Lecture Dalrymple''s sales management: Concepts and cases – Chapter 7: Recruiting and selecting personnel

Lecture Dalrymple''s sales management: Concepts and cases – Chapter 7: Recruiting and selecting personnel. This chapter presents the following content: Recruitment and selection planning, recruitcandidates, selectprospects, validating the process.

SALES FORCE COMPETENCIES

Chapter 7:

Recruiting and Selecting  Sales Personnel

Recruit Candidates Select Prospects Select Prospects Validating the Process Validating the ProcessChapter 7: Outline

Comparisons

Six Sigma Standard Error Rate Application Business 

manufacturers

average

1.6 Sigma 45 per 100 Typical employment 

selection and  deployment

Source: “Total Quality Sales Management, The HR Chally Group, 2008 

      Turnover Industry       Rates

Construction 13.8% Office Equipment 47.0

Wholesale (Consumer Goods) 18.5

Electronics 14.1 Business Services 26.2 Pharmaceuticals   8.3 Banking   4.3 Real Estate 11.9

Source: Dartnell’s 30 th  Sales Force Compensation Survey (1999), p.187.

Turnover Rates in Selected 

Industries

Company Culture and the  Hiring Process

core culture.

companies?

Job Responsibilities

 The Chally Group, a sales consulting company, 

found that matching a person’s skills set with the  skills required by the sales job led to higher 

About Salespeople

PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS TRAITS      WHO RATED MOST VALUED Willingness to fight for customer:

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Conduct screening interviews

Check credit and background

Check credit and background

Complete psychological and achievement tests

Complete psychological and achievement tests

Measure subsequent success on the job

Hiring criteria for sales jobs used to guide selection

process

Hiring criteria for sales jobs used to guide selection

process

Modify hiring criteria, tests or

Interview procedures

Modify hiring criteria, tests or

 “MGM Mirage Chairman and Chief Executive J. Terrence Lanni, one of the gambling industry's most powerful figures, 

announced late Thursday he would step down from his 

executive posts

when Mr. Lanni found himself in a dispute with his alma mater over his academic credentials after questions were raised by The Wall Street Journal.”

– WSJ 11/14/2008

they "often" or "sometimes" find résumé inaccuracies when 

vetting prospective hires, according to the Society for Human Resource Management

QUESTIONS

What is the interviewer trying to determine in  the following questions?

1.What was the most monotonous job you ever  had to do?

in life?

boredom?

– What is your leadership style & philosophy?

QUESTIONS

About two weeks after starting a new job, doubts creep  into your mind.  The gap between what you were told and  what’s actually happening gets wider by the day.  When  you’re on the job for three weeks, you say to yourself, “I  think I made a mistake.”  One way to avoid making a 

costly mistake like this is to ask the right questions when  interviewing.  What questions would you ask when 

applying for a field sales position to avoid accepting the  wrong job?

 Why did s/he leave your company?

 Would you rehire the applicant?  Why?

leaders, and pacesetters.  They are your  typical salesperson.

to established clients.

Medium­sized signatures 

(about 1/4 inch).

These people are your team players.  Interaction is their byword and they tend 

to play strictly by the rules.  They take  calculated risks, with emphasis on the  calculations.  Not generally sales types.

Why should we hire you?

 Regardless of the company and type of sales position  for which you may interview, there are some 

interview questions that are typically asked.  You may  not be asked each of these questions in every 

interview, but you should be prepared to answer 

them all.  After reading each question, think about 

what the interviewer’s purpose may be in asking the  question.  What is he or she trying to determine?  

What should your response be to each question?