Streamlining the Hiring Process for Success

Fourth quarter hiring is in full swing, and candidates are actively and selectively interviewing. On average, the hiring process from the time a resume is submitted to offer and acceptance is 7-10 days, and the majority of candidates we are placing, roughly 85%, are currently in full-time roles while looking for their next opportunity. One key to successfully hiring the most qualified candidate for your organization is having a streamlined hiring process. Be sure that everyone who will be involved in the hiring and decision-making is available and committed to the process.

Because the majority of candidates are currently employed, we’ve found that it is best to keep the interviews as concise and thorough as possible. Typically a preliminary phone screen, followed by an on-site meeting where the candidate will spend anywhere from two to four hours seem to be the most successful. Depending on your company style, the on-site interview can be a series of one-on-one meetings or a group interview. Either way, be sure everyone the candidate needs to meet is available.

Ask yourself “why are we hiring this person, and what qualifications are necessary for the role?” Seems simple enough, however, the more organized the whole team is, the better impression you’ll make on the candidate, and the better hire you’ll make. First off, meet with those members who will be part of the interview team. Determine what this person will be doing on a daily/weekly basis, and structure your questions around the job responsibilities, as well as, the company environment. Be sure that the interviewers can take time out of their usual schedules to participate in the interview.

It is important to ask a mix of technical and soft-skill questions. Decide what questions each interviewer will ask to be sure that questions aren’t duplicated. Have each interviewer take notes during the interview, in order to give accurate feedback to the team. Asking the same questions of every candidate will also help in comparing candidates to each other. Some important issues to consider are “how will this person fit in with our current culture/dynamic?” “Are we looking to add diversity of talents to the current team?” “Will this person be managing others?” “Will this person be travelling or in front of clients?” Then gear your interview questions appropriately. Focus should also be given as to why this candidate wants this job, and why they want to work for your company. There are a myriad of questions that can be asked in an interview. One of the best ways to determine what questions to ask, is will the answer help me make a decision for or against hiring this person.

Remember that the candidates are evaluating you and the company as well. Be honest in your representation of your company and the responsibilities of the position. Be prepared to answer the candidate’s questions as well, including information on benefits. If need be, include someone from Human Resources on the interview team. As soon as possible after the interview, have a meeting to discuss the feedback from each team member. If it is decided that the candidate is a good all around fit for your needs, don’t wait! Keep the momentum going by putting together an offer letter and getting references checked. Know that if you think someone is a good hire, another hiring Manager is thinking the same thing.

 

Want To Open A Small Business But Don’t Know Where To Start?

If you are considering opening a small business, you may not have any idea where to start. Keep in mind that the first step with any business is the idea. If you are considering opening a small business, you probably have the idea, but need to know what the next steps are.

A good place to start is to create a business plan. A business plan is a written plan of your business and is needed to obtain financing, through financial institutions or investors. Business plans generally contain three different sections of information. The first section is the business concept. In this section, describe your business, its structure, its products or services and your plans, as the business owner, regarding how you will make the business successful. The second section is the marketplace section. In this section, describe who your customers are, who your competitors are and what sets your business apart from others. The third section is the financial section. This is where you will predict your revenues and expenses. You will create pro forma financial statements as well as financial ratios using your best estimates. Pro forma statements are statements that contain predictions of financial information. Many people starting a business will create a pro forma income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.

To create these statements, many companies use business software. Business software is a valuable thing required to start a business anyhow, so it’s often a good idea to invest in this software during preliminary planning stages of the business. As a business owner, you are likely to have employees. With employees come paychecks. To handle this, you must also purchase payroll software. Iris Software is one brand of payroll software that is highly recommended for business owners, and people beginning new businesses.

Continuing with the business plan; this plan will help you outline details of the business and make important plans. It is vital that you create it as realistically as possible and that you complete it prior to opening the business. A good business plan can help you attract investors, and can also help make the financing go through.

