Test Yourself For Sales Success

© Copyright 2007 The HR Chally Group

Are you in sales and want to make it a successful long-term career? Are you interested in sales and want to know if you can make it financially and personally rewarding?

New research from industrial/organizational psychologists at Wright State University suggests that the answer might depend upon the match between your natural sales talents and skills and the demands of your sales role. At a very basic level, there are two kinds of professional salespeople: new business developers, often called hunters or rainmakers; and account managers, often called farmers.

The two roles require very different skills for long-term success. Picking the role in which you can excel in could be critical to achieving your personal and financial goals.

How important is picking the right sales role? Look at the odds:

1. Nearly 65% of salespeople who fail could have succeeded in a sales role that matched their skills.

2. Only 19% of effective hunters are just as effective at maintaining their customers over the long term, a skill critical to the success of farmers. ...Read More >>

Rehearsing For The Big Show

Copyright 2003 CareerBuilder.com

There's more to preparing for a job interview than copying your resume and buying a great outfit. How you act during an interview and your ability to answer questions well will dramatically increase your chance of landing the job. So where do you begin? Career coaches suggest spending at least three hours preparing for the interview.

The first step in preparing for your interview is to head to your local library or log on to the Internet to research the company with whom you’ll be interviewing. Using a popular search engine will lead you to a variety of sites that contain information about the company. The best place to start is the company’s own web site. There you’ll find information about the company’s products, services, subsidiaries and parent company. One of the most helpful areas to visit on any company’s web site is its public relations area – or press room. Here you can read recent press releases to find out what’s going on within the company, important company facts such as its size, number of employees, annual sales, market share and top executives.

If the company is publicly held, the investor relations section will provide important financial information about the company and its subsidiaries. Be sure to scan through the company’s 10Ks, 10Qs and annual reports. These documents contain important and detailed information about the company. Nearly all annual reports will include an “Industry Overview and Background” section. You’ll also find vital information about the company in the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis” section. There you’ll find results of operations and risks to the company and the industry in which it operates. Don’t overlook the notes following the financial statements. Here you’ll find information about acquisitions and sales of subsidiaries, restructurings and any major staff reductions. ...Read More >>

Lynn Hazan & Associates, Inc. is an executive recruitment and consulting firm in Chicago specializing in communications and marketing. Lynn Hazan, a seventeen-year industry veteran, focuses on national searches in communications, marketing and consulting, and represents clients in hi-tech, consulting, telecommunications, insurance, health care, financial and professional services, advertising, public relations and publishing. The following is a list of interview do’s and don’ts that Hazan shares with all her candidates:

Do:
1. Arrive on time.
2. Establish rapport to be called back for a second interview.
3. Demonstrate by word and deed your fit for the position.
4. Project a professional image. Dress appropriately. In these more conservative times, it's better to dress more conservatively, at least for the first interview.
5. Go in prepared. Do your background research, including internet, newspaper, etc. about the company, products, services and the person you are meeting with.
6. Reflect on ways you could contribute to the company. Be concrete and use examples based on past history and contributions to current/previous company.
7. Be engaging. Let your enthusiasm and interest for the job shine through. Clients don't hire wooden boxes.
8. Use action verbs and appeal to the senses.
9. If you were part of a team effort, acknowledge the team's contribution. If your achievement was your contribution, let the interviewer know (without bragging).
10. Have fun and relax. If you are tense, you'll be seen as rigid and uncomfortable. Breath deeply before you start the interview and center yourself.
11. Debrief immediately with your recruiter (if you are being represented). Your thoughts and feedback will be helpful to the recruiter in his/her communications with the client, and can help influence decisions.
12. Send a thank you letter within 24 hours. This demonstrates your interest, attention to detail and another opportunity to market yourself. Reference key points covered during the interview and why you would be the perfect fit.
13. Be a role model for your profession. ...Read More >>