The FIVE biggest mistakes in Sales Recruitment

 

 

1. “In my image”    

This is for the Sales Manager who is looking for themselves, but 10 years younger. They believe in “cloning”, they want to use the same management process, which “worked for me”. This is such a limitation. The market and the product, as well as the sales channel has changed so much, maybe YOU would not make it anymore. When they succeed in their recruitment aims, you end up with a mediocre sales department, and a huge recruitment bill.  Diversity Sells!

2. “I never hire a.....”   

this is prejudice run wild they exclude on the grounds of nationality, gender, race, shape and size, shoe colour, CV spelling and grammar, age, golf club membership, old school attended, university attended or not attended or previous employers. They give credence to the Groucho Marks’ line
“I would never work for a Company that would employ me!”

Keep an open mind, use evidence not prejudice.

3. “Best of a bad bunch” 

Having read a couple of CV’s, and seen two candidates in interview a job offer is made “to fill the spot quickly”. These managers do not believe in anything but luck, and mostly they are unlucky, especially in recruitment. Their ‘new hire’ never seem to work out; they were only the “best of a bad bunch”.

Recruitment is an on-going process; continually try to attract the best people.

4. “Jump to Conclusions”

With five more candidates still to see, you decide this is the one.
Let us make a job offer before somebody else does.
Somebody else will make a job offer! So, see the other five candidates,
make a short list, make the job offer and press for a speedy reply.

Alternatively, you eliminate a candidate for a simple error early in the process.
A poor covering letter, spelling error in the CV, late for the first interview, green tie and blue shirt, we all make ‘mistooks’, don’t we?

Do not rush to judgement gather all the evidence first, then weigh it and decide.

5. “Not accepting less than ‘perfect’”

You have extended the recruitment cycle, hundreds of CV’s, tens of interviews and yet you have made no offers. Wasting ‘good enough’ candidates, wasting your own time and having an empty sales territory. Review your process Job and Person specifications.

Loosen the criteria, get second opinions, change your sources of candidates and get a move on!

Final words, why does selection fail?

 

Selection fails either because YOU did not get the information
(Interview - Assessment Error)

 

or it fails because YOU did not use the information you had.
(Error of Judgement)