2. C HAPTER 9 S ELECTION, P LACEMENT, AND S OCIALIZATION OF S UCCESSFUL S ALESPEOPLE

4. S ELECTION AND P LACEMENT OF S UCCESSFUL S ALES P ERSONNEL Selection of sales personnel refers to the process of selecting the best available person for the job. Placement is concerned with ensuring that job demands match an individual’s skills, knowledge, and abilities, along with preferences, interests, and personality.

5. I S S ELECTION THE M OST I MPORTANT E LEMENT IN F IELDING A S ALES F ORCE? The selection of the right people is, without a doubt, extremely important to the success of the sales district, the region, and the total sales force.

7. FIGURE 9.1 MAJOR INFLUENCES AND COMPONENTS OF SALES FORCE SELECTION

8. P REDICTORS FOR S ELECTION D ECISIONS W HAT A RE P REDICTORS? The various pieces of information about the person are often called predictors. They are referred to as tests when used to make selection decisions.

9. The Uniform Guidelines include all forms of information collection methods used to make selection decisions.

11. FIGURE 9.2 MAJOR STEPS IN SALES PERSONNEL SELECTION PROCESS

13. T HE S ELECTION P ROCESS T HE J OB A PPLICATION B LANK An orderly, convenient method of collecting necessary information for determining an applicant’s minimum qualifications.

15. T HE P ERSONAL I NTERVIEW – A O NE-ON- O NE S ELLING S ITUATION The personal interview usually involves the one-on-one, face-to-face meeting of two strangers, both seeking to sell themselves to the other.

16. TABLE 9.1 INTERVIEWS ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE SALES MANAGER AND THE APPLICANT Act as a screening device to create a pool of qualified jobs Determine skills, knowledge and abilities required Determine what will be received from the job, such as training, compensation, promotional opportunities Meet the potential boss and determine if a match exists Act as a screening device to create the pool of qualified applicants. Confirm application blanks, written tests, and feedback from references relative to SKAs, PIPs, the other category, and other characteristics Judge if the applicant can be successful in the short and long run Meet the potential employee and determine if a match exists F OR THE A PPLICANT F OR THE S ALES M ANAGER

17. TABLE 9.2 THE INTERVIEW QUADRANT U NSUCCESSFUL- L OOKING PERFORMANCE SUCCESS The successful-looking success The unsuccessful-looking success The successful-looking failure The unsuccessful-looking failure PERFORMANCE FAILURE S UCCESSFUL- L OOKING

18. In an unstructured interview, the recruiter asks few preplanned questions and often begins with open-ended questions such as “Tell me about yourself” or “Why do you want to sell for IBM?”. Types of Interviews In a structured interview, the recruiter asks questions, often from a standard form.

19. The Stress Interview – An interviewer may place the applicant in a stressful situation to ascertain how the person might cope with stress when selling.

21. FIGURE 9.3 FIVE PHASES OF THE SALES INTERVIEW

23. T ESTS Employment test refers to a procedure, technique, or measurement instrument for ascertaining characteristics such as aptitudes, capacities, intelligence, knowledge, skills, or personality.

26. The polygraph test measures blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat and skin response and plots these on a graph. Polygraph tests are seldom used to screen applicants for outside sales jobs for national companies and primarily are used by smaller companies.

28. A SSESSMENT C ENTERS The assessment center is a centralized organizational unit within the firm.

29. E MPLOYMENT R EFERENCES References are the names of persons from whom information can be obtained on an applicant’s ability and character.

30. P HYSICAL E XAMINATIONS Almost all companies require their prospective employees to undergo physical examinations. As a general rule, if the applicant gets this far in the process, he or she has the job unless health problems are discovered.

31. E VALUATING S ELECTION AND P LACEMENT D ECISIONS The quality and effectiveness of selection and placement decisions depend on sales managers hiring as many applicants as possible who turn out to be good performers.

35. T HE S OCIALIZATION OF S ALES P ERSONNEL Socialization is the process by which salespeople learn the sales culture and behaviors appropriate for their roles in the organization.

37. T HE B OTTOM L INE Establishing a sales force is a complex process that involves many variables. Sales managers use predictors for hiring decisions. The selection process is no longer based on intuitive feelings. The personal interview is an important part of the selection process. Managers also can use certain employment tests for selecting personnel. Sales force productivity benefits with the selection of good employees.