent and willing to put in the hard work needed to close a deal. Persistent sales reps will be focused on tracking and improving their sales performance data.

Above are just a few examples of behavioral questions that can be asked during your sales organization’s interview process. These questions in conjunction with a Sales Candidate Assessment will help provide a broader assessment of your candidate’s skills and behaviors, resulting in a better understanding of their overall capabilities.

Interested in an evaluation of your organization’s interviewing and recruiting process? Revecent can complete an analysis of your salesforce hiring strategy to identify areas of strength and areas of opportunities.  Request a consult now and start seeing powerful results.Revecent is a national sales recruiting and sales enablement consulting firm. We help  technology and professional service companies recruit and optimize sales talent to accelerate growth.  Contact us today to see how we can help your organization’s sales team exceed expectations.