The MySalesTest website provides a free special report on the topic of Performance-Based Recruiting. The purpose of this (two-part) blog post is to offer specific suggestions for conducting steps 2, 3 and 5 of the performance-based recruiting process described in the special report.
Screening Resumes
When you screen sales job candidate resumes, always have a copy of your sales department's performance-based recruiting ad in front of you. This is because the bullets in the recruiting ad should identify the most important capabilities a candidate needs to bring to the table to succeed in the specific sales position being recruited.
As you review the candidate’s resume and cover letter, keep the following questions in mind:
Conducting Telephone Screening Calls
When you conduct telephone screening calls, once again have a copy of the sales department's performance-based recruiting ad in front of you. This is because your focus during the (typically 20 to 30 minute) screening call is to ask questions to determine whether the candidate can convince you they have key capabilities described in the recruiting ad. Focus on these capabilities because they are the most critical capabilities required to succeed in the sales position being recruited. If the candidate can't convince you they can do these things, there is no reason to invest any more time in them.
Conducting Interviews
During interviews the conversation gets much more granular. When your company prepares a list of suggested interview questions for sales job candidates, the earlier questions in the list should be asked during the telephone screening call. The remaining questions can be asked during the interview, where the focus is to go into greater detail to explore how the candidate does what they do.
Let’s use questions on the subjects of prospecting (in general) and cold calling (in particular) as an example. Here are some questions that might be asked during a telephone screening call:
Then, during an interview you could drill down further by asking these questions:
Here are some questions that could be asked to investigate a sales job candidate's cold calling prowess:
Next week's blog post will continue the conversation by discussing how role plays fit into the sales recruiting process and how to get the most benefit from the use of multiple interviewers.