Recruitment, Selection and

Training of Sales Personnel

Recruitment
 Importance of good
Recruitment/Selection Program
• Qualified Sales people are scarce

• Good selection improves sales force performance

• Good selection promotes cost savings

• Good selection eases other managerial tasks

• Sales managers are no better than their sales force

 “Eagles don’t flock. You have
to find them one at a time”
-- Ross
Perot--
Sales Force Selection and Strategic
Planning
• Sales force most directly involved in
strategic plans of the company

• Therefore selection process should be

consistent with the Strategic plans

• Selection process should be strategically

integrated with all aspects of “Sales Force
Management”
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning
• Recruiting
• Selecting
• Hiring
• Assimilation
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning • HR dept. usually does the
– Establishing initial screening and
Responsibility for
Recruiting • The Sales Manager does the
Final hiring decision
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning • Based on analysis of past
– Establishing experience and future
Responsibility for expectations
Recruiting
– Determine the number of • Also review for any change
people needed in Marketing Plan to be
made in future
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning • Analysis should clearly
– Establishing identify specific tasks
Responsibility for
Recruiting • Identify which activities are
– Determine the number of critical for job success
people needed
– Conduct Job Analysis • Sometimes an outside
specialist is hired
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning • Put the Job Description in
– Establishing writing
Responsibility for • Uses
Recruiting – Develop tests and selection
– Determine the number of tools
people needed – Turnover can be reduced
– Foundation for sales
– Conduct Job Analysis
Training Program
– Prepare Job Description – Developing Compensation
Plans
– For Periodic Evaluation
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning • Most difficult part of
– Establishing Selection
Responsibility for • A few generally accepted
Recruiting Characteristics
– Determine the number of – Mental Capacities
people needed – Physical Characteristics
– Conduct Job Analysis – Experience
– Education
– Prepare Job Description
– Personality traits
– Determine Hiring
– Skills
Qualifications
– Socio-environmental
factors
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning
• Recruiting
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning
• Recruiting
– Identify Sources
– Select Sources
– Contact the Recruits
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning • Sources
• Recruiting – Referrals
– Identify Sources • Current Employees
• Other companies
– Select Sources
(Competitors,
– Contact the Recruits Customers, Non
Competitors)
– Internet
– Educational Institutes
– Advertisements
– Agencies
– Part Time worker
 Sales force Staffing Process
• Planning
• Recruiting
• Selecting
• Hiring
• Assimilation
Selection
 Selections of Sales Personals

The worst mistake a manager can make is to

make a bad hire
---Anonymous---
 Phases Involved
• Developing a system of tools and procedures for
matching the applicants with the predetermined
requirements

• Using the system to select the salespeople

• Selection Tools

• Hiring

• Assimilating Tests
 Selection Tools
• Application blanks
• Personal interviews
• Psychological tests
• References and credit
reports
• Assessments tests
 Thoughts…

Selections tools and procedures are only

aids to sound executive judgment and not
substitutes for it. They can eliminate
obviously unqualified candidates and
generally help recruiters spot extremely
capable individuals
 Application Blanks
• Application blanks
 Application Blanks
• Application blanks – It is also known as
personal-history record

– Information Asked for on

Application Blanks
• Intended use of the
information by the
company
• Personal information
• Physical characteristics,
experience, and socio-
environmental factors
 Application Blanks
• Application blanks • Experience involves
– Educational Background
– Work Experience

• It involves questions on
– Offices held in
organisations
– Hobbies and other outside
interests

• It reveals something about

his or her interests,
capabilities, and personality
 Personal interviews
• Application blanks
• Personal interviews
 Personal interviews
• Application blanks • It determines
– Conversational ability,
• Personal interviews speaking voice, and social
intelligence
– Certain personality traits
• Aimed at learning 4 major
points
– Is this person capable of
excelling at this job?
– How badly does this person
want the job?
– Will the job help this person
realize his or her goals?
– Will this person work to his
or her fullest ability?
 Personal interviews
• Application blanks • Improving validity of
• Personal interviews the interviews
– Thorough review of the
applicant’s resume or
application before
proceeding further in the
selection process
– More than one interview
at different place with
different interviewer
– Standardized ratings to
be used
– Training of interviewers
 Personal interviews
• Application blanks • Interview Structure
• Personal interviews – Guided interviews
– Nondirected interviews

