December 19th, 2011 by Amanda Musto, Social Media Marketing Representative at Treeline, Inc
Sales Candidates are in High Demand
By Kathleen Mauriot Division Manager at Treeline, Inc.
As we examine who are clients are looking to hire, it all boils down to the same basic criteria: inexpensive top talent with the perfect skill. You may laugh, but it is true. This is an interesting market and companies feel they are in the driver’s seat. To some degree this is accurate, but as an executive search firm exclusive to sales, we have noticed that the tables are turning as we roll into the New Year.
The world is flooded with the unemployed sales person who is desperately looking for their new gig. They will typically take every interview that comes their way. So, if you are looking to fill your calendar with interviews, no doubt you will be successful. However, filling your calendar with “A” candidates will require a different plan. “A” candidates are in high demand.
Just over the past week multiple companies have called Treeline looking for an introduction to top talent. The market is starting to explode and talent is being sought after like we haven’t seen in a long time. These candidates are being perused on a daily basis and they now feel like they have a bit of an upper hand. However, you can still find and hire them. The question is “are you willing to pay them?”
Consider these two scenarios: do you hire the sales representative with the perfect skill set who will have little to no ramp up and start generating revenue quickly OR do you hire the sales representative with a close skill set who you may need to dedicate initial training to get up to speed? The deciding factor may be compensation; the job market overall is sluggish, many companies believe they can take advantage of the economic times by offering a lower comp. The mindset of many is “take it or leave it.” In other words, “if you don’t want the job there are ten other people who will.” There’s definitely 10 other people, in fact there’s a thousand other people… the wrong people. That’s ego talking. Put it aside. Do not take that mentality, especially when you are filling a revenue generating role. Your goal as a sales manager is to fill that seat with a sales representative who you believe is going to drive revenue and help YOU reach your number. Don’t undercut a talented sales representative who brings all the pieces to the table. They will get insulted and walk from the offer. You’ll be back to the drawing board, which takes time and time equals money.
If compensation is a major concern, choose to hire the sales representative with a close skill match. You may be able to offer a slightly lower compensation package in exchange for the additional training needed to perform the job.
No matter what scenario you decide, make it a win-win for everyone. As a corporation, you will gain loyalty and commitment from your employees.
December 19th, 2011 by Amanda Musto, Social Media Marketing Representative at Treeline, Inc
The Final Charge of 2011
By Sean Cashman Senior consultant at Treeline, Inc.
This time of year is a wild card. Holidays are closing in, the fiscal year is winding down and decision makers start to disappear into Year End and Kick off meetings. Walk into any bullpen and you will see a number of things happening:
Some people have pulled all their triggers and are using the next few weeks to ramp up and get a head start on 2012.
Some people are mentally checked out and spend their days doing last minute on-line shopping and making ‘Elf Yourself’ videos.
And then there are some people who are working diligently, trying to wrap up their year and close some last minute deals to hit their 2011 number.
Something about these last few weeks of the year has people thinking: “Why try?! Its over.” However, it is far from over – you just have to focus on what is urgent and what can close in the next 2 weeks.
An old colleague of mine has a saying, “I don’t want to wish on 20 deals that I hope I can close. Instead, I would rather work on 2 deals that I know I can close.” That saying rings especially true this time of year – don’t work on every deal in your team’s pipeline. Keep tabs on all of it, but only focus your time on the couple of deals that you and your team have a chance of closing in the next few weeks.
If you are managing a team, how do you motivate them? How do you maintain focus for the final weeks of the year?
Do you hold a spiff contest to keep the team on track? Do you write all of the hot accounts on the white board? Do you talk about what will close this year in the team meetings?
Any number of these will help gain the team’s attention and get them thinking in terms of “what can I close this year.” Anyway you approach it, get focused and keep running hard. It is more likely than not that your competition is already checked out and won’t recognize that they lost a deal to you until after the New Year.
Focus is key to closing the year on a high note. It is important to be smart with your time and don’t get distracted. In 2012, you will never look back on 2011 and regret having a strong finish to the year…good luck and Happy Holidays.
December 19th, 2011 by Amanda Musto, Social Media Marketing Representative at Treeline, Inc
Treeline Sales Job of the Week
Account Executive
Technology | Massachusetts | $110,000.00
Company Profile:
This organization is a rapidly growing company that has a casual working environment and has experienced double digit growth every year. This is a cutting edge, privately held company that is about to explode.
Job Description:
This opportunity is calling for a successful inside sales representative to call on C-Level Sales & Market Executives. This is a strategic sale where the representative will be given leads as well as prospect for new business. The rep will also conduct web demo’s.
Requirements:
The ideal candidate will have a minimum of four years of inside sales experience hitting quotas and who is comfortable working in an unstructured office.
Base Comp. $50,000.00
Total Comp. $110,000.00
If you are interested pleaseJoin Our Private Network! If you are already a member of our sales network contact your Treeline consultant.
December 12th, 2011 by Amanda Musto, Social Media Marketing Representative at Treeline, Inc
Ask A Recruiter
By Chris Simone, Vice President at Treeline Inc.