When starting a business, there are many other factors to consider and decisions to make. Many of these things must be done prior to making a business plan. For one, you must choose a location for your business. As you look into locations, keep in mind several things, but primarily the convenience factor. Look at several locations and decide if it is strategically located for customers to easily see it and come to it. Is there enough parking? Can you afford the rent? Choose the best location based on these, and other, factors.

Another key aspect of starting a business is choosing the legal structure of the business. There are several different options including sole proprietorship, partnership, Limited Liability Company, corporation and S-corporation. Compare the tax implications of each, and the benefits each type offers, before choosing one. You must also choose a business name and obtain all of the necessary permits and licenses applicable in your area.

Sales Management – How to Conduct Effective Sales Team Meetings

If you have a sales team or are considering building one, at some point you will need to figure out how (and whether) you want to conduct group sales team meetings. This article answers some frequently asked questions about sales team meetings.

How often should sales team meetings be held?

I’m not a big fan of regularly scheduled sales team meetings. I find it boring to go person-by-person and discuss the status of specific opportunities, the percentage each individual is to quota, etc.

It’s one thing if a salesperson is doing something unusual or unique in pursuit of an opportunity and sharing what they are doing would constitute a good learning experience for other salespeople. However, I usually find that most discussions concerning individual opportunities are not very enriching for the other sales team members.

My philosophy is I prefer to bring the sales team together on an ad hoc basis when there is something to discuss that would benefit the entire team. This could be for sales training, product training, important announcements, etc.

With that said, if a sales team is more junior, or if you are in the process of changing your sales culture, or if you want to teach all of your salespeople a specific new skill, then regularly scheduled training meetings can make sense. However, if a sales team is more seasoned, or if it has a mix of people with substantially different levels of knowledge and experience, working with salespeople one-on-one tends to be more productive than group meetings.

How often should I meet individually with salespeople?

If a salesperson is achieving or exceeding quota, I like to schedule a weekly, one-hour meeting. The focus of this meeting is to:

 

  • Discuss the progress (or lack thereof) of pipeline opportunities
  • Discuss new opportunities that have been identified
  • Strategize how to best pursue key opportunities

 

Often the greatest value a sales manager can add when dealing with a productive salesperson is suggesting creative ideas for advancing opportunities through the sales cycle more quickly.

For salespeople who are NOT achieving quota (including new salespeople), I suggest that management schedule one-hour meetings as frequently as necessary (including daily) to help the salesperson get on track. Going on “buddy calls” also provides great opportunities to observe the salesperson in action.

In these meetings the focus should be on determining:

 

  • The quantity and quality of the salesperson’s activities
  • Whether their activities are producing the desired results
  • Sources of and solutions for any challenges they are running into

 

When performance issues are identified, conducting repetitive role plays is often the most productive way for management to help the salesperson become more comfortable executing specific skills and approaches properly. As the salesperson becomes more comfortable with, and more effective at executing, key steps in the sales process, meeting frequency can be reduced until you get to a single, scheduled, one-hour meeting each week.

Should members of the marketing team attend sales team meetings?

Absolutely… especially if you are trying to instill a “one team” mindset.

When hosting a joint meeting that includes both Sales and Marketing representatives, try to focus the meeting agenda on information that will help the members of the two organizations understand each other better and work together more effectively to produce the desired end result (which is usually increased sales, higher profits, etc.). For example:

 

  • If marketing is conducting a campaign to generate sales leads, there should be discussion about what constitutes a qualified lead
  • If marketing would like the sales team to report information to help marketing gauge the effectiveness of a campaign, there should be discussion about:
  • The information that is being requested
  • Whether the sales team is the best resource to provide the requested information
  • Why marketing needs the information
  • The accountability sales management will ask the salespeople to accept related to providing the requested information
  • The frequency with which the information needs to be provided
  • How sales management will inspect to ensure that the necessary information is being provided in a consistent and timely fashion

 

There could be many other agenda items, but they will generally fit under one of two umbrellas: (1) helping Sales and Marketing understand each other better, and (2) helping Sales and Marketing work together more effectively.