Month: October 2020

84% of Talent Acquisition Teams Now Use Remote Processes: How to Adapt in a Post-COVID World

Posted on by hiredna

To say that 2020 has been a bit chaotic would be a gross understatement. COVID-19 shook the entire world to its core, and we’ve all encountered massive challenges we’re still recovering from. One particular branch of the business world that’s been forced to rapidly adapt is HR. 

With traditional face-to-face interactions greatly limited or altogether eliminated, HR teams have had to scramble to come up with viable talent acquisition solutions. And the biggest tool in their arsenal is making the shift to handling the recruiting and hiring process remotely. 

Here’s the details and how to adapt in a post-COVID world. 

Technology Has Created a Paradigm Shift in Recruiting and Hiring

Although many HR teams have used technology in some capacity in recent years, COVID has been the catalyst for widespread technology usage in 2020. More specifically, HR teams are rapidly implementing it to find, interview, and onboard new employees 100% remotely. 

COVID has really lit a fire under HR, and out of sheer necessity, most are now using remote processes to handle recruiting and hiring from end to end. 

Stuart Gentle of online recruitment magazine (Onrec) offers perspective on this trend saying, “84% of talent acquisition teams are adapting their processes to work remotely. This demonstrates the agility of talent acquisition teams, their leadership and commitment to deliver candidates to their companies to help build the business, even in times of adversity.”

The pandemic has shown just how essential it is to adapt by leveraging technology, and the companies that flourish are usually the ones that make it an integral part of their framework. 

And This Trend is Unlikely to Stop Post-COVID

COVID dealt the economy a major blow and one that will take a long time to completely recover from. That said, it is starting to recover, which is evidenced by growth in the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the past six months plus. 

Here’s where it was on March 23, 2020, when COVID was in full swing in the US. 

And here’s where it’s currently at on October 27, 2020. 

Restrictions on face-to-face interactions are starting to ease, and life is gradually returning back to normal. However, a large percentage of HR teams plan on sticking with the technology they’re currently using for remote hiring moving forward. 

“Most employers are now comfortable using technology for talent acquisition, with 82% of hiring managers saying they will continue to interview using video once the pandemic is over,” Stuart Gentle adds. 

That’s largely because of the major benefits that remote hiring technology provides, including:

  • Greater efficiency
  • Time savings
  • Reduced costs
  • Streamlined onboarding 

You just can’t put the genie back in the bottle on something like this, and it’s clear that a growing number of talent acquisition teams will continue to embrace remote processes in the future.  

How to Adapt Post-COVID

Now the question is, how exactly can you get your HR team up to speed with remote hiring technology?

Maybe you had already made some small initiatives prior to the pandemic. Or, maybe you hadn’t made any initiatives at all. 

What are some specific steps you take to adapt moving forward?

Here’s the general four-step formula you’ll want to follow. 

  1. Examine Your Current Recruiting Process

First, you’ll want to map out the process you’re currently using step-by-step so that you have a bird’s eye view of your methodologies, technologies, tactics, and so on. 

  1. Identify Which Recruiting Steps Could Be Done Remotely

Next, look over your current recruiting process to identify specific areas where technology could potentially be implemented to be done remotely. Maybe, for instance, it would be possible to interview candidates through a video conferencing platform without skipping a beat. 

Or, rather than having HR members meet with one another physically to assess candidates, they could use a recruiting and hiring platform to find top talent based on core selling competencies. 

  1. Determine Which Technologies Could Be Used

Once you know the areas where technology could realistically be applied, you’ll want to figure out which specific technologies you could use. For interviewing, you may want to use a leading video conferencing software like Zoom. And for candidate assessment, you could use HireDNA, which assesses candidates on 21 core selling competencies such as motivation, desire, and coachability. 

  1. Implement Those Technologies In Phases

From there, it’s just a matter of putting those technologies to use. The key to being successful is getting everyone in your company to buy in from the top down. It starts with senior leadership and trickles down to HR leaders and eventually everyone else within your HR team. 

Move in phases so as to not overwhelm anyone, and offer a comprehensive knowledge base featuring answers to FAQs, videos, and tutorials to make it simple for your team to learn the new technology. 

This quick guide from Atif Siddiqui of employee engagement platform Achievers should help make the transition as seamless as possible. 

Helping HR Adapt to a New Recruiting Reality

COVID has drastically changed many aspects of how modern businesses operate, and HR is no exception. Basically overnight HR teams have been forced to figure out new techniques for recruiting and hiring, with the vast majority adapting their strategy to accommodate remote processes. 

And this is something your company can do as well by following the four key steps listed above. That way you can find and onboard top talent regardless of what happens next. 

See how HireDNA can help improve your hiring, while embracing a more remote-centric approach. 92% of recommended candidates reach the top of the sales force within a year of being hired. 

Book a live demo now. 

The Top Sales Assessment Tests for Finding Elite Salespeople

Posted on by hiredna

Finding quality salespeople isn’t easy. In fact, a quick glimpse at recent data shows that it’s incredibly difficult, with as many as 80% of sales candidate hires producing an “unsatisfactory result.”

That’s why more and more CEOs and sales leaders are turning to sales assessment tests to help identify the candidates who possess the core competencies needed to succeed, as well as the right “sales DNA.” Sales assessment tests take a science-based approach and powerful technology to sift through a large candidate pool and narrow it down to the best of the best, virtually eliminating the potential for error. 

Here are the top sales assessment tests available, along with their unique benefits. 

Objective Management Group’s Sales Candidate Assessment

Objective Management Group (OMG) is a true pioneer of the sales assessment industry. Their test is widely regarded as one of the best and most reliable, with a staggering 92% of recommended and hired candidates reaching the top half of their sales teams within the first year. 

It has even received the honor of being rated the #1 sales assessment by Top Sales World for nine years straight. 

One of the main reasons why this tool is so effective is because of the personalized approach it takes. “Your customized Role Specification allows you to specify the unique requirements of your position. Candidates are then assessed against your criteria to create a recommendation custom-tailored to your needs.”

It also leverages a massive volume of data from over 2 million salespeople across more than 31,000 companies. 

Some specific sales skills and competencies OMG’s Sales Assessment analyzes are:

  • 21 core selling skills
  • The will to sell
  • Motivation
  • Coachability
  • The “figure-it-out-factor”

So, if you’re looking for an exhaustive tool with an amazing track record, this is definitely one to consider. 

SalesFuel HIRE Sales Assessment Test

Referred to as “moneyball for sales hiring,” this assessment from SalesFuel also takes a highly data-driven approach and analyzes nine specific categories of sales competency, including everything from planning and preparation to self-management. 

This allows sales CEOs and sales leaders to objectively know for sure if a “candidate truly possesses the knowledge of their craft that comes from experience and success.” It’s a quick and effective way to determine whether a sales candidate is legitimate and capable of delivering on their promises or merely a “sales imposter.”

The SalesFuel HIRE Sales Assessment Test was developed by four of today’s leading sales experts…

  • Jeffrey Gitomer – Author, speaker, and business trainer
  • C. Lee Smith – CEO of SalesFuel and bestselling author of StreetCred
  • Tony Alessandra – Entrepreneur, business author, and famous keynote speaker
  • Jim Cathcart – Entrepreneur, speaker, and bestselling author of Relationship Selling

…who all bring their own brand of expertise to the table to create a comprehensive sales hiring formula to greatly increase your chance of success. 

The Brooks Talent Index Sales Assessment

This sales assessment “allows hiring managers to back up their gut feeling with validated science — and choose the candidate with the greatest fit and potential to succeed in the role.” The Brooks Talent Index does this by generating four key types of scientifically validated reports.

First, there’s behavior style, which Identifies how a candidate handles problems and challenges and how they adapt to their environment. 

