CHAPTER NINE
Recruiting and Selecting the
Sales Force
IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD
SELECTION PROGRAM
 Improves
sales force performance
 Promotes cost savings
 Eases other managerial tasks
 Sales managers are no better than their
sales forces
PROBLEMS OF POOR
SELECTION
 Inadequate
sales coverage / lack of
customer follow-up
 Increased training costs
 More supervisory problems
 Higher turnover
 Suboptimal performance
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
 Laws
emphasize two concepts in
employment:
– nondiscrimination
– affirmative action
 EEOC <http://www.eeoc.gov/index.html>
 OFCC <http://www.nau.edu/~affirm/ofccp.html>
 ADA <http://www.adata.org/>
SCOPE OF SALESFORCE
STAFFING
 Determine
the number and type of people
needed
 Recruit a number of applicants
 Process the recruits and select the most
qualified
DETERMINING NUMBER OF
PEOPLE NEEDED
 What
should sales managers consider?
– Turnover rate
– Sales forecasts
– Proposed changes in products,
markets, and market coverage
TURNOVER
Turnover Rate =
Separations per year
Average Sales Force size
FIRST YEAR COST OF A
SALES PERSON
COMPENSATION
BENEFITS (24%)
$24,752
5,940
FIELD EXPENSES
20,397
TRAINING COSTS
16,177
TOTAL COSTS
$ 67,206
NUMBER OF APPLICANTS
R
=H/SxA
– R = number of applicants
– H = number of hires
– S = % of recruits selected
– A = % of those who accept
DETERMINING TYPE OF
PEOPLE NEEDED
 Job
analysis
 Job description
 Job qualifications
JOB ANALYSIS
 …a
systematic way to describe how a job
is to be performed, as well as the tasks
that make up a job.
FROM THE INTERNET
 “Analyzing
an Existing Job”
<http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/p05_023
0.asp>
JOB DESCRIPTION
 …a
written document that spells out the
job relationships and requirements that
characterize each sales position.
FROM THE INTERNET…..
 Writing
an Effective Job Description:
http://www.onlinewbc.org/docs/manage/
descriptions.html
COMPONENTS OF JOB
DESCRIPTIONS
 Job
title
 Organizational relationship
 Duties and responsibilities
 Hiring specifications
 Summary: technical requirements and
demands of the job
USES FOR THE JOB
DESCRIPTION
 Selection
and hiring
 Sales training
 Compensation plans
 Performance appraisal
JOB QUALIFICATIONS
 Aptitudes,
skills, knowledge, and
personality traits necessary to perform a
job successfully
ISSUES CONCERNING JOB
QUALIFICATIONS
 Uniqueness
 Degree
to which each trait must be
possessed
 How essential is each quality?
TRAIT CATEGORIES
 Mental
(intelligence, planning ability)
 Physical (appearance, health, speaking
ability)
 Experience (education, sales, other)
 Personality (ambition, interest, tact)
 Environmental (membership)
RECRUITING CANDIDATES
 Recruit
20 people who are interested
 Review of applicants will eliminate 10
 The initial interview will eliminate 6 or 7
 The 3 or 4 finalists are screened by
further interviews, tests, etc...
 One person is finally hired
SOURCES OF RECRUITS
The present sales force
 Other company employees
 Other companies
– Competitors
– Customers
 Educational institutions
 Advertisements
 Voluntary applications
 Employment agencies
 Internet

THE PRESENT
SALESFORCE
 Why
should the salesforce be consulted?
 Use of incentives
OTHER COMPANY
EMPLOYEES
 Why
look elsewhere within the company?
COMPETITORS
 Should
a firm hire salespeople from the
competition?
 68 percent of sales managers stated that
the first place they look is to the
competitors’ sales force!
CUSTOMERS
 Can
purchasing agents become sales
people?
 What are the risks associated with hiring
from your customer’s company?
EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
 Types
of positions?
 Placement centers
 Relationships with professors
ADVERTISEMENTS
 Newspapers
and trade journals are the
most widely used media
 Use your ad as a screening device
 Ads must attract attention and have
credibility
COMPONENTS OF A GOOD
RECRUITING AD
 Company
name
 Product
 Territory
 Hiring
Qualifications
 Compensation plan, benefits
 How to contact employer
FROM THE INTERNET...
