Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

ChapterChapter

55 Profiling and RecruitingSalespeople

Eagles don’t flock. You have to find them one at a time.

Yogi Berra

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recruiting and Selection ProblemsRecruiting and Selection ProblemsRecruiting and Selection ProblemsRecruiting and Selection Problems

Lack of resourcesLack of job specification and

qualificationsQualifications not objectively establishedLack of managerial trainingPersonal prejudicesSearch for managerial talent

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Key Laws and Regulations Key Laws and Regulations Affecting a Sales ForceAffecting a Sales ForceKey Laws and Regulations Key Laws and Regulations Affecting a Sales ForceAffecting a Sales Force

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Federal Contract Compliance, Executive Orders Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967) Fair Employment Opportunity Act (1972) Rehabilitatin Act of 1973 Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act (1974) Uniform Guidelines on Employment Selection Procedures

(1978) Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fig. 5-2 Sales Force Staffing Process: Plan for Recruiting & Selection

Establish Responsibility for Recruiting, Selection

and Assimilation

Determine Number of

People Wanted

Conduct Job Analysis

Prepare Job Description

Recruit Applicants

Select ApplicantsDesign a System

For Measuring Applicants

Hire The People

Assimilate New People Into Sales Force

Determine Hiring Qualifications

Measure Applicants Against Hiring Qualifications

Make Selection Decisions

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Workload AnalysisWorkload AnalysisWorkload AnalysisWorkload AnalysisNumber of reps needed = Total workload in market

Workload one rep can handle Market workload:

Customer Number of Calls Total class accounts per year calls

x =

A 400 20 8,000

B 600 10 6,000

14,000

One rep’s workload:

Calls/day x Selling days/week x Working weeks/year = Annual workload 5 x 5 x 50 = 1250

Number of reps needed = = 112 reps

14,000

1250

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Fig 5-3 Determining the Number of Fig 5-3 Determining the Number of Salespeople NeededSalespeople NeededFig 5-3 Determining the Number of Fig 5-3 Determining the Number of Salespeople NeededSalespeople Needed

Strategic Plans

New - Eliminated/ + Promo- + Retirements + Terminations/ = Total new territories combined tions resignations reps needed territories

Expansion MN and RI 2 promo 2 retirements 1 termination New repsinto Texas. Territories expected expected expected needed

4 - 1 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 8

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content of Job DescriptionContent of Job DescriptionContent of Job DescriptionContent of Job Description

• Title

• The nature of the product or service to be sold

• Type of customers to be called on,

frequency of calls, and types of personnel to be contacted

• Specific tasks and responsibilities to be

carried out

• Organizational relationships

• Mental and physical demands of the job

• Environmental pressures and constraints

that might affect the job

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fig. 5-4

Ten traits and abilities of top salespeople

Trait Related Ability

Ego strength To handle rejection

Sense of urgency To complete the sale

Ego drive To persuade people

Assertiveness To be firm in negotiations

Willingness to take risks To be innovative

Sociability To build relationships

Abstract reasoning To sell ideas

Sense of skepticism To question, to be alert

Creativity To sell complex products and ideas

Empathy To understand customer needs

Source: Erika Rasmusson, “The 10 Traits of Top Salespeople, “ Sales & Marketing Management, August 1999, pp. 34-37.

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Recruiting for the TeamRecruiting for the TeamRecruiting for the TeamRecruiting for the Team

• Willingness to share

• Cooperative

• Trusting

• Empathetic

• Accepting of others

• Receptive to others ideas

• Selflessness

• Leadership skills

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Recruiting Sources of Sales RepsRecruiting Sources of Sales RepsRecruiting Sources of Sales RepsRecruiting Sources of Sales RepsSource CommentReferrals: Candidates and position are known to person making referral. Existing

sales force is an excellent source for referrals as they know their jobrequirements and can identify good matches.

Current employees Company employees know the company and its products.

Other Companies:

Competitors Competitors know the customers and are familiar with your products.

Customers Customers know your products and your company.

Suppliers Suppliers know your company and your products.

The Internet Recruits may come through the company’s own website – or through specialized Internet recruiting sites, such as Monster.com.

Educational institutions Primarily used when recruiting inexperienced people. Students areusually actively involved in a job search, and this provides an efficientplace to screen large numbers of available candidates.

Advertisements Produces the greatest number of candidates, but the average quality is sometimes lower.

Employment agencies The agency is often more costly than other methods, but it willdo a large part of the initial screening.

Part-time workers These workers are easy to contact, readily available, and canwork flexible hours. This is a good source for in-home selling.

Voluntary applicants These applicants are interested in your firm and probably possessa high degree of self-confidence, self-reliance, and initiative.

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Fig. 5-8 Recruiting Evaluation Matrix

Evaluation Criteria

Consistent with strategic planning?

Number recruits

Number hired

Percent retained after 3 years

Cost Frequency of use

Rep’s per-formance after 2 yrs.

Recruiting sources

Within company: Sales force Other departments

Competitors Customers Noncompetitors

Educational institutions

Advertisements

Employment agencies

Voluntary applicants

Computerized databases

Other companies: