SalesHQ

Hot Sales Sectors: Medical & Pharma

National Register, Sales Recruiters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:16:00 -0800

Q. I am considering a career in pharmaceutical or medical sales. What can you tell me about the medical industry?

A. First of all there is a vast difference between pharmaceutical sales and medical sales. Most professional sales recruiters know that both the skill sets and the day-to-day routine of the sales representatives in these two disciplines are very different. In fact, many candidates erroneously believe that pharmaceutical sales is an entry into the medical sales arena. This generally is not the case. Most of our medical sales clients instruct us to exclude pharmaceutical sales candidates from their searches.

Here is a brief, generalized description of both pharmaceutical and medical sales. Many candidates love the pharmaceutical industry for the very same reasons that many candidates are disappointed with the industry once they get into it. One should make a decision to enter into this field with proper knowledge.

Next: Pharmaceutical Sales

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Pharmaceutical Sales

PHARMACEUTICAL SALES are largely characterized by the fact that it is a public relations and educational type sale. Sales representatives are responsible for detailing medications to physicians. They provide samples for physicians to give to patients. They promote their products by making physicians aware of research and developing an "expertise" in their product lines. They may bring donuts, cookies or lunch to the nursing and office staff to promote good will toward the brand and gain better access to the doctor.

Some observations:

Because it is a detailing/education/PR effort, pharmaceutical sales is different than most other sales efforts, ie, there is no contract to sign, no close at the end of the process, no win/lose scenario and no direct payment to the rep for the closing of a deal. (Indeed, a quarterly bonus is typically paid for an increase of prescriptions in the sales territory.)

Sales people who are very personality and relationship-driven, who dislike prospecting or cold calling, who enjoy PR and enjoy "being the expert" tend to like pharmaceutical sales. Sales reps who are money-motivated, who love the close, who enjoy or at least appreciate new business development (because of the income it generates) and who want to be paid directly for their sales efforts tend not to like the pharmaceutical industry.

Because there is no close, no contract, no win/lose scenario, no direct incentive compensation, companies who have such sales programs (including most medical supply and equipment companies) do not want to hire reps with pharmaceutical experience. They would rather hire people with backgrounds more similar to their own sales effort, i.e., office products, business services, equipment, etc. These types of sales positions are characterized by the win/lose scenario (if you win the sale, your competitor loses it), answering objections, solving problems, closing the deal and signing a contract.

Companies who are involved in new business development, opening new markets, prospecting or cold calling (including most medical supply and equipment companies) do not want to hire pharmaceutical reps because their sales paradigm is so different. Again, these other companies would want to hire someone from a more similar culture than pharmaceutical sales breeds.

Next: Pharmaceutical Sales Compensation

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Pharmaceutical sales compensation employs the "golden handcuffs" technique. Sales representatives are given better-than-average salaries, a bonus plan for increased prescriptions written (based on a territory, district, region or company wide increase), a company car, excellent benefits and attractive perks (national sales conventions, exotic trips for top-achieving reps, etc.). While the typical package is better than average, overall income in pharmaceuticals never approaches the very high levels that high achievers in other sales fields will enjoy. High achievers in other incentive-based markets will almost always out-earn high achievers in pharmaceuticals.

While the detailing/education/PR sales is attractive to some, many leave the pharmaceutical sales market for just that reason. They get frustrated at the enormous amount of wasted time in the doctor's office (waiting right along with the other sick patients). They get frustrated with having to perform menial non-sales producing activities (picking up lunch, schmoozing the office staff, etc.) They get tired of dealing with condescending physicians who only want the samples and do not respect their education or training in the medical field.

Finally many sales candidates are being misled and having their careers derailed by the new breed of pharmaceutical contract sales companies. These companies are hired by the major-name pharmaceutical manufacturers to conduct temporary sales projects-- typically a new product rollout. The manufacturer, needing immediate impact "on the street," hires the contract firm to do the rollout. Naive sales candidates, thinking they are gaining a foothold into a career in pharmaceutical sales are hired by the contractor not realizing the time limits inherent to the assignment. They are coaxed with promises of advancement—maybe even into the manufacturer, or they are coaxed at least by the possibility of being hired by another pharmaceutical manufacturer. Then when the contract ends, these reps are laid off en-masse creating far too many candidates for the other positions available in the market. Our advice is caveat emptor—let the buyer beware if you are not signing on with the manufacturer.

Next: Medical Sales

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Medical Sales

Medical sales are generally divided into three categories: equipment, supplies or services.

Medical products sales representatives are generally more aggressive, more money-motivated, more activity-oriented than their pharmaceutical counterparts. Medical sales reps make cold calls, do demos, build relationships, answer objections, win clients to their brand, solve problems and sign contracts. Medical reps want commission or bonus for personal sales to be a key component to their compensation. The "golden handcuffs" described above may or may not be a part of their comp plan. They key difference from pharmaceuticals is the opportunity to earn high levels of income and the willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

Q. How can I get into medical sales?

A. Let's first address getting into medical equipment sales. As described elsewhere on this page, many people erroneously believe that pharmaceutical sales is an entry to medical sales. This generally is not the case because the nature of the two sales are so different. What type of sales position is akin to medical equipment sales? You might be surprised to learn the answer is office equipment sales (copiers, fax, telephone equipment, computers, mailing equipment, etc.).

This makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Both office and medical equipment are sold by:

1) initially finding the prospect and identifying a need

2) making a sales presentation by performing a physical hands-on demonstration of the product

3) selling against a product that looks a lot like yours, performs a lot like yours and is priced a lot like yours

4) knowing your competitor's product well enough to make insightful comparisons which upsell your product line

5) answering objections and solving technical problems;

6) discussing purchase versus lease options

7) discussing service contracts (all equipment wears down and eventually needs service)

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8) closing the deal, getting a signed contract and defeating the competitor. You win, they lose. This process occurs whether the product is a copy machine or a piece of diagnostic equipment. This is why medical equipment companies like to interview accomplished office equipment reps (but not job hoppers.)

While office products tends to generally be the most appealing background, medical equipment, supply and service companies also like to see other business-to-business sales backgrounds as well. Medical recruiters like candidates who have backgrounds selling cell phones, pagers, telecommunications equipment or services, payroll services, business services, etc. They are attracted to the competitive nature of these products, realizing that successful candidates from these industries have survived in tough sales environments. Additionally, these types of sales experiences are generally known by recruiters to provide valuable seasoning to sales candidates giving them excellent sales training, superior territorial management skills, superior time management skills, important prospecting skills and that important sense of timing—knowing when to close the deal.

If you are serious about getting into medical sales, you should seriously consider starting your career in the mainstream, business-to-business sales arena.

Next: Getting Into these Industries

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Q. How can I get into pharmaceutical sales?

A. Many of the major pharmaceutical companies have college recruiting initiatives and hire off campus. If you do not get hired through campus recruiting, your best bet is to try to get into a nationally recognized company with a good training program. The pharmaceutical companies like the national names in consumer products, business products, payroll services, temp services, telecommunications. The pharmaceutical companies typically like to see one to three jobs out of college with sales accomplishments. Be careful to build a track record and not change jobs too frequently. Two or three jobs in three years is probably a knock-out.

Q. Can I get into medical or pharmaceutical sales without a degree?

A. Probably not. With so many candidates applying for these jobs, a person without a four-year degree is at almost insurmountable odds to get into a major national medical company. Since our inception in 1979, no medical company has ever paid a fee to our firm to find a non-degreed candidate.

Next: No Sales Experience?

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Q. I have a science degree but no sales experience. Can I get into medical or pharmaceutical sales?

A. While the science degree sets you apart from other non-sales candidates, it does not overcome the disadvantage of not having experience. Having a science degree and sales experience with a nationally recognized training program makes you an excellent candidate for the medical sales industry.

Q. I am in college and want to prepare myself for a career in sales. What should I be doing?

A. Two things:

1) Get involved with extra-curriculars where you can take a leading and persuasive role. The thing that sets apart sales people is their persuasive abilities. Being able to articulate persuasive experiences in college will help you land you first sales job.

2) Get some type of "minor league" sales experience. Many aspiring sales candidates sold dictionaries, cutlery, cookware, cable TV or even T-shirts while in college. Try to get an internship with a copier company making cold calls to set up appointments. Getting something truly "salesy" on your resume puts you at the head of the class for the better training programs.

Q. I'm out of college and want to get sales experience. What are the best choices so that I will be marketable to some of the better companies in the future?

A. Having 6-months to one year of any type of sales experience is better than no sales experience at all. If you have choices, the following heirarchy can give you a guide to follow:

First Choice: Working for any nationally recognized manufacturer or service provider who sponsors a sales training program-- provided that 1) the company sells to the mainstream business world and; 2) competes for the business dollar. Your best training will come from selling to businesses, not to individuals and homeowners (telecommunications sales is far more marketable than home replacement window sales.)

Second Choice: Working for a local dealer, broker or distributor who represents a nationally branded product. Many times these firms will have their own local training programs while also giving access to the national company training. Look for a dealer with significant market share and a strong local reputation. Working for a local market leader will give you additional sales advantage as you start your career. Working for a local business service or advertising company could make a strong alternative as well.

Third Choice: 1) Working for a smaller local dealer with less market share; or 2) working for a start-up operation. While sales may not come as easily working for a less identifiable company with less local market penetration, if you succeed, you will have a significant "David vs. Goliath" story to tell in your next interview.

Fourth Choice: If other options are not available, then consider any type of product in which you can prove your sales ability. If you do a good job- making money for both yourself and the employer who gave you a break- you will find a better set of doors opening up to you as your career develops.

Next: Experienced in a Different Sales Industry

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Q. I have 10 years of sales experience in one field and have been successful, but I am tired of my market. I would like to sell a new product in a new market. Will I be able to maintain my present income?

A. Possibly, but not likely. Your income (your value to the marketplace) was built up by ten years of expertise in one field. To learn a new product line sold to a completely different buying entity is likely to mean a period of "ramp up" to your previous income level. The best way to make a job change and maintain market value is to 1) continue to sell the same or similar product line, or; 2) sell a new product line to the same buyers.

Q. After many successful years of sales in one industry, I want to make a change. I realize that I may need to take a short term pay cut to get reoriented to a new product. How willing are employers going to be to talk to me?

A. You face a difficult challenge. Many employers are reluctant to hire a candidate at a rate of pay significantly less than the candidate's previous earnings. The reason is simple. If the candidate doesn't "get out of the gates quickly" there is a high probability that he will return to his previous area of expertise. A quick turnover such as this equates to a significant loss to the employer. For a candidate to successfully make the transition to another market, he or she must "prove" during the interview process that the ties to the previous industry are severed and there is compelling evidence to show why the candidate would never return to that market.

