hiring tips Archives

10 Sales Interview Questions That Will Help You Reveal Top Performers

Posted on March 29, 2021March 30, 2021 by caitlinhoward

sales interview questions to reveal top performers

Hiring the right salesperson can substantially increase revenue, but it can be difficult to predict which sales candidates will be successful in the future and which ones will underperform. However, asking the right sales interview questions can help you reveal the top performers. Research from Steve W. Martin of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business reveals wha...

Warning: You’re Losing Money by Not Hiring Sales Executives

Posted on December 4, 2019April 12, 2023 by caitlinhoward

There are a variety of reasons why sales reps fail, from bad company onboarding to a wrong cultural fit. But perhaps the number one reason sales reps are unsuccessful is a lack of sales leadership. This can be prevented by hiring sales executives that can train and lead your sales team. Not having strong sales leadership means you’re losing out on potential revenue from sales reps who ...

3 Things Job Seekers Are Looking For In a New Position

Posted on September 8, 2016January 5, 2021 by caitlinhoward

If you’ve ever hired a new employee or have been involved in the hiring process, you know that it’s not an easy undertaking and that things don’t always go as planned. Job candidates lose interest, accept positions at other companies, and sometimes even fail to show up for an interview and don’t even call to let you know why. While some candidate fall-off is expected, if you’re consistently failin...

Avoid Hiring Regret By Asking Sales Reps About These Skills

Posted on August 4, 2016January 5, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Skilled sales reps have a lot of practice selling not only their product or service but also selling themselves. While this is a great ability for a sales rep to have, it can make interviewing one very difficult. Many times a sales rep will be hired based on their charisma and confidence during an interview, but when it come time for them to perform, oftentimes they’re unsuccessful. The best way t...

Recruiting Strategies for a Competitive Candidate Market

Posted on July 27, 2016January 5, 2021 by caitlinhoward

If you’re currently trying to fill open positions at your company, you know this can be a very frustrating task. Oftentimes, the position will be posted on a job board, and while you’ll get a lot of response, none of the candidates is a fit for the position. Or you’ll reach out to passive candidates on LinkedIn and won’t get a response or they will engage with you for a while but then tell you the...

Hiring Millennials: 3 Things HR Needs to Know

Posted on June 29, 2016January 5, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Much has been said about the Millennial generation and how to recruit and hire them. Statements about how they have unrealistic career goals, an endless need for praise, and only focusing on perks like happy hour end up leaving employers and hiring managers anxious and confused about how to attract and appeal to this generation. But in fact, it seems these generalizations might not have as much ...

5 Ways to Attract Top Candidates to Your Open Positions

Posted on June 22, 2016March 25, 2021 by caitlinhoward

If your company doesn’t have a deliberate strategy to attract top talent, then you’re not getting the best candidates to apply for your open positions. Everything from your website to how your hiring managers speak to candidates should reflect your company's brand and mission. Here are 5 ways to improve your company’s talent attraction strategy and help influence top candidates to app...

3 Hiring Challenges HR Professionals Will Encounter This Year

Posted on May 25, 2016January 6, 2021 by caitlinhoward

HR professionals face new hiring challenges every year to keep their company staffed with highly skilled employees. Advancements in technology, changes in the economic climate, and lack of talented candidates could all affect your ability to find and retain new employees. 2016 is already in full force so you may have already encountered some of these challenges, and if you haven’t, there’s a good ...

4 Soft Skills to Look For When Hiring a New Employee

Posted on January 8, 2016January 6, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Hiring a new employee is a complex process. The candidate needs to have the skills required to perform the job, the right experience level, and fit the minimum requirements. But when you have a pool of candidates who all meet these tangible requirements, it really comes down to the individual’s soft skills. You can interview an extremely talented designer who fits all the criteria but if they ar...

How To Craft a Job Description to Attract the Right Level of Sales Reps

Posted on January 6, 2016January 6, 2021 by caitlinhoward

When creating a job description for a new sales position, people often struggle with how many years of experience they should require for the position. Since every sales position varies, it’s important to figure out the right amount of experience needed for each specific job. Evaluating the job duties, work location, your budget, and your training methods can provide insight into how many years of...

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Your First Sales Rep

Posted on November 11, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

As companies start to grow, it becomes much harder for the founders to give enough attention to both selling and running the company without sacrificing quality along the way. When this happens, oftentimes the next step is to hire a sales rep to join the team. Hiring a sales rep can be a lot for a small business to take on, and there are some crucial things you should consider before you hire your...

How To Sell Your Open Positions To Top Candidates

Posted on September 25, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

An interview is not only about the candidate selling their abilities to the employer, but also about the employer selling the opportunity to the candidate. Too many companies focus on evaluating the candidate and don’t spend enough time talking about potential growth opportunities, perks, and benefits of working for their company. According to the data from the MRINetwork Recruiter Sentiment Study...

Want to Hire Top Salespeople? Follow This 8 Step Process

Posted on September 16, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

When small businesses and startups are ready to start scaling, one of the first positions they look to hire is a sales representative. Oftentimes, these entrepreneurs and business owners have little to no experience with hiring and even less experience with hiring salespeople. However, the companies who are successful when hiring sales reps all have one thing in common: they start with a defined ...

The Best Times To Reach Out To Candidates (And Actually Get a Response)

Posted on August 27, 2015May 31, 2023 by caitlinhoward

Does this situation sound familiar to you? After weeks of relentless searching for top talent, you’re actually starting to find some great candidates. You even think you’ve found a couple of ‘A players’ who are perfect for the position. You’re starting to think you’ve got this in the bag. Then you try to reach out to them. First, you start with a phone call. No reply. Then another phone c...

How to Create a Consistent Hiring Process

Posted on August 25, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

As summer starts to wind down, hiring begins to ramp up before fourth quarter for many companies. Before you dive into recruitment, take this time to first review your hiring process. The more consistent you can be when moving candidates through the interview process, the more accurate you will be when making a final hiring decision. Also, studies estimate the cost of a bad hire at 30% of a pers...

3 Ways to Find Good Employees in the Candidate-Driven Job Market

Posted on August 12, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Finding good employees has never been an easy task, but finding good employees in a candidate-driven job market can seem nearly impossible. In this new job market, fewer people are looking for work and more jobs are available. In fact, 34 percent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in the third quarter, up from 31 percent last year, according to CareerBuilder’s 2015 Midyear U....

Guest Post: How To Recruit the Millennial Generation

Posted on June 29, 2015January 7, 2021 by caitlinhoward

Guest Post by Terra Clarke Olsen via AkkenCloud Millennials are entering the workforce with new skills and different expectations than any generation before. With Millennials making up 40 percent of the workforce by 2020, refusal to adapt could be hurting companies' bottom lines. This infographic offers a look into how Millennials are different than previous generations and the best wa...

How to Keep Candidates Engaged Through A Long Hiring Process

Posted on June 25, 2015March 29, 2023 by caitlinhoward

Background checks, behavioral/job related assessments, and multiple interviews all help ensure employers hire the right person, but also increase the amount of time the candidate is left waiting for a decision. The average time to fill a position across all industries and employers in the United States is 42 days, according to Industry Today. Other studies report an average of 27...