Second, there’s motivators, which figures out the reasons why a candidate does the things they do and whether or not they have the drive to excel in a position. More specifically, the Brooks Talent Index looks at theoretical, utilitarian, aesthetic, social, individualistic, and traditional motivators.

Third, there’s the personal skills inventory, which assesses a candidate’s critical thinking skills to reveal the approach they take to making decisions, their primary strengths, as well as any biases that could hinder their decision making. 

Fourth and finally, this tool looks at sales skills to determine whether or not a candidate possesses the exact abilities needed to thrive within your company. It analyzes strengths, along with gaps in skills that could potentially be a problem. 

And as you can see from these graphs, this sales assessment test is very visual, making the findings easy to digest and understand. 

SalesGenomix

This final tool is built upon a massive volume of data, including 20 years of research and half a million sales professionals. Although not quite as accurate as predicting success as OMG’s sales assessment at 92%, SalesGenomix still boasts a high accuracy rate of 80%. 

It’s also been praised by reputable sales and marketing companies such as Aberdeen Group and CSO Insights. 

Like most effective tools, SalesGenomix is designed to evaluate candidates based on the specific sales position you’re trying to fill and doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. 

It’s incredibly in-depth and measures 140 sales attributes across 14 different sales roles. So, whether you’re simply looking to hire a salesperson or a higher level position like a sales manager, this tool can help you do it, while efficiently filtering candidates out until you find top tier talent. 

It’s also extremely fast, where SalesGenomix gives a candidate the assessment, scores the results, and provides you with recommendations within just a few hours. 

Don’t Leave Critical Hiring Decisions to Chance

The unpleasant truth is that many salespeople simply fall short, with as many as 57% missing their quotas each year. Even seasoned CEOs and sales leaders with a strong eye for talent can easily choose the wrong salespeople — something that largely happens from relying on a hunch rather than data.  

Using a proven sales assessment test like one of the tools mentioned here allows you to take a science-based approach where you can seamlessly sift through candidates and identify truly elite salespeople with surgical precision. 

So, at the end of the day you can make your hires with supreme confidence and build a rock solid team of high performers. 

See how HireDNA can help you attract and recruit better talent, while slashing your hire time in half. Request a demo today. 

Over Three Quarters of Salespeople Now Use Virtual Meetings: How to Adapt to This New Trend

Posted on by hiredna

The transition from physical to digital is nothing new and has been happening in the sales world for quite some time. Making pitches to leads through video conferencing software and doing virtual demos, for example, are things most salespeople are at least somewhat familiar with. 

But COVID-19 has accelerated this transition dramatically, pouring gasoline on the fire of digital transformation. Travel restrictions, social distancing, and a more contactless way of life have forced salespeople to switch up their approach and embrace virtual meetings. 

Here are the details and how to adapt to this new trend. 

77% of Salespeople Are Having Virtual Meetings Post-COVID

In 2019, 43% of remote and in-house teams used a video conferencing platform — a significant number, but nothing overwhelming. In the wake of COVID, however, that number jumped all the way to 77%, for a 34% year-over-year increase. To illustrate this spike, just look at the price of Zoom stocks and how they’ve skyrocketed since mid-March 2020 when COVID hit the US hard. 

And this has created some major changes in how salespeople interact with leads. 

“There’s been a fundamental shift in how B2B sellers connect and communicate on an interpersonal level,” says Sean Callahan, Senior Manager of content marketing at LinkedIn. “There are no firm handshakes. No fresh-printed sales dossiers. Everything from the pitch to the proposal is going digital, which means B2B sellers need to adapt.”

Virtual Meetings Become the New Norm

It should also be noted that this isn’t a trend that will go away as life goes back to normal.

“Even after the pandemic ends, it is likely that virtual meetings will be more commonplace,” Callahan adds. “With more than three-quarters of sellers saying they are holding more virtual meetings, the tools and skills are gaining traction; meanwhile, buyers are also becoming more familiar and comfortable with this method of interacting.”

As more and more companies, as well as consumers get cozy with virtual meetings, you can expect this to become the new norm and the preferred means of communication for many people. 