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Also Read: Pharma vs. Biotech: Which Do You Want to Sell?

_Courtesy of Creative Commons, 2009_

The Grass is Greener

Human Resources — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:29:00 -0800

The world of business might be talking about the 'green shoots of recovery', but for actual employees it is more a case of the 'grass is greener', with high levels of job dissatisfaction and a desire to move elsewhere when the economy recovers. A desertion time bomb is the headline finding of research conducted exclusively for HR magazine by recruitment consultancy FreshMinds Talent. The research - which polled more than 500 employees in the five specific sectors of financial services, public services, professional services, retail, and technology, media and telecoms - is one of the first studies to ask employees how they rate their jobs now, what impact the economic slowdown has had on their chosen career paths and what they are likely to do about it after the recession ends. Conducted in July, the survey results paint a bleak picture of widespread dissatisfaction and, for bosses, what should be a worrying willingness among their staff to defect to pastures new.

Across all sectors, job dissatisfaction is a high 24%. For understandable reasons, the worst sector was retail (29%). Nearly half (47%) of all our respondents said they were working harder now than they were six months ago, but it is the spectre of redundancies, plus the effect the recession is having, that seems to be having the biggest impact. Apart from public services (where employee fear of losing their job was one in five), broadly one in three workers in the other four sectors say they are currently worried about being shown the door. But not only is the recession prompting fears about job security, this survey is the first definitive proof the downturn is causing apermanent change of mindset, causing staff to seriously doubt their entire choice of career.

Overall, 64% of all employees polled said it was specifically the recession that had prompted them to think about changing career. In the financial sector, this rose to 75%, where nearly half said it was 'a major factor' rather than a 'minor factor' or 'not at all'. Retail was also above average. Here 73% said the recession had prompted them to think about switching career, split between 41% who said it was a major factor and 32% who said it was a minor factor. Only in the public services sector did the recession appear to have virtually no impact- just 8% said the downturn was making them consider a new career path. This is backed up by the fact the public services sector also showed the highest levels of job satisfaction of all categories; 57% were either 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with their job, with a further 18% being neutral about it.

Changed Expectations

James Callander, director at FreshMinds Talent, says: "The recession has clearly altered the trajectories of people's career choices. What they expect appears to have fundamentally changed. When the recovery comes employees will look to pick up their careers, and this adjustment threatens to be just as violent as the recession itself."

Such is this overall strength of feeling that even when public services workers are included in the average, a staggering 45% of all employees questioned now admit they regret having chosen their current sector. Two sectors had aboveaverage regret, and true to form they are again the financial services sector and the retail sector - two of the worst-hit casualties of this recession. Awhopping 50% of staff in these professions say they nowrue their choice of career.

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For HR directors worried about staff engagement and on-the-job performance, these findings make grim reading. On top of this, though, the survey reveals staff are not content to just moan and put up with their situation; they are seriously considering doing something about it.

HR/FreshMinds asked employees what they would most likely change about their careers in the next 12 months. A minimum of 15% of workers said they plan to get a job in a completely different industry ( even those in the public services sector said this, where the figure was 1 7%) . Highest was retail, where a fifth (20%) of all staff working there want to leave the sector for a different industry altogether.

According to Michael Moran, CEO of Fairplace, this is evidence that the psychological contract between employers and employees has hit an alltime low: "Just 18 months ago people needed a 30% salary before they would consider moving; now we're seeing it's only 5%. What's been identified is that dissatisfaction rules. The impact of the recession has been that people have beenleft far less engaged."

The countdown to a mass exodus of staff has already started, but the end of the recession seems to be the more likely point at which most people make the jump. Most employees in our survey said they saw this happening in the second and third quarters of 20 1 0.

According to Tom Hadley, director, Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the survey confirms what it sees, that job movement is a very real threat: "There's been a hiatus in the normally fluid recruitment market. People who would have moved have not, and a bottleneck has been building up that will be ready to burst soon. This is compounded by the fact people are willing to make more radical career changes. Before, people would tend to move sideways. This is no longer the case."

Normally HR directors might well be happy to see such grumbling staff go, but these are not junior people, so the figures ought to be taken seriously. The average salary of our respondents was Pounds 41,481, suggesting these are highly skilled. They are also very knowledgeable with an average age of 40 years. Andy Lowe, practice leader, talent management at employee lifecycle consultancy Right Management, says HR cannottake these findings lightly. "Research we did only nine months ago suggested half would stay with their companies in the next five years. There has been a massive increase in dissatisfaction. While there will always be those who are unhappy and threaten to leave, this time the outlookdanger seems much more real."

If these top people do go it is arguably through a failure of HR and their organisation's inability to keep their staff motivated during difficult times. This can be mooted because apart from the overall impact of recession and having to work harder, staff cite lack of skills and career progression as the factors contributing to their likelihood of changing industries - these are two things HR directors certainly have control over.

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For example, the report finds those in the finance sector are most worried about the recession leaving their skillsets out of date. A whole quarter believe their skills will beo utdated in a post-recession world. This compares with just 8% of public services workers who think the same thing. Financial workers' skills fears were double those of employees in the technology, media and telecoms sectors (12%), and almost double those who worked in professional services (14%). Employees clearly want to protest about the lack of progression they have had since the recession started. The majority of respondents in our survey said they did not expect to get promoted for at least one to two years.

So where exactly do these disgruntled workers want to go. This is perhaps the most interesting set of findings -it reveals all employees in all sectors think the grass is greener elsewhere.

The graphic (p36) shows the dominant 'other sector' staff from each existing sector want to move into. The extraordinary finding is that more staff in three out of five sectors want to move into public services. The strongest feeling was among financial services staff, where 7 1 % said they most want to move into the public sector. The dominant 'other sector' those working in retail wanted to work in was technology. Interestingly, although job satisfaction among public services workers is highest, those working in the sector clearly do not see their profession in the same light as those from the financial, professional services and technology/ media/ telecoms sectors who want to move into it. In fact there seems to be a straight swap of desire in play: 64% in technology/ media/telecoms say they want to switch to public services; about the same in public services (71%) want to switch to technology/media/ telecoms.

So is everyone deluded about each other's sector? Will hoards of dissatisfied staff be moving into jobs they think are better but, in reality, are just as bad as the sectors they have left? And what will this do to their sense of wellbeing?

In for a shock?

These are certainly tantalising questions. Moran thinks those who think the grass is greener could be in for a shock. "It is likely the public sector will experience private-sector-style job losses in the next 1 8 months. We're predicting a 10% fall," he says. "Also, samesector, same-skills movements account for about 70% of job moves. We think it's unlikely people will be able to move to different sectors with the same skills. Maybe this is why respondents to the survey are so worried about their current skills levels."

Despite this, employees seem to have developed a strong view that the sector they most want to move to offers significantly better career progression than their current one. Retail staff are the most likely to think their other chosen sector offers greater advancement - at a high 68%. But there is a high percentage of staff (over 60%) in two other sectors (finance and technology/media/telecoms) who also think their other chosen sectors would give them better career opportunities. If all these sectors are so good, no one would want too be leaving them, so there is an obvious 'grass is greener' view among all employees. Worryingly though, it suggests they will also be in for a shock if they do indeed make good their intentions to leave - again, not good news for HRDs. Having misguided, or even rose-tinted, views about other sectors is not new, but what the recession certainly seems to be influencing is respondents' views about the stability of their sector. In the heavily rocked financial and retail sectors, 58% and 45% of those in the financial and retail sectors respectively think their preferred 'other' sectors will be 'more stable'. Across the board, at least a third of respondents think their other chosen industries would be more stable than their current ones. Again, this could be a delusionary belief, but the belief is there nonetheless.

Whether employees will actually go through with their threats to leave is something only time will tell, but if one message comes across loud and clear, it is that HR professionals cannot afford to take these results lightly.

As Right Management's Lowe says: "This report flags up just how serious an exodus from companies could be when the economy picks up. If HR directors start now, and start a dialogue with their staff about their value proposition and the changes that have happened, there is a chance staff will re-engage. There is just about enough time to turn things around. And for those who want to attract talent from neighbouring sectors, there has never been a better time. Now is the time employees feel most minded to take a risk and change sectors. This is the time to reach out for them while the opportunity is there."

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Look Before You Leap into Career Changes

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:41:00 -0700

David Boulos went from repairing computer hardware to planting radishes.

After six years repairing computers for a Monroeville company, he now tills the fields on a tractor at Blackberry Meadows Organic Farm in Fawn.

Boulos, 32, says a lots of people ask: Weren't you scared about losing the security of a paycheck and health care?

Not really, he says, reached by cell phone at the 10-acre farm, where he's repairing a pump for their irrigation system.

Nearly every worker has wondered if the grass was greener in another job. The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer as of January 2008 was 4.1 years, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employee report released in September 2008. The Bureau also tracked the number of jobs held by Baby Boomers born between 1957 and 1964. They held, on average, 10.8 jobs from from age 18 to 42.

Some may want to spend more time with their family and are willing to trade a well-paying job for one with less hours and lower pay. Others may decide to switch careers because their job is threatened by the recession, the onslaught of the iIternet or globalization.

And of course, there are that enviable few: the bond trader who chucks it all to follow his dream of starting his own winery, or the housewife who starts her own public relations firm after her children leave home.

Either way, it takes planning, research and patience to make a career change, experts say.

Boulos' transition wasn't as radical as one might expect. He co-owns his farm with his brother, Greg; his sister-in-law, Jennifer Montgomery; and friend Heath Gamache.

"It translates quite well for what I did before, to what I do now," Boulos says. "Everything's really mechanical. Things are pretty logical. It's all troubleshooting and problem-solving. Both of them had that aspect, which really appeals to me."

Boulos says he liked his computer job, which he left at the beginning of 2007. But owning his own business was more fulfilling.

"In our world, we live longer than our grandparents did," says Martha Mangelsdorf, a former senior editor for Inc. magazine and author of "Strategies for Successful Career Change: Finding Your Very Best Next Work Life" (Ten Speed Press, $16.99).

"We work longer," she says. "We have lives that mix work and family in different ways than in the past. As a result, there are a lot people who need to change careers at different times in our lives."

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A common mistake made by those seeking a new career is that they act too hastily, Mangelsdorf says. Making a successful career change might take a year or more.

Those thinking of changing jobs can conduct noncommittal "low-risk" research on a new occupation while they continue to work. Take classes, or talk with those in the field you'd like to get into. Use your free time to volunteer at an industry you'd like to know more about.

Boulos got a feel for his new career as a farmer by spending the summer working with the owners of Blackberry Meadows Organic Farm.