• Interview Focus
– Behavior-Based
interviews
– Performance-Based
Interviews
– Stress Interviews
 Questions for
Traditional Vs Behavior-Based
•Do you get along with people? •Tell me about any incident in
your last job that caused
•What qualities do you think are conflict with a customer. What
did you do to work it out?
important for success in this
job?
•Give me a specific example of
•What is your biggest a job situation in which you had
to use your problem-solving
weakness?
abilities

•Tell me about your greatest

failure
 Timing and Method of the Interview

• Application blanks • During Initial Screening

– Interviewer should disclose
• Personal interviews a brief job description
– Ask few questions
concerning the minimum
requirements of the
candidates
– Through telephonic
interview, face-to-face
interview (Lasts for 15-20
min), videconferencing
interview
• At later stages
– More time is spent with the
candidates to know them
well
 Psychological testing
• Application blanks
• Personal interviews
• Psychological tests
 Psychological testing
• Application blanks • Legal aspects of testing
• Personal interviews • A framework of testing
– Selecting and developing
• Psychological tests tests
• Problems in testing
 Psychological testing
• Application blanks • Mental Intelligence Tests
• Personal interviews • Aptitude Tests
• Interest Tests
• Psychological tests
• Personality Tests
• Selecting and developing
tests
 References and other outside
sources
• Application blanks
• Personal interviews
• Psychological tests
• References and credit
reports
 References and other outside
sources
• Application blanks • References
– Legal considerations
• Personal interviews
• Background check
• Psychological tests • References
• References and credit – Legal considerations
reports • Background check
 Job offer decision
• Application blanks
• Personal interviews
• Psychological tests
• References and credit
reports
• Assessments tests
 Job offer decision
• Application blanks • Ranking the recruits
• • Communication with
Personal interviews
applicants
• Psychological tests • Extending the offer
• References and credit – What will be included
reports – How will offer be extended

• Assessments tests
 Socialization and assimilation

• Pre entry socialization

• Assimilation of new hires
• Relationships
• Mentoring new employees
• Meeting social and psychological needs
Training
 Phases in sales training program

Training Assessment
Program Design
Reinforcement
Evaluation
Phases in sales training program
Training Assessment Establish program objectives
• Increased sales productivity
• Lower turnover
• Higher morale
• Improved communication
• Improved customer
relationship
• Improved self- management
Identify who should be trained
• Experienced reps
• Customers
• Sales managers
Sales person
performance

Top 20%

Middle 60%
Highest return on dollars
Invested in training

Lowest 20%
Phases in sales training program

Training Assessment Identify training needs and specific

goals
• Standardization and
customization
• Sources of information
- managerial judgment, sales
volume, no of calls, selling
expenses and customer
complaints
- difficulty analysis

How much training is needed ?

- depends on the training
objectives
Phases in sales training program
Who should do the training ?
Training Assessment - line personnel, staff trainers, outside
training specialists
Program Design
When should the training take place?
- placed in the field after trained
- placed in the field before training

Where should training be done?

• Decentralized training
- field sales office instruction, use of
senior people, on the job training,
sales seminars, self-guided
assignments

• Centralized training
- organized schools , periodic sales
meetings
Phases in sales training program
Training Assessment Content of training
• Attitude towards selling and
Program Design training
• Knowledge of the company
• Product knowledge and
application
• Knowledge of competitive
products
• Knowledge of customers
• Knowledge of business
principles
• Selling skills
• Relationship- building skills
• Team – selling skills
• Team- management skills
• Computer- assisted skills
• Legal constraints on selling
 Presentation techniques in sales training programs

Discussion
Lectures • cases Demonstrations
•Round table
•Panels

Web-based Mentoring
training Teaching methods for
Presenting in sales training

Audiocassettes Role- playing On-the -job

Phases in sales training program

Training Assessment • Xerox – sales people

retained only 13% of
Program Design information learned in
Reinforcement training after 30 days.
Phases in sales training program

Training Assessment • Reactions

Program Design - participants complete
questionnaires, recording
Reinforcement verbal comments
Evaluation
• Learning
- before and after tests

• Behavior

• Results
Recruitment, Selection and
Training of Sales … .
Personnel
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