Dear Recruiter,
I recently started searching for a new sales opportunity. I have one year of experience working at a fast paced and rapidly growing software company. I like working in the technology industry, but I am looking for a position with more growth and stability within the company. I am a hard worker and make between 70-80 cold calls everyday. I have received advice to add numbers to my sales resume. However, does it really help to include a bullet expressing that I make 70-80 cold calls a day, considering I am only making three sales per week?
Dear Candidate,
The accomplishment summary section should simply include bullets with accomplishments expressed numerically; this is what sales hiring managers will see first when they give your resume a ten second scan. The short bullets can express numbers and percentages about activity, revenue, results (including quota and goal attainment), conversion, and ranking. Together, they cause the reader to perceive you as someone driven for success in sales. As an entry level sales person and recent college grad, this is very important to express in this job market.
Calls per day, even if only 40 per day, makes the point that you were not just waiting for the phone to ring; you were going after it. Three deals a week could be perceived as a healthy conversion rate (unless the average first year rep typically closed many more per week than three). It seems good to me… A ratio of calls made to appointments scheduled could be another healthy metric to express. Success in sales at the entry level is about attitude, consistent effort, process, and conversion; this is the lens through which hiring managers are scanning resumes.
For example, the “Business Development Representative” role can add a lot of value to a candidate’s resume. This is a typical entry level sales role in growing software companies; BDR’s respond to inbound interest but also make outbound calls every day. The conversion is calls to prospects generated and defined. These prospects are handed to the more senior inside sales force to close. After twelve to twenty four months in a BDR role, you would be a candidate for a technology inside sales role based on success achieved in the BDR role.
Again, there are many types of numbers you can add to your resume to create favorable positioning while remaining truthful.
December 7th, 2011 by Amanda Musto, Social Media Marketing Representative at Treeline, Inc
Treeline Sales Job of the Week: December 4, 2011 – December 10, 2011
Company Profile:
Our client is an online, mobile learning collaborative where professionals engage, share, and learn from experts and each other, free of advertising, free of charge. They offer independent, sponsored, and accredited educational content and collaboration services to their members. This is the largest digital education/collaboration of its kind where 50,000 discussions occur every day.
Job Description:
This is an inside sales role selling packaged service offerings over the phone – identifying, qualifying, educating and closing new clients who have educational content they wish to publish/deliver to members on our client’s platform – these include associations, commercial companies, and large academic institutions.
Requirements:
5+ years of relevant sales experience
Bachelors Degree strongly preferred.
Demonstrable history of achieving sales goals and quota.
Experience selling media services and/or digital offerings a strong plus.
Ability to prospect and close business using the phone and web!
Proficiency with Salesforce.com
Experience in working effectively in a fast paced environment, balancing lots of opportunities and activities concurrently.
Base Comp. $60,000.00
Total Comp. $120,000.00
If you are interested pleaseJoin Our Private Network! If you are already a member of our sales network contact your Treeline consultant.
December 7th, 2011 by Amanda Musto, Social Media Marketing Representative at Treeline, Inc
The Misunderstanding of Holiday Hiring
By Michael Smaha, Consultant at Treeline Inc.
Most job seekers have the misunderstanding that hiring stops at Thanksgiving and that “no one gets hired until after New Years.” Why do job seekers believe this misconception? I’ve heard countless times companies are less likely to hire new employees because of “the holiday’s.” When I hear this, I wonder, do you think that employers are so busy with office holiday parties, gift exchanges, or dancing on conference tables to hire good talent? The answer is, of course not. The reality is that hiring around the holidays has nothing to do with the holidays themselves.
Hiring around the holidays has everything to do with 3rd quarter results, which ironically just happen to be finalized within the first two weeks of November for most companies. When 3rd quarter numbers are looking as dismal as grandma’s holiday fruit cake , that’s when company finance departments try to defer expenses until next year in order to boost current year profits as much as possible. By using the tactic of a hiring freeze, companies effectively limit the amount that annual profits miss expectations/forecasts/budgets etc. On the other side of the economic fence, in profitable years, when companies are ahead of their goals, hiring doesn’t freeze – the exact opposite occurs.
In strong years, hiring efforts accelerate during the holidays, because hiring managers are under pressure to hire before year’s end. Here’s why:
If a hiring manager has been given the green light to hire on a new sales member this year and has not found the right candidate yet, that hiring manager realizes they only have until December 31st to hire. Once New Year’s hits, that hiring manger has to re-justify the position and have that headcount re-approved by the Finance department. Going through the re-approval process isn’t just a pain in the neck for hiring managers … but they have a risk that an unfilled position might take away another position the hiring manager wants to be approved.
So here’s the real deal – there are just as many companies hiring at this time as there are companies putting on the brakes. In November, Boston was recognized as the second best metropolitan area in the nation for open positions across all verticals (especially technology where we are seeing a huge surge). This should be extremely refreshing to hear for current college graduates and people looking to switch their careers for a fresh start in 2012. So in closing, don’t let the “Holiday Excuse” hold you back or discourage you from looking for better and brighter opportunities.
