The Sales Head Office; Selling and Sales Management

A Sales Blog

Archive for April, 2009

Sales Resume Tips

Posted by Matt On April - 28 - 2009

I am in the process of hiring 4 more sales people for a new market we are entering in Western Canada. Our organization is in growth mode (good) and we do not have the resources to have HR pre-screen candidates (bad).

This puts me in a position where I am responsible for the full hiring process - from reviewing incoming applications right through to the eventual offer. I currently manage 12 sales people so I have to make sure that the time I dedicate to recruiting is efficient.

Each resume I look at gets a 60 second run through. If it catches my attention I’ll spend a few minutes with it and if the candidate looks promising I’ll fire off an email to book a telephone interview.

Below are some sales resume tips for sales people that are looking to make a career change:

  • Make it personal. Your cover letter should show that you have put at least a little effort into applying for this position. Spend some time with the job description and write a brief cover letter that is specific to the position posted. Tell me who you are, why you love selling and what you have accomplished in three short paragraphs. Check your spelling and grammar, if you can’t take the time to spell check, I don’t want you in front of our prospects and customers! Lastly, if you are going to use a generic letter and customize it make sure you review first. I had a decent looking resume come in with a cover letter that was made out to a furniture store ” although my experience isn’t in the furniture industry…..”. That one went in the shredder pretty quick.
  • List your accomplishments. For every 10 sales resumes I get only 1-2 have accomplishments listed. If you can’t tell me about sales territories that you have grown, sales awards you have won or big name clients you have signed than I will assume you haven’t grown, won or signed any significant business
  • Explain any red flags. There may be a good reason (downsizing, management/ownership changes) that your last two jobs stints have been brief. Tell me what they are or I will assume you are a job jumper. If there is a 4 month gap in employment let me know what you were doing.

    I will assume you were sitting around the house smoking blunts, so if you weren’t - and were building homes in Africa or helping your wife launch a new business - tell me about it.

  • Don’t list every job you’ve ever had. Your last 10 years work history is more than enough. I really don’t care that you worked at Acme Video in 1993.

    The job market is getting tight. We are seeing 3-4x the amount of resumes we normally see for an open sales position. Take the time to put together a strong, relevant resume and you will book more interviews.

    • Sales Interviewing

    Positioning and Messaging

    Posted by Matt On April - 7 - 2009

    When I first started with FedEx Kinko’s in 2001 we were a young sales organization. I was one of the first Account Managers they hired in Canada. We had a new to the industry Director of Sales and, with a few exceptions, all of the sales people we hired came from outside the print industry. As a group, our print industry experience was limited.

    Our task was to penetrate corporate accounts and bring commercial print business to our local Kinko’s locations.

    The team did a great job selling our products - and we grew the commercial portfolio substantially - but it was an uphill struggle.

    Looking back our biggest challenge was understanding where we fit in the market. We tried to be everything to every client. We took mixed messages to the market. Depending on which rep you spoke to, we offered best in class quality, process, pricing, customer service and turn around!

    This focus on being a complete full service provider was a mistake. Our reps sold jobs that our production team - or technology - couldn’t support. This created friction between our sales and operations teams. It also created collisions with clients; we over promised and under delivered. Our clients, frustrated, found other providers - an easy task in the print industry

    Frustrated with our inability to deliver - sometimes on product’s that we had no right promising in the first place - our sales reps left in droves, and turnover rates were high.

    The good news? We redefined where we fit in the market place, simplified our message, and targeted clients that fit our model.

    We focused on the one value add that no competitor could match - quick turn times due to our 24 hour, and multiple production, facilities. Our turn around times were best in class, no one else could deliver a print job quicker than my team.

    This is the message we took to market. We targeted companies that required quick turns; convention and corporate training groups. In my last year at Kinko’s we had lots of growth and - restructure aside - zero turnover!

    I’m going through this process with my current team. We are defining were we fit in the market and crafting a clear message to our prospects.

    What I’ve learned is my oganisation doesn’t have to be all things to all prospects and finding your niche is a beautiful, an profitable, thing!

    Sales Management

    Bill Porter - Door To Door

    Posted by Matt On April - 3 - 2009

    Bill Porter is likely the most intriguing sales person you’ve never heard of.

    Bill Porter started with the Watkins Company in 1955 selling their products door to door. For those of you that haven’t heard of Watkins, they have been selling natural home and health care products since the late 1800’s. Their roots are as a direct sales organization with reps selling and distributing product door to door.

    Bill Porter has cerebral palsy and the story of Bill Porter is one of perseverance.

    Bill persuaded a Watkins manager in 1955 to give him their worst route, a 10 mile stretch in Portland, in order to prove himself. At first he struggled to connect with the homeowners on his route but Bill persevered and over the course of 4 decades built amazing relationships with his`clients. He was named Watkins salesperson of the year in 1989 and knocked doors on his route until 1997.

    In 2002 TNT released a made for TV movie called Door to Door based on Bill Porter’s life. William H Macy plays Bill and does an amazing job. If your expecting the Boiler Room or Glengarry Glen Ross you’ll be disappointed. If you are interested in an inspiring story about a sales person that overcame huge odds to produce great results, make the effort to track this movie down.

    Prospecting