"It was already up and running it had its own customer base," he says.

And maybe you've always wanted to own a chartered fishing boat off the Florida Keys. But be realistic about whether it can pay the bills.

"There is a kind of idea out there that if you follow your bliss or follow your passion that is going to lead to economic success," Mangelsdorf says. "It's certainly true that if you do something you love to do, you're doing to enjoy doing it more. It isn't necessarily true that just because you love to do it, you're going to be financially successful."

The Career Services and Development Center in Squirrel Hill was founded 25 years ago in response to the collapse of the steel industry, which impacted local businesses. The center provides career counseling, group workshops and other resources for the unemployed or those who are seeking alternate employment.

Director Julie Marx experienced her own career evolution. She was a schoolteacher before she returned to school to get an advanced degree in communications, which she used to start her own business. After obtaining a psychology degree, she became a therapist, which ultimately led to her position at the center, part of Jewish Family & Children's Service.

"People have ideas of making change, but we know all change is stressful," Marx says. "Can that person tolerate that level of change? What else is going on in their lives? We really do try to look at the whole picture as to what is truly in their best interest."

The center's client roster in June was up 40 percent from the same time last year, she says. Clients include those who are employed, but want to change careers.

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"We are very astute at knowing what resources are available in the community," she says. "Right now, there's a lot of short-term training programs through community college."

Getting Ready

"Strategies for Successful Career Change: Finding Your Very Best Next Work Life" (Ten Speed Press, $16.99) by Martha Mangelsdorf, former senior editor for Inc. magazine, was inspired by her own personal experience.

She left Inc. magazine because she felt burnt out and wanted to work fewer hours. She worked for a nonprofit that helped small businesses get started. After a year, she returned to Inc. to take a new position on its Web site so she could learn Internet publishing. She was laid off when the magazine changed owners, and now works as a freelance writer and editor.

Mangelsdorf offers these suggestions for those considering a career change:

Take stock: Take an honest look at why you want to change careers. Has the economy put your job in jeopardy? Do you want to find more meaningful work? Is your current job making you miserable and affecting the rest of your life? There's also nothing wrong with wanting to make more money.

Job vs. environment: Don't confuse your job with the place you do it in. For example, if you're a nurse who is unhappy with your job at a hospital, maybe entering a private nursing practice or working at an assisted living facility is what you need.

Take small steps: Career change doesn't happen overnight. Start by gathering information on the career you think you might like. "Just start educating yourself about the industry," Mangelsdorf says. "See if you can attend some industry events. There may be some kind of conferences you can go to. Most industries have professional associations." If you don't like it, you can move onto something else.

Barter: If you're trying sell your skills in a field that's new to you, consider bartering. Mangelsdorf cites a banking executive who wanted to use his skills as an artist. "He bartered with his career counselor to design a new logo for him."

Discuss your decision with others: Don't keep things to yourself. Talking to others can provide perspective and clarity.

Be prepared to pay: Change is difficult. The stress of transition may mean less money for the time being. Talk with your spouse and how far you are prepared to go.

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Secrets Buried In a Sales Person's Resume

Lee Salz — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:45:00 -0700

The vehicle that introduces sales people to companies is a resume, but there are secrets hidden in the resume that hiring managers should know before they interview a candidate.

In my sales management career, I would bet that I've seen about 5,000 resumes for sales people. Yet, I still haven't seen one that shows someone who has achieved 40% of quota. Every single resume shows 100%, 200%, 2,000,000% of goal. Where are all of the people who have had less than stellar sales performances? Did they all leave the sales profession? If all of the resumes that I saw truly represented the performance of the individual, the U.S. economy would be thriving to say the least. Every company would be enjoying record revenue performances.

If you have read my past articles, you've felt my passion for creating sales marriages, those relationships whereby a mutually beneficial relationship is formulated between a sales professional and a company based on synergistic matches of needs. This is not easy to do as, right off the bat, the relationship begins with a flawed tool, a resume. It is this tool that dupes, tricks, and stretches the truth of a person's pedigree. Yet, as an employer, that is what you have to work with when hiring a sales professional so you need to find a way to mine through the information in a quest for the complete truth.

I spend a tremendous amount of time preaching about the importance of honesty and integrity in sales. Those are two words that are not often associated with the profession. As such, I believe that the quest to find sales people who represent a company's brand well starts with a thorough resume review. Plain and simple, dishonesty in a sales person's resume means they don't play on my team. There are more than enough statistics to support the issue of what I call "resume inflation."

I can recall a time when I ran a sales organization in the employment screening industry, a company that provided pre-employment background screening for other companies. We made an offer to a sales candidate who had impressed everyone he met including the CEO. When we ran his background check, our core business, we found that his claim to have worked for a company for two and a half years was actually two and a half months. The funny part is when we asked him about the discrepancy, he lied again and said his former employer made a mistake. Fifteen minutes later, he called back (I think he remembered that background screening was our core business) and fessed up. Needless to say, we couldn't have this person selling our background screening services.

Think about this, if someone would apply for a sales job at a company whose core business was employment background screening and lie about their background, what candidates do you think you are seeing? Every day, new technologies are introduced to the marketplace to make the screening process better and easier for hiring managers. Yet, none of these technology companies advocate using their technology as a replacement for a strong screening process. Assessments, for example, serve as a tool for the process, but do not replace the process itself. Thus, it all begins with a strong resume review.

The resume review should not occur for the first time with the candidate sitting in front of you. An effective interview requires preparation. As such, the resume should be studied and areas of question identified so that questions can be asked of the candidate during the interview. What areas should be perused? Here are five areas of a sales resume that require detailed attention.

1: Accomplishments→

How to Get That Great Sales Job...

Gavin Ingham — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:59:00 -0700

I get asked a lot of questions as a sales speaker and sales training consultant and this week I was asked a question by several salespeople and a magazine about how to position yourself to get that sales job in today’s market so I thought that I would jot down my thoughts…

2009 has been a tough year. For many, a very tough year. I have written several sales training articles and reports about what salespeople, entrepreneurs and business owners need to do in today’s economy to succeed but what about salespeople looking for new sales roles? What can they do? How can they help themselves to secure the jobs and careers moves that they want and desire?

1. Maintain a positive mental attitude.

Finding the right role in any market requires motivation and to get the best out of yourself before and during your job search you need to focus on maintaining that positivity and ignoring the negativity that many people are displaying.

2. Have belief.

Much of your mental positivity, or lack thereof, will stem from your beliefs. Do you believe that you can secure your dream job? Or do you believe that you cannot? Simple beliefs such as these will determine how you feel and therefore how you act. Take time to focus on what you need to believe to succeed and seek out evidence and examples that support those beliefs.

3. Decide on your perfect company and role.

Spend some time deciding who the perfect company you’d like to work for would be. Many people do not spend enough time thinking about this and end up in the wrong jobs. It is important that you know what kind of company you want to work for, what kind of people you want to work with and what kind of role you want to do.

4. Utilize your networks.

Utilizing your networks is a powerful way of finding the right role. Recruiters always use their networks and the more successful the recruiter, the more extensive their network is likely to be. Finding a new role through your network makes sense as it is likely to be a good fit and you have an immediate “referral”. What’s more, in today’s market many employers are trying to utilize their networks to find suitable candidates to try and save money so you would be daft not to utilize yours.

5. Take massive action.

Finding the right role means taking action. To succeed in finding the right role for you today you need to be proactive. Many candidates ask me, “How proactive?” The answer is simple, “Do what it takes?” You need to accept that there may well be fewer jobs and more qualified applicants so take this as a cue to step up to the plate and up your batting averages.

6. Tailor your CV and application form.

Every job application should be aimed at winning that specific job. When employers have more choice they are able to pick the best. Make sure that your CV and application form is as good as it can possible be for every role that you apply for.

7. Do your homework.

Basic common sense dictates that you should do your homework about the role, the company and the individual interviewing you where possible. Start with the internet and your favourite search engine, move on to sites like LinkedIn, speak to your personal network, read the company website in detail and even consider ringing the company and asking for brochures, missions statements and product details.

8. Think about how you add value and sell the sizzle and the steak.

Yes, people want to know what you’ve done, where you worked and what your qualifications are but just as importantly they want to know how you can add value for them and their business. In today’s marketplace, companies tend to be holding back on “headcount” recruitment and filling important “value” based roles. If you can demonstrate how you can add value perhaps through examples of how you added value in previous roles then you will stand out from more mediocre candidates.

9. Plan & prepare answers to the most likely questions.

Think about the most likely questions and plan how you will answer them. Think about what you want to convey and how you want to convey it. There is never a second chance to make a strong first impression.

10. Learn from your interviews and don’t give up.

In today’s market it is likely that you may well apply for, interview for and fail to get some of the roles that you go for. This is to be expected. How you respond to these setbacks is critical. Don’t get despondent and allow it to affect your next actions and interviews, use it as a learning experience to make your next interviews more successful.

And remember, you make your own luck in this world. Good luck!

Commission vs. Salary: Finding the Balance

Employee Benefits — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:45:00 -0700

Finding the right balance between basic pay and commission is crucial to rewarding salespeople, says Tom Washington

If you have ever had dealings with a persuasive, perhaps forceful, salesperson, the chances are they were thinking more about the money they stood to earn from the sale than finding the right deal for you.

But for many employers, having an engaged and motivated sales force is vital. Indeed, such staff are the lifeblood of some industries and the single most important form of creating income. But the question is, how does an organisation keep this group of typically money-driven operators performing for the good of the company, not just the size of their pay cheque?

The obvious answer is commission, a form of variable pay by which staff earn a cut of the income they create for their employer.

Transparent Structure

As in any profession, there can be good and bad salespeople, and commission is a common way to reward top performers. Commission leads to a transparent reward structure based on success. If staff hit targets, they get the reward; if they miss them, they do not.

Experts say the simplicity of commission suits the type of person working in sales. Peter Reilly, director of HR research and consultancy at the Institute for Employment Studies, says: "The type of worker on commission perhaps does not manage complexity so well. If you start rolling out complicated measures of performance, they do not like it."

Commission also makes staff feel they are sharing in their employer's success. Reilly says this form of reward gives individuals impetus to maximise their efforts around the most profitable tasks. "It communicates the message sales are important to the organisation," he says. "It should drive behaviours of seeking out prospects and getting the most of those prospects, which will ultimately maximise company income."

However, as with the much-criticised City bonuses, commission, particularly if it is uncapped, can encourage the wrong type of behaviour. An employee can reap the benefits of short-term success, but perhaps not comply with the long-term ideals of the organisation.