 Advertising
Media for Job Ads
<http://aol.toolkit.cch.com/text/P05_0640.
asp>
 Read the associated materials on
newspapers, trade journals, television
and radio, and online posting.
VOLUNTARY APPLICANTS
 Record
retention system
EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES
 “Recruit”
the agency
 Agencies can perform initial screening
 Compensation
INTERNET
 Employers
can post their jobs on-line or
search one of the many resume databases.
FROM THE INTERNET...
 The
Job Factory
<http://www.jobfactory.com/>
FACTORS INFLUENCING
CHOICE OF SOURCES
 Nature
of Product
 Nature of Market
 Policy of Promoting from Within
 Availability
 Sales training provided
 Is your company hiring career salespeople
 Sources of past successful recruits
 Money available for recruiting
SELECTION TOOLS
 Graphology
 Application
blanks
 Personal interviews
 Psychological tests
 References and credit reports
 Physical examinations
 Assessment centers
SELECTION PRINCIPLES
 Least
costly tools first
 A series of tools should be used
 Tools aid managerial judgment; are not
substitutes
GRAPHOLOGY
 Graphology
(a.k.a. Handwriting
Analysis) is the art of interpreting a
person's character from his/her personal
handwriting.
FROM THE INTERNET….
 Graphology
/ Handwriting Analysis FAQ
<http://web.singnet.com.sg/~tjlow/gclub/
grapho.htm>
APPLICATION BLANKS
 Serve
as an initial screen
 Basis for probing in an interview
 Ask for information you intend to use
 Experience (education and work)
 Environmental qualifications
RESUME ANALYSIS
 Account
for all dates
 Examine number of jobs and length of
time spent on jobs
 Reasons for leaving
 Is there a pattern of growth?
PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
 Get
to know the candidate
– Determine fitness for job
– verify facts on application
– two way communication device
 Validity
COMMON INTERVIEWER
MISTAKES
 Failure
to establish rapport
 Lack of a plan
 Insufficient time
 Not listening
 Personal bias
 Questions
 First impressions
OVERCOMING INTERVIEW
SHORTFALLS
 Standardized
rating form
 Train interviewers
 Patterned interviews/multiple interviews
INTERVIEWS: FOUR BASIC
ISSUES
 Is
the individual qualified?
 How badly does the individual want the
job?
 Is there a goal fit?
 Will the applicant work to the fullest of
their ability?
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
 What
was the most monotonous job you
ever had to do?
 What do you consider to be your biggest
disappointment?
 What was the most difficult decision you
ever had to make as a leader?
 See text, page 436
OTHER INTERVIEW ISSUES
 Non
directed interviews
 Interviewing the spouse
 Stress interviews
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
 Controversial
 Types
–
–
–
–
Intelligence
Aptitude
Interest
Personality
WHEN TO USE
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
 Large
number being hired
 Hiring inexperienced salespeople
 Cost of hiring failure is high
FROM THE INTERNET...
 Lee
Resources
<http://www.leeresources.com/pages/
psyctest.html>
REFERENCES
 Employment
 Personal
 Credit
PREVIOUS EMPLOYER
REFERENCE CHECK
 Dates
of employment?
 What was the job?
 Type of selling involved?
 Get along with
mangers/clients/coworkers?
 Applicants strongest points/weaknesses?
 Why did she/he leave company?
 Would you rehire? Why?
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
 Sales
jobs are physically, mentally, and
emotionally demanding
 Medical insurance coverage
DRUG SCREENING
 Identify
the drug user prior to
incorporating him/her into the employee
population.
 Methods of testing are generally urine,
hair or combination of these two
ASSESSMENT CENTERS
 A centralized,
comprehensive evaluation
procedure involving
– tests
– interviews
– simulation exercises (business games,
discussions groups, presentations)
FROM THE INTERNET...
 Evaluation Through Assessment
<http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/docs/
Publications/pub00024.txt>
Centers
EXTENDING THE JOB
OFFER
 Timing
 Who
makes the job offer?
 When extending the offer
– review specifics
– let the recruit talk
 Accept
rejection with grace
FROM YOUR TEXT
 Read
everything in Chapter Nine!!