That was the first question I was asked on my very first job interview for a professional sales position.  "No" was my answer, for although I had "gone fishing" a few times, I was, by no means a fisherman.  "Good", my interviewer said, I don't hire people that fish or smoke pipes."  Good thing he didn't ask me if I smoked a pipe... Who knows what might have happened to my career, for I was as classic a pipe smoking, Kurt Vonnegut reading recent college graduate as you would ever find. Smoke a pipe?  I did my sales presentation on the merits of the Peterson Systems Pipe in my advanced marketing class - got an "A" on it as well.

 

The interviewer was clearly conducting his own behavioral interview.  The "How To" book he read told him that people that fish and smoked pipes were passive people, and they were to be avoided.  It does make you wonder just how many qualified salespeople this person passed on because of his interviewing questions.  By the way, he did offer me the job, and never found out I was a "pipe smokin guy".  I didn't accept the offer, but that's irrelevant to the story.

 

How then, do we figure out if we have the right candidate in front of us?  And could the right candidate be a pipe smoking fisherman?  Maybe, just maybe. 

 

I think our clients would tell you that our services help them get a more thorough look at their candidates, and as a result of that information they are able to make a more informed, and ultimately more effective hiring decision. 

 

Here are two that are worth sharing with you.  One client, a manufacturer of medical devices, was trying to hire a salesperson for one of their open territories in Canada.  They had a candidate they liked very much, and had her do her profile.  The candidate was not at all a classic fit for a sales position, but did have excellent domain expertise.  Our advice to the manager was to recognize that this person would be very good with the earlier stages of the sales cycle, but would need some help "getting the ball over the goal line".  We spoke to this manager just a few weeks ago, and he reported that this person ended up behaving exactly as we predicted.  In fact, he said that he made it a point to be there to help get the business closed, and it made all the difference in the world.  In fact, his comment was that "If I had managed her to be just like myself, and tried to give her maximum independence, then she would have failed miserably."  Instead, he ended up with a 100% performer for 3 consecutive years.  Not bad, eh?

 

Second story - One of our software selling clients has a pretty hard and fast policy that if a new hire doesn't generate significant revenue by the end of their second full quarter on board, then the person is terminated.  OPUS had the opportunity to run a profile of one of their struggling new salespeople, and their  style indicated very strong tenacity, but not much in creating a sense of urgency.  We explained to the client that this is the kind of person that does much better in a marathon versus a sprint, and we recommended giving them one more quarter to show their talent.  They agreed to do that, and the rest, as they say, is history.  This salesperson has been either number 1,2 or 3 in the world for this company for the past four years, and has generated more than $15M in revenue.

 

Should you wish to talk directly with the managers involved, please let us know.  Both of them are happy to take your call.

 

OPUS is delighted to announce that David Araujo has joined our team.  He will be taking over the administrative responsibilities, as Griffin Tamura will now be working in a business development role.  Griffin is passionate about the value that OPUS provides to our clients, and is very excited about his new role.  We're excited too.   David's e-mail is david@opusproductivity.com