Jonathan Chapman, a teaching fellow at Cranfield Business School and former head of reward at the Financial Services Authority, says: "In financial services, there have been examples in the advisory market of firms moving away from commission on pension sales, for example. In the past, some commission payments encouraged inappropriate sales, such as mortgage endowments to people who could not afford them. Employers are now trying to change the type of workforce from salesmen to much more professional advisers by rewarding them through a high proportion of base pay."

A high proportion of commission may also result in staff spending all their time on activities that carry incentives, rather than other, equally important, facets of their role.

Higher base pay shifts the emphasis from such short-term thinking. In fact, many target-driven staff would prefer the security of a higher proportion of guaranteed income. The John Lewis Partnership, for example, rewards employees with a collective bonus pot at the end of the year shared between all staff, rather than rewarding individual performance.

But base pay also has its pitfalls. Employers are unlikely to distinguish significantly between the best performers and the mediocre by setting pay differentials aggressively. When earnings cease to be based purely on results, employers must take other factors into account, such as customer service and best practice. The salesforce may not see this as a fair means of assessment. Does the manager know enough about what goes on in the sales context? This is more complex and harder to judge, and requires better management.

Employers may also not be prepared to reduce base pay if the organisation's performance dips. The great advantage of commission is that it is for a fixed period, and targets and rates can be adjusted as needed. But base pay traditionally rises each year and staff expect it to at least stay the same. Pay rates are also complicated by external factors, such as what the market is paying and the cost of living.

For many organisations, commission can act as a safety valve because pay costs are adjusted according to revenue. Mark Thompson, associate director at Hay Group, says: "What happens most of the time is that even if an employer has a bad year, it still pays out significant commission because of high-performing sales people. Commission is not foolproof, but it does enable employers to get rid of the fixed cost of base pay, which has knock-on effects on pension contributions."

The key, it seems, is to strike a balance between base pay and commission. Thompson says having more than 25% of total income as commission is likely to skew staff behaviour in a certain, perhaps self-centred, way.

Steve Watson, director at Rewardworks, says communication around any changes to pay structure is key. "It gives the employer the opportunity to talk to its staff. Switching from commission to salary is probably good news for the majority because they are likely to get the same sort of money but be less stressed. High earners may lose out, be fed up and may leave, but that is not the kind of person employers are now looking for."

In some sectors, sending the right message to staff through reward is a tricky task. But, with pay freezes becoming more prevalent, commission remains a key driver.

Key Lessons

Commission makes staff feel they are sharing in their employer's success and is a transparent means of reward

It can also act as a safety valve, as pay costs are adjusted according to income

A high proportion of commission-based pay may lead employees to behave in a way that is not aligned to business strategy

This includes focusing their efforts on making money rather than other areas important to customer satisfaction

Employers should seek to reward via a mix of commission and base pay

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Leaving Corporate Life Behind

Laura Petrecca | USA Today — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:21:00 -0700

Each Monday for six weeks and online, USA TODAY and small-business columnist Rhonda Abrams explore some of the issues entrepreneurs face when they think about starting a business. Get a step-by-step tutorial at startup.usatoday.com.

Brent Bouchez, David Page and Nancy McNally are no strangers to corporate perks.

They've each worked for top-tier ad agencies in top-tier roles. They've had able assistants, private offices, great retirement and health benefits, and the use of professional car services.

Now the trio sometimes debate who should run out and buy printer paper.

Six months ago, the three opened their own marketing firm, Five0, which focuses on consumers 50 and older. The ad industry bigwigs all share a small, one-room office in Manhattan. There's no swanky lobby, no company lunchroom serving sushi and no cool coffee bar. The door to their office is at the end of a drab hallway. Inside, a shelf holds rows of bottled water bought at Staples. The glossy white conference table, which dominates a good part of the room, was an Ikea steal for $295.

"We change the (printer) ink. We fill out FedEx forms and set up the phone system," Page says. "We are the IT team. There is nobody to turn to."

The Madison Avenue veterans are among millions who have gone from working in a corporate culture to running their own small businesses. Three-quarters of company founders toiled for someone else for at least six years before launching their own firms, according to a survey this summer by the entrepreneur-focused Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Nearly half had more than 10 years of work experience at other firms.

As this recession turns more workers into entrepreneurs, such transitions are becoming more common. Most are trying to persevere without the organizational help of assistants, the tech know-how of an IT department and the use of ample expense accounts. They empty the trash, buy toilet paper, set up utilities, shop for an affordable source of office supplies, and somehow manage to get computer equipment and software installed.

"It's daunting," says management consultant and corporate coach Michelle DeAngelis, who left Bank of America 15 years ago to launch her own consulting and coaching firm, Michelle Inc.

Fledgling entrepreneurs often have so much to do that they can easily get tripped up, she says.

The lone office printer is seemingly always going to run out of ink when an important client's report is due.

"The most mundane, trivial stuff can hamstring you," she says.

Prioritizing Is a Necessity

The Five0 founders have a decent work system down now, but are still honing time-management skills.

Read on→

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"You have to think about what you can do and what you can't do," Bouchez says.

"And what you shouldn't do," chimes in McNally.

Sure, they could have painted the office walls and refinished the floors, but they decided that was time that could be better spent soliciting clients. So they paid someone.

Yet Bouchez and Page installed the shelving around the 20-by-28-foot room to function as their workspace desktop.

"You have to look at billable hours that you're wasting if you do the wrong thing," Bouchez says. After they spent four hours trying to get a new scanner installed - without success - they went to Plan B: using an iPhone to take pictures of the documents they needed.

"You figure out very quickly that you're not going to spend all day on a silly thing that is not a good use of your time," Bouchez says.

Making the successful leap from corporate worker to able entrepreneur takes many skills, and time management is an essential one, says Pamela Slim, author of Escape from Cubicle Nation, a book that offers tips about how to move from corporate work to being an entrepreneur. "Most entrepreneurs go in thinking they just have to go in doing everything themselves, but that just isn't true," she says. To be successful, small-business owners must have "a clear understanding of their strengths," she says. "They have to decide how much time they can sink into just managing the little things like the phone and Internet."

Shedding Your Old Identity

Those who abandon a corporate culture often have more to cope with than workspace issues. Frequently, they have to contend with an identity change.

"You have to be very centered and secure of who you are," DeAngelis says. "You have to let go of external connections for your identity. All that external reinforcement - the expense account and the company car - they are wonderful perks that can come with the lay of the land, but they don't determine your value as a business person."

Grand Junction, Mich.-based Kelly Elvin says her decision to go from attorney to dog trainer not only meant a loss of fringe benefits - it also led to a new response when she told people what she did for a living.

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"There's a different reaction that you get from people when you say, 'Hi, I'm a dog trainer,' vs. 'I'm a lawyer,' " she says. Most people think of attorneys as high-powered professionals, while they assume that dog trainers "just play with puppies all day," she says.

She decided to make the career shift after she took her dogs to a training class. Impressed by the approach used, which focused on positive reinforcement, she decided to learn more about dog training. Soon, she was hooked.

Elvin is glad that she made the shift and enjoys the job, but says, "There's certainly not that prestige, and certainly not that income." Her income has dropped more than 85%. Some of her law firm colleagues where "horrified" when she said she was leaving the legal profession to pursue a new career, especially because she had just been named a partner. "They could not understand why I'd walk away from that," she says.

But she and her husband, who also left a job as a lawyer to pursue a venture in finding lost pets, saved up enough money to pursue their new career dreams. To cut expenses, they moved from the outskirts of Chicago to a small town in Michigan.

Elvin says that five years ago, she would never have expected to "be living in a little country home in southwest Michigan," but working with animals is something she is passionate about, so she had to make identity, lifestyle and income adjustments to pursue that goal.

Lots of Alone Time

Ali Galgano, who transitioned from a corporate recruiter role at firms such as Goldman Sachs to a seller of unique costume jewelry, has to cope with another type of issue: being isolated for long stretches of time.

Galgano mainly runs her Charm & Chain venture out of a New York City studio apartment. She sometimes goes to business meetings, but otherwise, she toils alone.

"I don't see anyone really except my intern, who comes to my apartment occasionally," she says. "There are times that I'm working so much that I don't even feel the need to leave my apartment. Someone will come in and say, 'It's so hot out today,' and I'll say, 'I don't even know about that' because I've been in my air-conditioned apartment."

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It takes discipline to focus on work; to not clean out the refrigerator or check out videos on the computer.

"It's a lot easier to get distracted now," Galgano says. "It's hard to be focused when you have a couch to lie down on and a TV you can turn on."

Galgano and others who go it alone have to force self-discipline upon themselves in order to be successful. There is no boss, no corporate mandates and no yearly performance reviews, Slim says.

Small-business owners "have all the accountability," Slim says. "If something goes wrong, you can't blame someone else. It's just on you." Galgano works around this by making lists of things she wants to accomplish and by having an "advisory board of people who are smarter and more accomplished than I am." She has monthly meetings with the group, which includes her father, an investment banker.

"It's the best way I could come up with to have a boss or someone to report to without having to hire someone who is in charge of me," she says.

Advisory boards and peer-review groups are extremely important for entrepreneurs - and not just because their counsel can help folks grow their small businesses.

Advisers can provide an honest assessment of when it's time to tweak a business model, make major adjustments or even fold up completely, says Monica Doss, director of the Kauffman Foundation's FastTrac entrepreneur training program.

"Entrepreneurs have to be willing to listen and learn and make judgments and be adaptive," she says. "You're processing information all the time. Sometimes it's not what you want to hear, but ignore it at your own risk."

What some folks don't want to hear, but need to, is when it's no longer financially feasible to launch a new business or keep an existing firm running, Doss says.

"There's a lot of things that might work in a different environment, but might not work now" with the sour economy, she says.

And there are also those who should shelve their ambitions for good. "If you don't love to roll your sleeves up, it's not a good jump," she says.

There's no shame for those who try an entrepreneurial route only to find that they prefer working in Corporate America. Some people simply aren't built to be entrepreneurs, Doss says.

Forced Out of Corporate Nest

Elvin, Galgano and the Five0 founders made the tough decision to venture out on their own. Other corporate refugees were forced to embrace their entrepreneurial side due to the recession.

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Olga Naiman, a freelancer at posh publishing company Conde Nast, wasn't laid off. But Domino, the design magazine she worked on as a stylist for photo shoots, folded this year.

Naiman derived about 75% of her income from that job, which also included benefits such as using the company's in-house library for research and being able to expense lunch and taxi rides. She misses those perks, as well the "buzz" of working in an energetic office. "Even though they weren't my full-time employer, it was such a warm and consistent relationship," she says.