Afterall, video conferencing tools offer a ton of benefits, including:

Besides that, research has found these tools can improve communication and relationship-building. Here’s some notable data from a Lifesize survey. 

You can’t put the genie back in the bottle on something like this, and virtual meetings are here to stay regardless of what happens with COVID moving forward. That means sales teams need to get on board with this technology, and fast. 

How to Adapt to This New Trend 

So, what are some specific steps your company can take to ensure you’re up-to-speed and on pace with the competition? How do you fully capitalize on this technology? 

Here are some ideas. 

Use Universally Recognized Video Conferencing Software

For starters, you need to pick the right platform to hold virtual meetings on. There are numerous options out there, so you’ll want to choose one that’s user-friendly (both for salespeople and for leads) and that’s used universally.

At the moment, the most popular virtual platform is definitely Zoom. We mentioned earlier that their stock value has soared recently, and this graph shows how it’s head and shoulders above the competition. 

So, if you’re looking for a “safe bet” tool that’s easy to learn and that leads will recognize and feel comfortable with, Zoom is the clear choice. Some other top contenders include GoToMeeting, Join.Me, and Cisco Webex. 

Turn the Camera On

Next, have your sales team encourage the leads they’re speaking with to turn on their cameras. Why? 

Research has found that closing rates increase by at least 10% when cameras are turned on. That’s largely because it helps with rapport-building and makes it so salespeople can read a lead’s body language more easily for deeper interactions. The easiest way to encourage leads is to use a script like this one created by Marcus Sheridan of ImpactBND. 

That right there can be huge for creating closer connections between your salespeople and leads and can boost revenue considerably. 

Master Screen Sharing

In most cases, a salesperson will need to share content with a prospect such as a product demo, a whiteboard, or an application. Any friction during this process can make a rep look unprofessional and derail even the best of presentations. 

That’s why they need to know the ins and outs of screen sharing and be able to seamlessly share content without any hiccups. Have them check out a screen sharing tutorial of the software your company is using — here’s one from Zoom as an example — and practice until it’s automatic. 

Follow Virtual Meeting Interaction Best Practices 

Having a sales call virtually comes with its own set of best practices. Here are some of the most important to follow:

  • Look directly into the camera – Know exactly where it’s located and use consistent eye contact
  • Keep the right distance from the screen – Be close enough so a lead can see a rep’s face but not so close that they’re hovering
  • Use the right volume – Leads should be able to comfortably hear, but it shouldn’t be so loud that it’s distracting
  • Turn off online messages or notifications – Getting pinged during the middle of a meeting can throw off the vibe. 

Adapting to the New Norm 

Virtual meetings were already catching on before COVID struck. But with the pandemic greatly reducing face-to-face interactions, the use of virtual meetings has absolutely skyrocketed. Therefore, it’s essential that your sales team not only gets familiar with this technology but learns how to master it. 

Looking to find top tier salespeople that are skilled with this and other technology? See how HireDNA can help you find better sales talent, faster using science-based sales assessments. 

Request a demo now. 

88% of Leads Buy When a Salesperson Assumes the Role of Trusted Advisor: How to Capitalize on This Stat

Posted on by hiredna

There are certain professions that people are inherently wary of. Car salesmen, real estate agents, and lawyers are just a few that come to mind. 

But it turns out that there’s also a growing distrust of salespeople these days. One study found that just 32% of buyers view sales as a “trustworthy profession,” while another study says only a paltry 3% consider salespeople to be trustworthy. 

Whatever data you go by, there’s clearly a negative perception of salespeople and something they need to overcome. So, how exactly can they go about that?

It’s simple. Assume the role of a “trusted advisor.” 

An Age of Unprecedented Customer Empowerment

We live in a new era where people are more empowered than ever when it comes to making purchases — something that’s largely due to the internet. Having access to an unending supply of information where buyers can search for literally anything in seconds means they’re highly informed.

Or as Gigi Peccolo, Content Manager of conversational AI platform OneReach, puts it, “The information gap between companies and customers is slowly being closed as the empowered learn what they’re capable of. It’s no longer a monopoly, it’s a duopoly, and it’s shifting in customers’ favor.”

This means most people have very little patience for fast talking, back slapping salespeople trying to separate them from their money. And if they sense the least bit of dishonesty or sleaziness, they’re quick to walk away and look elsewhere. That’s especially true for B2B buyers who often have a strong familiarity with inside sales tactics that your average consumer does not. 

Closing the Trust Gap

And this collective distrust of salespeople is a big problem. Without a basic sense of trust, you can’t even expect B2B buyers to listen to a sales pitch, let alone make a major purchase that could potentially make or break their company. No matter how rock solid your sales funnel is, it’s going to be an uphill battle if you can’t close the trust gap. 

The key to doing this is to modify your approach where instead of your team taking the role of traditional salespeople, they instead strive to be trusted advisors. Considering that 88% of people are only willing to buy when they view a salesperson as a trusted advisor, this can be your ticket to not just getting immediate sales, but paving the way for repeat business as well as referrals.

In fact, “79% of business buyers say it’s absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is a trusted advisor — not just a sales rep — who adds value to their business.”

How to Make the Shift to Trusted Advisor

For starters, it requires that your sales team collectively adopts a different mindset than what they’re probably used to in terms of interacting with buyers. And the key to doing that is having your salespeople treat it like they’re merely helping leads find the right solution and supplying them with information to make an informed choice rather than straight up “selling.”

Sean Callahan, Senior Manager of Content Marketing at LinkedIn, says it well with this quote. “People need to feel like they’re making an informed decision about a purchase without background sales pressure. Don’t think of it as selling: think of it as providing the information, benefits, and value so the customer can sell themselves.”

In other words, it’s about shifting from sales to solutions. That should be the initial catalyst for making the transition. 

Develop the Core Qualities of a Trusted Advisor

Next, your salespeople need to focus on developing the core qualities that B2B are seeking.

These include:

  • Fully researching each buyer to understand their industry, needs, pain points, goals, etc.
  • Demonstrating competency by knowing the ins and outs of different product solutions and how they relate to the buyer’s specific needs 
  • Improving question asking skills to show genuine interest in a buyer’s business and provide the optimal level of service
  • Being transparent and honest every step of the way during interactions
  • Acting with integrity and not offering products a buyer doesn’t truly need
  • Keeping a collaborative tone with buyers, letting them know the salesperson is working to come up with the best possible solutions 
  • Developing real chemistry with the buyer and striving to achieve a certain sense of “likability”

Follow a Customer Focused Problem Solving Process

Finally, there’s a particular problem solving process that Nick Frank, Managing Partner at Si2 Partners outlines that is helpful for achieving the role of trusted advisor. 

It involves six steps, which break down as follows:

It’s all about identifying what each individual buyer’s unique pain point is, figuring out what’s causing the problem, and determining what specific product your company offers that can solve it. From there, it’s a matter of implementing the solution and maintaining close contact afterward to ensure everything goes smoothly and addressing any issues that may arise.

It’s not about shoving some random product down a buyer’s throat and leaving them on their own after that. Rather, a salesperson should act as a buyer’s own personal advisor who sticks with them every step of the way. 

Appealing to 88% of Leads

We’re living in a new age where old school, and quite frankly raunchy sales tactics that are ultra aggressive no longer cut it. The vast majority of B2B buyers are not only unreceptive to this type of approach, they’re completely turned off of it. And most can sniff out any sleaziness from a mile away. 

But what they are receptive to is dealing with salespeople who they view as trusted advisors. Helping your sales team transition to this role is critical moving forward and can be instrumental in converting more leads and generating bigger profits. 

Looking to hire top sales talent who “get it?” HireDNA can help you do that while using powerful recruiting technology and science-based sales assessments to eliminate 96% of hiring mistakes. Get your demo today.