Hiring Tips Podcast

Of course this is something you know, but how often do we see a fabulous résumé and then omit doing a thorough interview as we believe we’ve got the right person?

Another way to find out more about your prospective employee is to perform a Google search.

The previous tip discussed having the applicant work for a full day (or even several days) without assurances of the job. This tip is similar but with a couple of key differences. Have your applicant work for an entire month on a conditional basis. He can leave at the end. You can let him go.

One idea that has been found successful is to have him work for a full day. Or maybe even several days. Give him a fairly quick understanding of what's needed and get him rolling.

In the first four tips on Hiring the Salesperson, we covered preparation, motivation, prospecting and sales technique. In this tip, let's tackle the Holy Grail of sales: closing!

Let’s say you’re hiring an Office Manager.  Fred has shown up for his interview and has Office Manager experience.  How do we know how experienced Fred is? Well, we can take Fred for a tour of the office. Here’s how it could go:

Most people have a pretty good idea of what’s expected of them. They’ve had some training for their position and ideally some apprenticing. This tip could even include those who have considerable training, for example health care professionals or software programmers. The question is, “What did you do when you didn’t know what to do?”

Today I read an interesting quote in a hiring book: “Companies are notorious for hiring based on skill and ability, and firing based on fit.” Certainly with regards to skill positions, I would agree with this.  

What about the prospective staff who look and sound great but a month or so down the road quit unexpectedly or compel the owner to fire them?

If your candidate is very goal-oriented, it would be helpful to know how this particular job fits in with his goals.  

When two employees near you were going back and forth in a heated argument, did you take steps to break it up? Or were you more inclined to let them sort it out?

Have you ever had a job interview with someone and you came out of it thinking:   She just rubbed me the wrong way.   From the perspective of making a hiring decision, what exactly does that mean?

I see the hiring process as pieces of a pie. Each piece can help you make a better decision.

Do you have a clear statement of the purpose of each position in your company? If not, take a bit of time and put this together.  

“George, what was a typical work day like?” George might ask for clarification and you could say, “Well, I’d like to get an idea what you did in your previous job but from a different perspective than what is on your résumé.

We owners understand that the work day doesn’t end at 5 or 6 o’clock. If several key things still need to get done, it is often the business owner who gets them done. If a customer calls after hours, the impulse is strongest with us to get back to him and not let it wait until the next day.

All of us at one time another have had disagreements with our boss. So what happens when we are asked to do something we feel we shouldn’t have to do?

This is the classic hiring question. But it doesn’t always get the answer you’re looking for, which is simply an unrehearsed answer.

There are a multitude of different sales approaches and techniques. Some of them may be just right for your business, some may not. Some actually may inhibit sales if used in your business.        

In this tip, we'll look at what has become a somewhat controversial subject in the sales world: prospecting.