Projects for Amy Shapiro Morris, a freelance communication strategist for Conde Nast magazines such as Domino, Conde Nast Traveler and GQ, also dried up during the recession.

So she and Naiman have teamed and are preparing to launch a design and branding agency, The Anchor Council, in October.

In the meantime, each has had to adjust spending habits.

Naiman is now well aware that the money she spends on calls and faxes comes out of her own pocket. Shapiro Morris and her husband have made professional and personal budget adjustments. They skipped their usual December vacation and scaled back on one thing they love about living in New York City: eating out.

"We had to cut back," Shapiro Morris says, "and it has saved us a lot of money."

Jewelry seller Galgano is contending with an income drop, too.

"It's been a big adjustment to make a much, much smaller salary than I was even making when I came right out of college," she says. "I had to cut back on going out for dinner and shopping. I've had to learn how to cook for myself instead of ordering in.

"Hopefully the payoff will be worth it," she says.

The Five0 founders have made some financial adjustments themselves.

"You find out quickly why entrepreneurs seem more miserly," Bouchez says. "But it is your money."

The group did invest in sleek Apple computers and other technology to help them compete against larger ad agencies.

And while the founders are working with the agency's accountant to get in a structured benefits system, it currently lacks some financial comforts that often come with a large company, such as automatic bonuses and a 401(k) plan.

Yet those benefits - and less-trivial perks - don't matter if you're not happy, Bouchez says.

In a corporate world, "You have an assistant and big office, and you don't worry about the copier" working, he says. "But you also don't make decisions the same way.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

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Dude, Seriously, Facebook Could Cost You a Job

Rock Hill Herald — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:31:00 -0700

It could become the next great piece of parental advice, following "don't run with scissors" and "eat your vegetables."

Watch what you post online because it could cost you a job.

Dismiss if you like, but there's evidence to suggest that this is not just good advice but critical advice.

A recent survey of companies by CareerBuilder.com found that 45 percent of respondents said they screen potential job candidates by perusing their profiles on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter in search of warning signs that a candidate might not be a good fit.

That 45 percent is more than double the previous year. And yes, the trend has made its way into York County.

"It's such a new area, but there is a lot of conversation," said Russ Knight, president of the York County chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Most companies don't have formal policies about using social media as a means to vet job seekers, Knight said. But, as Knight tells college students about to hit the job market, that doesn't mean your profile won't work against you.

"I caution those folks to be careful what you put on Facebook and Twitter and MySpace for that very reason," Knight said.

From a business standpoint, looking up job candidates' online profiles is just a smart thing to do, Knight said. After all, companies do criminal background checks, so a social background check makes sense.

Of those companies that conduct online vetting of job candidates, the CareerBuilder survey found, 29 percent use Facebook, 26 percent use LinkedIn and 21 percent use MySpace. Eleven percent search blogs while 7 percent scour Twitter, the survey found.

But here's the real deal: 35 percent of employers reported they found information on a candidate's online profile that caused them not to hire that person.

Among the most common reasons cited to CareerBuilder:

- Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information (53 percent)

- Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs (44 percent)

- Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients (35 percent)

- Candidate showed poor communication skills (29 percent)

- Candidate made discriminatory comments (26 percent)

- Candidate lied about qualifications (24 percent)

- Candidate shared confidential information from previous employer (20 percent)

"If I'm hiring someone with two or three years' experience, and I Google them and see them doing a keg stand two or three weeks ago, that's going to be a turn-off," said Kevin Nichols, vice president of Stark & Associates, a Fort Mill Internet marketing company.

Nichols' company makes it a point to search the social media sites for information on job candidates, though there is not a formal policy.

Nichols recommends job seekers apply a common but useful rule when posting information about themselves online: "Don't post something or e-mail something that you wouldn't want your mother to read."

But, Nichols said, companies need to consider the age and life circumstances of a candidate when searching for them online.

For example, a college senior who has a photo on Facebook showing him holding a beer at a football game is probably safe. But a 30- year-old whose profile includes photos of him passed out drunk probably shouldn't expect to get hired.

There is an upside to having social media profiles if you're looking for work. The CareerBuilder survey found that your online profile can be a reason that a company decides to bring you on board.

Among those reasons:

- A candidate's profile gave a good feel for their personality and fit

- The profile supported candidate's professional qualifications

- The candidate was creative

- Other people posted good references about the candidate

- The candidate received awards and accolades

"Social networking is a great way to make connections with potential job opportunities and promote your personal brand across the Internet," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. "Make sure you are using this resource to your advantage by conveying a professional image and underscoring your qualifications."

Haefner offers some do's and don'ts.

- DO clean up "digital dirt" before you begin your job search. Remove any photos, content and links that can work against you in an employer's eyes.

- DO consider setting up your own professional group on sites like Facebook or BrightFuse.com to establish relationships with "thought leaders, recruiters and potential referrals."

- DO keep gripes offline. Stay focused on the positive, whether that relates to professional or personal information. Highlight specific accomplishments inside and outside of work.

- DON'T forget others can see your friends, so be careful about who you accept. Monitor comments made by others. Consider using the "block comments" feature or setting your profile to "private" so only designated friends can view it.

- DON'T mention your job search if you're still employed.

The lesson here? Help social media help you. Don't cost yourself a job because you don't think people notice your online personality. In this job market, especially, look for every advantage you can get.

Because that's exactly what employers are doing.

"Here's another place we can gather information," Knight said. "If I'm going to a hire a school teacher and I can find her on Facebook, why not look her up?"

Herald Business Editor Jason Foster's "Biz Buzz" column runs every Sunday. Contact him at 803-329-4066 or jfoster@heraldonline.com. You can follow his business coverage at Twitter.com/HeraldBizBuzz or on his blog at heraldonline.com/blogs/ bizbuzz.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Step-by-Step Guide to Negotiating a Great Salary

Kim Lankford | Monster Contributing Writer — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:46:00 -0700

Here's a secret: Employers rarely make their best offer first, and job candidates who negotiate generally earn much more than those who don't. And a well-thought-out negotiation makes you look like a stronger candidate -- and employee.

"We found that those people who attempted to negotiate their salary in a constructive way are perceived as more favorable than those who didn't negotiate at all, because they were demonstrating the skills the company wanted to hire them for," says Robin Pinkley, coauthor of Get Paid What You're Worth and an associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business.

You can start laying the groundwork for your salary negotiation even before the first interview. Here's a step-by-step guide:

During the Interview Process

1. Do Your Research

Before the interview, learn about the company's salary ranges and benefits as well as industry salary ranges. Also learn about the company, its competition and the industry. Then think about what you want from the job, both in terms of salary and benefits, as well as opportunity and upward mobility, Pinkley says. This information will become valuable during the interview and salary negotiation.

2. Don't Talk Turkey Too Early

"You never win by talking about money early on," says Lee Miller, author of UP: Influence, Power and the U Perspective -- The Art of Getting What You Want. "The time to talk about money is when they've fallen in love with you." Before that, you're just one of many easily dismissed candidates. But once the employer has decided you're right for the job, "it becomes an issue of, ‘how are we going to make this happen?'" Miller says.

3. Avoid the Salary Requirements Trap

Pinkley tells people to say: "I completely understand why this is an important issue -- you're trying to determine who you want to continue in this process, and it doesn't make much sense to pursue candidates you aren't going to get. Secondly, I know that the tendency is for people to lowball their salary range, because they don't want to get out of the pool. My preference is to figure out, independent of these issues, the degree to which there is a good fit here and the extent to which I can bring value to this organization and the extent to which I'm going to be fulfilled and involved and committed to this position. I suggest we wait to have the salary conversation until you're prepared to make an offer."

If they still want a number, leverage your research to talk industry-standard ranges, not specific numbers.

NEXT: At Time of Offer

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At Time of Offer

4. Strike First

Try to mention a specific salary before the employer does. This will start the negotiations in your ballpark. "The whole negotiation is based on that first offer," Pinkley says.

5. Don't Commit Too Quickly

The employer often offers the job and salary simultaneously. Never say yes right away -- even if you like the offer. "I would always come back and try to get more," Pinkley says. Tell them you'll give them an answer within a certain time frame.

6. Make Them Jealous

If you've been interviewing for other jobs, call those prospective employers, tell them about your offer, and see if they can speed up the interview process -- or make you an offer. Knowing you have another offer will make you more attractive to them.

When it's time to answer the first employer, mention the other employers' interest to help boost your value. But don't make up offers. It's easy to check, and the interest alone will help you look good.

7. Articulate Your Expectations

Tell the employer what you want from the job, in terms of salary, benefits and opportunity. "It may be time off, flexibility about where you work, autonomy or ownership over a particular area, it may be your title -- whatever has a perceived value to you," says Joyce Gioia, president of the Herman Group, a think tank of management consultants and futurists.

8. Negotiate Extras

If the employer can't offer you the salary you want, think about other valuable options that might not cost as much. Miller always recommends asking for education, which can make a big difference in your long-term marketability.

9. Quantify Your Value and Performance

Mention your value in quantifiable terms, such as how much money you saved your company and how your projects increased revenues by X thousands of dollars, Gioia says. Then tell them specifically how valuable you expect to be in your new job.

You also can add a few contingencies showing your confidence in your performance. You could ask the employer to give you a salary review after six months rather than a year or for a year-end bonus if you make a certain amount of money. "It shows that you believe in yourself and are committed to bringing what you say you can do," Pinkley says. "You believe you are going to bring significant value to the organization.

The 10 Worst Employee Failures

Kevin Dwyer — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:05:00 -0700

I often write articles critical or at least challenging of management of organisations. But of course, it is not only managers who behave in such a way as to cause problems. Often it is me, the subordinate employee.

Here are my top ten failures I observe of employees, like us.

1. Continuing in a Job I Dislike

I stay in a job which does not suit me. I always ask myself, "What am I good at?" and, "What do I enjoy?", but I do nothing about the answers.

I do not seek and secure a job that has at least some of the elements of the answers. I miss the opportunity to shine in a job that I will enjoy and thereby advance my career and remuneration.

2. Never Asking Questions

The boss asks me to do something. I leave their office not understanding what they really wanted. Or I leave the office thinking I know exactly what they wanted. In either case I did not ask a clarifying question.

What is the end result? The majority of times I deliver something back which requires a major revision or is completely off track. The reason I did not ask questions in the first place is some misplaced view about how competent I might be seen if I ask clarifying questions.

Returning time and again with work which requires revision, leaves people in no doubt about my competence.

3. Never Saying, "I don't know."

Pride or fear stop me from saying to the boss, "I don't know" to a question which requires a factual answer. I either make a best guess or I pick an answer I have a vague recollection of from another conversation I had with another colleague.

"I don't know, but I'll find out", is an answer I find difficult to say; even though coming back within a short time with a more considered answer saves time and rework.

4. Always Managing Upwards

I am so inured to concentrating on my career and not wanting to upset my powerful boss that I continually manage upwards. I make sure that the get no bad news. I even go to the level of burying bad numbers in a sea of detail. Or I am economical with my definition of some variables I need to report on so that they appear better than they are.

I do this to the detriment of the business; because the boss does not want to hear bad news, or so I have convinced myself.

5. Saying, "We can't because..."

I respond to a presentation on a programme involving change with a sentence commencing with,"We can't because..." I am being incredibly lazy. What I need to do is ask a clarifying question to be sure I heard right and then say, "We can if..."

Failures 6 to 10

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6. Not Being Specific

I talk about our poor sales figures and explain them away due to "poor sales skills"; instead of being specific and saying, "Poor opening skills" or "Poor product knowledge", or "Poor closing skills". When I am not specific and I talk about a generic solution like "Sales training" for the above example, I risk applying a generic solution to a generic problem. Generic solutions applied to generic opportunities get a completely random result.

7. Managing Time Poorly

I continually arrive late for meetings. I even make a bit of a joke out of it. I can't determine the difference between urgent and important tasks, proactive and reactive tasks. I call meetings which do not have a purpose. I cc people on emails I send because they might like to know. I complain of being overworked, spending many hours in the office over the norm.

8. Expecting a Bonus for Doing My Job

I meet my targets, and I think I therefore deserve a bonus. My targets are stretch targets and therefore I think I deserve a large bonus.

In fact, when I meet my targets; I fulfil the requirements of my job. If I always meet my targets, I am likely to be promoted to a more challenging role with a higher salary. If I exceed my targets by a wide margin, then I may deserve a bonus.

**9. Not Seeing the Big Picture...or Only Seeing the Big Picture**

I work in a silo and am not interested in the impact I have on other departments or the organisation as a whole. That is their problem. They have a job to do just as I do and they just have to cope with what I do to meet my targets.

Or constantly I am aware of the big picture, changing what I do and what my department does to help out. Whatever it takes to get the big picture right is my motto.

I don't get the day-to-day detail done. My customers suffer. My colleagues suffer waiting for my work. Our organisation suffers.

10. Not Having Respect

I bear grudges. Other people are either for me or against me. People must earn my respect. I have no respect for people with whom I disagree. I do not seek the common ground on which we do agree so that we may have respect for each other, even through disagreements.

This Part-Time Job Can Pay Off Big for Students

Kara McGuire, Star Tribune, Minneapolis — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:16:00 -0700

Teens have faced one of the toughest job markets in decades this summer, leaving college savings accounts hungry for deposits. But students without steady paychecks can feed their college coffers without having to sell their possessions on eBay.

I'm talking about scholarships. Like finding a job in a recession, competition for these awards is fierce and growing.

Scholarship America, the Bloomington-based organization that administers scholarship programs for corporations and other groups, said applications for the 1,173 scholarship programs it manages were up 15 percent for the year ending June 30, while the number of students receiving awards went down 16 percent.

Still, scholarships can be well worth the effort and the reward can far surpass the amount of cash earned by scooping ice cream or selling clothes at the mall.

Ask Jason Lum, now the president of ScholarEdge College Consulting in St. Paul. He won $250,000 that paid for a bachelor's degree, a Harvard master's degree and law school. He said he didn't have perfect grades or test scores, but was "persistent as all heck" and didn't take rejection personally if he wasn't selected. Instead of moping about his losing bid, he'd call the scholarship's administrators and say "I'm not calling to complain ... I'm calling to find out what I could have done better so that when I apply next year, I can put in a stronger application." Lum said the effort paid off more times than not.

Finding scholarships is easy. Finding the less-known ones takes work. Everyone starts the search on the Web at free sites such as fastweb.com and scholarships.com.

But Lum says casting a wider net is critical. "Look where other people are not looking. If you look where everyone else is looking, you expose yourself to the maximum number of competitors," he said. He likes Brokescholar.com. Another resource is the newer site Zinch.com.

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education's site getreadyforcollege.org provides useful information on many aspects of the college experience, including state grant and scholarship programs.

Never pay to apply for a scholarship. The Federal Trade Commission shares that tip and more about scholarship scams online: www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt009.shtm.

Offline, obvious places to scope for scholarships include the high school guidance counselor's office, parents' employers or union groups, churches, civic groups, major corporations and the colleges themselves.

Also, check with "groups that are in their possible fields of interest," said Amy Weinstein, executive director of the National Scholarship Providers Association. These associations hand out money because they have an incentive to get good students through school and into the workforce.

Don't stop with the big-name associations. Lum suggests that an aspiring doctor, for example, should call the American Medical Association and ask for suggestions of lesser-known professional organizations in the field with scholarship programs.

'Brain dump'

So-called free money for college costs time and effort. Lum tells his clients that they should spend at least 10 hours a week on their scholarship endeavor. That includes research, form-filling, essay writing and engaging in the extracurricular activities that will make a student an appealing candidate.

Before filling out a single form, conduct a "brain dump" where you "sit down and figure out every darn thing you've done," said Carrie Jo Short, director of grants and program services at the Minnesota Community Foundation and the St. Paul Foundation.

This is a worthy exercise for sixth-graders with years until college as well as undergrads eyeing a master's degree. Include participation in formal groups such as the track team and National Honor Society, as well as informal activities such as organizing friends to regularly visit a neighbor in a nursing home.

Students should also take time to assess their electronic image. The content on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter can send damaging messages. E-mail addresses can give the wrong idea, too. One time, Short read through a great application only to see that the applicant's e-mail address was lazyjane@yahoo.com (the name has been changed).

Then there are the obvious to-dos that don't get done, said Pei-loh Lo, director of training for Scholarship America. Turn applications in on time. Read the instructions and follow them.

Answer the questions completely. Know something about the scholarship in play. Spell-check. Use complete sentences.

These tips may sound so obvious that they aren't worth repeating. But these are the mistakes that leave Lo and Short banging their heads on their desks.

School's out for another month. So put down that remote control. Step away from the Wii. And start the scholarship search.

Where did you find money for college? Educate Kara McGuire: 612-673-7293 or kmcguire@startribune.com. Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kablog.

---

To see more of the Star Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.startribune.com/.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

NASDAQ-NMS:EBAY,

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How to Have a Great First Year in Sales

Peter Vogt, Monster — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:10:00 -0700

Sales professionals, an old joke goes, have two modes of communication: talking and waiting until they can talk again.

First-year sales reps in particular often personify this by “eagerly spouting all their newly learned product or service knowledge before learning the goals and needs of their customers,” says Marie Warner, president and founder of Warner Sales Architects and a 20-year sales veteran.

So if you’re a new sales professional and you’d like to not only survive your first year but thrive, your ears will come in handier than your mouth will. It all starts with listening to your prospective customers, but it certainly doesn’t end there. Heed these tips for sales success.

Focus on Making a Difference vs. Making a Sale

The most successful salespeople don’t behave like salespeople at all, says Howard Wallin, a sales performance expert who has 25 years of experience in sales training. Instead, they act like their customers’ business partners, listening for the real problems an organization is having and then offering targeted solutions.

[widget:cornerstone]

One of Wallin’s clients is a US-based snowshoe manufacturer. For years, its factory ran at or near full capacity through the fall, when consumers gear up for winter snowshoeing treks, but then sat idle for several months.

Two years ago, the company launched a marketing campaign targeting new customers in Australia and New Zealand, where the seasons are opposite the US. This meant its factory would be busy producing snowshoes year round.

“Problem solved,” says Wallin. “And here’s the kicker: The idea came from a salesperson who sells manufacturing equipment to the snowshoe company.”

Bottom line: “Nobody cares about your product, service or solution,” says sales expert Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies. “All they care about is the difference you can make for their organization.”

Tap Others’ Wisdom

You may be new to the sales field, but you’re probably surrounded by potential advisors and sounding boards, either in your own company or through professional associations. Take advantage of this expertise whenever and wherever you can.

“Find a mentor,” stresses Nadine Keller, founding partner of Precision Sales Coaching. “While we’re in the training business and we’d like to believe that training is they key, we’ve found that successful salespeople typically credit their success to having the good fortune early in their careers to sit next to or call with a fabulous salesperson.”

Sell Yourself on Your Own Product/Service

If your inner voice is telling you, “I don’t much believe in what I’m selling,” you’re in big trouble from day one, according to Anthony Migyanka, president of Anthony Migyanka Financial Media.

“Life gets difficult,” Migyanka says. “Each rejection is an affirmation of what you already believe: That your product is junk.”

So before you start making phone calls or setting up meetings, ask yourself what you really think of what you’re selling. If you honestly believe in it, Migyanka says, “People will sense it in you and buy in droves.” If you don’t, they won’t.

Acknowledge Market Conditions Matter

It’s easy to take the inevitable rejections of your first year in sales personally, even in the best of economic climates. But when times are tougher, it can be that much more difficult to keep your spirits up and stay motivated.

That’s when it’s most critical to acknowledge that it’s tough for anyone to sell in a bad economy. Sales rep Nancy Spruiell was reminded of that fact just recently at the airport.

“I was telling the owner of one of the lines I represent that a buyer who wants to place an order cannot get approval from her management, and that they’re on a buying freeze and she can’t tell me when she might get approval,” says Spruiell, founder of Wholesale Spa Source. “The woman sitting next to me turned to me and started laughing and said, ‘I’m in the same situation -- no one is buying!’”

In other words, Spruiell says, it’s rough out there in sales these days, “and a first-year professional in today’s economy probably needs to know that and remember that.”

Welcome to SalesHQ!

The Editors — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:32:00 -0700

Welcome to SalesHQ! With thousands of sales-related websites and blogs out there, hundreds of magazines and publications, and mountains of training books, finding the key information you need can be difficult, expensive, or both. That's why we're here. SalesHQ is the premier community for sales professionals and people trying to decide if sales is the right career for them. Here you'll find:

• Sales Forums: We sales people can learn more and earn more by sticking together! Make friends, network, and share experiences with other members of SalesHQ. SalesHQ's members are smart, savvy and experienced. If you can't find an answer to any question, they'll have it for you.

• The Most Comprehensive and Easy to Use Sales Tips Center on the Web: Our free training center covers a range of sales topics, from prospecting to sales management, to help you improve your craft.

• Our Resume and Interview Center with the most effective and in depth job search advice.

• Sales Jobs: The largest sales job board on the world wide web! Also see our salary & commission guide to see how much you can earn in sales.

• News You Can Use Not just random articles, but news you care about.

Be sure to complete your profile so other SalesHQ members can get connected with you easily.

Sign Up For SalesHQ's Weekly Newsletters

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:23:00 -0700

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To receive the newsletter:

1) In your profile, there are tabs at the top to set your site preferences. Here, you can go into your "Account Settings": http://saleshq.monster.com/account/edit_settings.

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3) Under “Subscriptions” there are multiple check boxes. The second check box is marked *Newsletters*.

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3) Add *updates@m.saleshq.com* to your email contact list, so that this doesn’t happen again.

Employed See Tough Times Too

Dennis Cauchon, USA Today — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:20:00 -0700

People who still have jobs are faring worse than at any time since the Great Depression, a USA TODAY analysis of employment data found. Furloughs, pay cuts and reduced hours are taking a toll on workers who have escaped job cuts.

The employed worked fewer hours in May - an average of just 33.1 hours a week - than at any time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began counting in 1964. Part-time work is at a record high. Overtime is at a record low.

The magnitude of job losses - 6 million jobs gone, a 9.4% unemployment rate - has overshadowed the groundbreaking nature of the nation's employment troubles, especially the financial decline of those still working.

"You can rip a whole chapter out of your Economics 101 textbook because the job market isn't behaving the way we were taught," says David Rosenberg, chief economist at money manager Gluskin Sheff and Associates.

Even working people have less to spend.

Businesses cut total wages at a 6.2% annual rate in the first quarter. Federal, state and local governments increased spending on wages by 6.1%, offsetting some of the decline.

The use of pay cuts - the last choice at most companies after hiring freezes, salary freezes and layoffs - shows how the recession is unlike any since the Depression, says Laura Sejen of compensation consultant Watson Wyatt.

"The recession has been broad, deep and long. No one has been immune," she says.

Baby Boomers - 79 million people born from 1946 to 1964 - have been hit particularly hard.

Unemployment rates for workers 45 and older have soared to their highest level since at least 1948, when the government started tracking it.

Job losses for Baby Boomers come at a difficult time: during the traditional peak earning years, as retirement nears. "It's hard for an older worker to compete in the job market with younger guys and women. The jobs may not pay what they were making," says Austin Sargent, an economist with Utah's Department of Workforce Services.

The average time a person has been out of work is at a post-Depression record of 22.5 weeks.

Congress' approval of higher and longer unemployment benefits may contribute to the extra time spent between jobs, says James Sherk, a labor economist at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

"The humanitarian benefit of unemployment insurance also causes people to look with less intensity for a new job," he says.

The few groups faring better than in past recessions are government workers and young women.

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Sales Force Spending

The Controller Report — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:31:00 -0700

In reviewing sales spending, controllers now see managers in sales and marketing attempting to reconcile two disparate needs. Here, sales managers are adjusting head count so that staff levels reflect 2009 volume. At the same time, many try to adjust plan design and special incentives for field forces (SPIFFs). These provide an opportunity for salespeople to earn back some of the core pay they have lost, as incentive earnings from core product sales have declined. Key point: SPIFFs are meant to help companies retain their most productive sales professionals despite difficult times. Fortunately, a series of surveys from Watson Wyatt Worldwide provides a frame of reference that CR readers can use to evaluate the current sales force investment strategies at their own companies. As the associated table shows, these surveys examined the use of eight tactics in September 2008 and February 2009, as well as "the future." Altogether, these surveys show how companies now combine cost containment and program design changes. Caveat: The survey reflects actions at only 91 U.S.-based companies.

Actions Taken or Planned to Manage Sales Force Investments
Certainly, our table shows that participants in this survey have moved with increasing aggressiveness to align their sales costs with economic realities. In particular, it shows that 53 percent of these companies had adjusted their sales force head counts by February, up from 23 percent in September. Twenty-one percent of participants also plan future adjustments.

At the same time, the table shows that sales managers are adjusting to these lower head counts by modifying incentives design, sales territories, sales goals, and pay mix. Observes Watson Wyatt, "Employers who have reduced head countwere almost twice as likely to lower sales goals and quotas, modify sales territories, and shift pay mix to more variable compensation as those who did not lay off staff."

Key point: Companies that have reduced sales head count are more likely to adjust their deployment models, sales goals and quotas, and reward programs. Proof: Among these companies, 50 percent have lowered sales goals and quotas, 48 percent have modified territories or accounts assignment, 44 percent have introduced additional SPIFFs or contests to energize sales, and 44 percent have adjusted sales incentives design formulas or payout schedules. CR gives the final comments to Watson Wyatt:

* "The biggest challenge for employers appears to be balancing what can often be competing objectives. They need their sales force to focus on customers when their total pay may be dropping, while at the same time continuing to monitor sales force costs."

* "While employers are now experiencing a temporary reprieve from attraction and retention challenges, they are still very sensitive to the need to have their sales force well-positioned once recovery begins. Proof: As companies project the remainder of 2009, fewer than 25 percent are planning to continue the series of actions executed over the last six months. Instead, companies are starting to shift their focus back to sales productivity optimization and growth."

(Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

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A Fresh Approach to Incentives

Recruiter — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:42:00 -0700

Top billers are key to a firm's performance and keeping them motivated is essential. Christopher Goodfellow reports:

In recruitment, to coin an old hunting maxim, you eat what you kill. Salaries are based heavily on commission, with low base rates putting the pressure on performance.

With sales volumes dropping managers are left in a difficult position; consultants face shrinking and morale-busting pay packets when they most need motivating.

Increasing commission or base salaries across the board is out of the question in today's business climate. Pushing up the cost of sales at a point when recruitment agencies are facing fee pressure and cash-flow constraints is not viable.

And, as Ron Burke, European head of sales reward and motivation at HR consultants Towers Perrin, succinctly puts it: "In the good times you would never decrease your commission and they would be yelling and screaming at you if you did."

So, since business is down and people aren't earning as much money, what can be done to reposition rewards and motivation packages to boost business?

One tactic is to add a higher band of commission.

High billers have the greatest impact on the bottom line - not just because of the level of sales, but because the fixed overheads, such as base salary are better capitalised upon. This means the cost of these sales is lower and the company can afford to increase the reward without a significant impact to the bottom line.

The tactic also provides a welcome psychological boost and improves retention of the top performers.

Sunil Duggal, managing director of Just IT Recruitment, told Recruiter the company introduced a higher commission bracket, paying consultants 25% commission when they bill over pound 30k in a quarter.

Duggal says it pushes consultants who have had a successful month to continue for the rest of the quarter, hoping they can reach the higher percentage band.

Analysing the length of time over which commission is calculated and paid can help ensure that consultants' focus is the most effective for the company.

Next: Quarterly Schemes>>

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Mark Cameron, chief operating officer of international recruiter Astbury Marsden, told Recruiter the company had introduced a quarterly scheme, in addition to its traditional annual payouts.

"We tweaked the original scheme, the thresholds and returns on those, and then overlaid a scheme with a shorter time frame. Given that there was the immediate requirement to make fees, we wanted to reward people who did that successfully quarter to quarter."

A scaled-down annual scheme was retained to ensure consultants maintained a long-term focus on their sales pipelines combined with the new quarterly scheme, says Cameron.

Duggal has also adjusted the time frame of commission payments, moving from monthly to quarterly remunerations to ensure reward was closely aligned with performance. "We had a problem with consultants who will bill nothing one month and the next they would bill pound 20k, which would shove them into the higher percentage bracket," he says.

The widespread restructuring which is taking place in the staffing sector has led to a certain amount of natural attrition. Consultants who joined in better times have been leaving under pressure from sales targets.

However, relying on the sales force evolving through performance targets, with weaker players dropping out as the sales environment becomes harsher, is a bad idea. Poor performers incur costs and damage client relationships.

Burke said the notion of self regulation through commission schemes with low base salaries and high commission was poorly placed: "It's not necessarily a good way to run the business. The low performers can drag on and incur all kinds of other costs before they decide to leave the business."

Scott Cullen, sales effectiveness and compensation consultant at HR consultancy firm Watson Wyatt, told Recruiter: "You want to make sure you are targeting the right clients and concentrating on sectors which are growing," and additional bonuses can be added to encourage consultants to target particular types of clients.

However, there is no need to increase commission to target sectors which are aligned with the company's growth plan. Often existing staff can move desk, benefiting from greater sales opportunities and providing a larger contribution to the bottom line.

Russell Clements, chief executive of IT recruiter SThree, advocated this approach during a forum hosted by recruitment trade body the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). He also recommended moving top accounts to high performers who could then increase penetration and profits for the company.

Next: Sales Competitions>>

[page]

Running sales competitions can also provide a cost-effective method of boosting sales team morale and shaping the type of sales consultants are achieving.

"If you don't have them these could be a very effective method for very minimal additional cost, compared to adding another compensation component," says Burke, adding if you already have them in place it's essential to retain them.

Duggal says Just IT Recruitment has increased the number of competitions it runs, whilst scaling back spend. The reaction was positive, with the new targets fostering "a fighting in the trenches" atmosphere among the ranks of the sales force.

Unlike commission, competitions can also be staggered across the recruitment process, motivating consultants across the full range of sales-based activities.

"They can stagger the points between getting interviews, making placements and whether the placements stay three months. It's a sliding scale," says Helen Hanspal, corporate sales director at gift company Red Letter Days.

Duggal has structured one of the company's competition using this method, introducing a 'Drink, Eat, Travel' scheme where consultants move from a glass of wine to bottles of champagne, and free travel to work to holidays.

There is also room to reward staff through competitions which cater to the competitive instincts of high-billers.

James Joyce, head of marketing at IT recruiter NetworkersMSB, has taken the group's top 30 performers on a VIP all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas. The competition aims to provide the top 10% of the company's 300-strong staff, who all bill more than pound 100k per month, with a trip they couldn't "plan or pay for".

"We have limos picking us up laden with champagne to take us to our suites at the Bellagio [Hotel]," says Joyce.

The resultant scramble to get on the leader boards towards the end of the competition provided a significant boost to business, according to Joyce, who says the company also runs a series of UK- based events.

Whether consultants are flown to Las Vegas or given champagne, taking a fresh look at rewards and motivation is essential in motivating the workforce and ensuring agencies are capitalising on consultants.

And managers need to keep in touch with staff throughout the planning process.

Pauline Redpath, director of technical, finance and HR recruiter Source People, told Recruiter taking time to talk to her team and finding out how they are being affected has been crucial to structuring a programme.

Times have changed in the staffing sector since last year and it has had a direct effect on consultants' pay packets. The dangers of disillusioned employees further weakening a company's performance are paramount, and reward and motivation need to be thoroughly analysed.

In most recruitment agencies, consultants work for reward - it's part of the reason people are attracted to the industry. Now the market has changed gear, the tools of delivering these bonuses need to be assessed.

"Motivation is key - the sales force are the guardians of the top line of the organisation so they need to be performing for firms to survive the downturn. That strategy is reflected in the sales compensation plan," says Cullen.

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Retail Salesperson

BLS.gov — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:59:00 -0700

Median Earnings: $21,528

Description:
Consumers spend millions of dollars every day on merchandise and often rely on a store’s sales force for help. Whether selling shoes, computer equipment, or automobiles, retail salespersons assist customers in finding what they are looking for and try to interest them in buying the merchandise. Most are able to describe a product’s features, demonstrate its use, or show various models and colors.

In addition to selling, most retail salespersons—especially those who work in department and apparel stores—make out sales checks; receive cash, checks, debit, and charge payments; bag or package purchases; and give change and receipts. Depending on the hours they work, retail salespersons may have to open or close cash registers. This work may include counting the money in the register; separating charge slips, coupons, and exchange vouchers; and making deposits at the cash office. Salespersons often are held responsible for the contents of their registers, and repeated shortages are cause for dismissal in many organizations. (Cashiers, who have similar duties, are discussed elsewhere in the Handbook. )

Retailers stress the importance of providing courteous and efficient service to remain competitive. For example, when a customer wants an item that is not on the sales floor, the salesperson may check the stockroom, place a special order, or call another store to locate the item.

Outlook:
Due to the high level of turnover in this occupation, opportunities are expected to be good. The average projected employment growth in this occupation reflects the expansion of the economy and consumer spending.

Employment is expected to grow by 12 percent over the 2006-16 decade, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations. In fact, due to the size of this occupation, retail salespersons will have one of the largest numbers of new jobs arise, about 557,000. This growth reflects rising retail sales stemming from a growing population. Many retail establishments will continue to expand in size and number, leading to new retail sales positions. Since retail salespeople must be available to assist customers in person, this is not an occupation that will suffer negative effects from advancements in technology. To the contrary, software that integrates purchase transactions, inventory management, and purchasing has greatly changed retailing, but retail salespersons continue to be essential in dealing with customers. There will also be an increased demand for retail salespersons in warehouse clubs and supercenters, which sell a wide assortment of goods at low prices, since they continue to grow as many consumers prefer these stores.

Despite the growing popularity of electronic commerce, the impact of electronic commerce on employment of retail salespersons is expected to be minimal. Internet sales have not decreased the need for retail salespersons. Retail stores commonly use an online presence to complement their in-store sales; there are a limited number of Internet-only apparel and specialty stores. Retail salespersons will remain important in assuring customers, providing specialized service, and increasing customer satisfaction. Most shoppers continue to prefer to make their purchases in stores, and growth of retail sales will continue to generate employment growth in various retail establishments.

Sales Representative

BLS.gov — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:38:00 -0700

Median Earnings: $49,610

Description:
Sales representatives are an important part of manufacturers’ and wholesalers’ success. Regardless of the type of product they sell, sales representatives’ primary duties are to make wholesale and retail buyers and purchasing agents interested in their merchandise and to address any of their clients’ questions and concerns. Sales representatives demonstrate their products and explain how using those products can reduce costs and increase sales.

Sales representatives may represent one or several manufacturers or wholesale distributors by selling one product or a complementary line of products. The clients of sales representatives span almost every industry and include other manufacturers, wholesale and retail establishments, construction contractors, and government agencies. (Retail salespersons, who sell directly to consumers, and sales engineers, who specialize in sales of technical products and services, are discussed elsewhere in the Handbook.)

The process of promoting and selling products can take up to several months. Sales representatives present their products to a customer and negotiate the sale. Whether in person or over the phone, they can make a persuasive sales pitch and often will immediately answer technical and non-technical questions about the products. They may also record any interactions with clients and their respective sales to better match their future needs and sales potential.

Outlook:
Employment of sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, is expected to grow by 9 percent between 2006 and 2016, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations. This is primarily because of continued growth in the variety and number of goods sold throughout the economy. Technological progress will also have an impact on job growth. Sales representatives can help ensure that retailers offer the latest technology available to their customers or that businesses acquire the right technical products that will increase their efficiency in operations. Advances in technology will therefore lead to more products being demanded and sold, and thus growth in the sales representative profession.

At the same time, however, computers and other information technology are also making sales representatives more effective and productive, allowing sales representatives to handle more clients, and thus hindering job growth somewhat.

Employment growth will be greatest in independent sales companies as manufacturers and wholesalers continue to outsource sales activities to independent agents rather than using in-house or direct sales workers. Independent agent companies are paid only if they sell, a practice that reduces the overhead cost to their clients. Also, by using agents who usually contract their services to more than one company, companies can share costs of the agents with each other. As the customers of independent agents continue to merge with other companies, independent agent companies and other wholesale trade firms will also merge with each other in response to better serve their clients.

A Practical Guide to Wall Street

Business Wire — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:11:00 -0700

Research and Markets: Equities and Derivatives: The Essential Practical Guide to Wall Street

Research and Markets has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new report "The Practical Guide to Wall Street: Equities and Derivatives" to their offering.

The Practical Guide to Wall Street is an indispensable resource for anyone who aspires to a front-office sales or trading position on Wall Street and an essential desk reference for market practitioners and those who interact with this exciting but widely misunderstood industry. Written by an experienced trader in a clear, conversational style and assuming no previous background in finance, The Practical Guide to Wall Street provides a thorough schooling in the core curriculum of the equity and equity derivatives sales and trading business - exactly what you would learn from sitting beside the traders at a tier-one Wall Street investment bank (except that in practice, traders rarely have time to provide such detailed explanations!) Topics covered include: Clear, detailed and intuitive explanations of all major products, their function, pricing and risks (several of which are unavailable anywhere else despite producing billions of dollars in annual revenue for Wall St.)

The layout of the trading floor, the roles and responsibilities of the different sales and trading groups and how they interact to service the client business

An overview of the structure of the macro-economy and the trader's perspective on the significance of economic data releases and their impact on the financial markets

A review of those concepts from fundamental valuation and financial statement analysis of greatest relevance on the trading floor (as opposed to abstract valuation models)

Practical details of the structure and functioning of the equity and derivative markets including translations of trader jargon, Bloomberg tips, market conventions, liquidity and risk considerations and much more

This book provides the first comprehensive explanation of all aspects of the functioning of the equities division, with information, details and insights previously only available to those who already worked on a trading floor. The availability of this material in a format accessible to non-professionals fundamentally changes the level of industry knowledge employers in the financial services industry can expect of new hires.

Key Topics Covered>>

[page]

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1. Equity Fundamentals (Part 1): Introduction to Financial Statements.

Chapter 2. Equity Fundamentals (Part 2): Financial Ratios, Valuation and Corporate Actions.

Chapter 3. Cash Market.

Chapter 4. Equity Indices.

Chapter 5. Program Trading.

Chapter 6. Exchange Traded Funds (ETF).

Chapter 7. Forwards and Futures.

Chapter 8. Swaps.

Chapter 9. Options 1.

Chapter 10. Options 2.

Chapter 11. The Trading Floor.

Chapter 12. Macroeconomics for Trading and Sales.

Chapter 13. Economic Data Releases.

For more information visit < a href="http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ac2b66/the_practical_guid">Research and Markets

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SalesHQ

Hot Sales Sectors: Medical & Pharma

Q. I am considering a career in pharmaceutical or medical sales. What can you tell me about the medical industry?

Next: Pharmaceutical Sales

Pharmaceutical Sales

Some observations:

Next: Pharmaceutical Sales Compensation

Next: Medical Sales

Medical Sales

Q. How can I get into medical sales?

Next: Getting Into these Industries

Q. How can I get into pharmaceutical sales?

Q. Can I get into medical or pharmaceutical sales without a degree?

Next: No Sales Experience?

Q. I am in college and want to prepare myself for a career in sales. What should I be doing?

Q. I'm out of college and want to get sales experience. What are the best choices so that I will be marketable to some of the better companies in the future?

Next: Experienced in a Different Sales Industry

Q. I have 10 years of sales experience in one field and have been successful, but I am tired of my market. I would like to sell a new product in a new market. Will I be able to maintain my present income?

Q. After many successful years of sales in one industry, I want to make a change. I realize that I may need to take a short term pay cut to get reoriented to a new product. How willing are employers going to be to talk to me?

Not Qualified for a Sales Industry? Specialize With a Career-Targeted Degree

Also Read: Pharma vs. Biotech: Which Do You Want to Sell?

The Grass is Greener

Changed Expectations

In for a shock?

Look Before You Leap into Career Changes

Getting Ready

Secrets Buried In a Sales Person's Resume

1: Accomplishments→

How to Get That Great Sales Job...

1. Maintain a positive mental attitude.

2. Have belief.

3. Decide on your perfect company and role.

4. Utilize your networks.

5. Take massive action.

6. Tailor your CV and application form.

7. Do your homework.

8. Think about how you add value and sell the sizzle and the steak.

9. Plan & prepare answers to the most likely questions.

10. Learn from your interviews and don’t give up.

Commission vs. Salary: Finding the Balance

Transparent Structure

Key Lessons

Leaving Corporate Life Behind

Prioritizing Is a Necessity

Read on→

Shedding Your Old Identity

Read on→

Lots of Alone Time

Read on→

Forced Out of Corporate Nest

Read on→

Dude, Seriously, Facebook Could Cost You a Job

Step-by-Step Guide to Negotiating a Great Salary

During the Interview Process

1. Do Your Research

2. Don't Talk Turkey Too Early

3. Avoid the Salary Requirements Trap

NEXT: At Time of Offer

At Time of Offer

4. Strike First

5. Don't Commit Too Quickly

6. Make Them Jealous

7. Articulate Your Expectations

8. Negotiate Extras

9. Quantify Your Value and Performance

The 10 Worst Employee Failures

1. Continuing in a Job I Dislike

2. Never Asking Questions

3. Never Saying, "I don't know."

4. Always Managing Upwards

5. Saying, "We can't because..."

Failures 6 to 10

6. Not Being Specific

7. Managing Time Poorly

8. Expecting a Bonus for Doing My Job

9. Not Seeing the Big Picture...or Only Seeing the Big Picture

10. Not Having Respect

This Part-Time Job Can Pay Off Big for Students

How to Have a Great First Year in Sales

Welcome to SalesHQ!

Not Qualified for a Sales Industry?
Specialize With a Career-Targeted Degree

**9. Not Seeing the Big Picture...or Only Seeing the Big Picture**