By Chase
Did you know we are looking to hire some additional Account Managers for our national publication the Canadian Design & Construction Report www.cadcr.com and a new start up publication in the Chicago area?
Recruiting, expansion and growing sales staff is a tricky thing to manage based on locating qualified candidates who can show you their skills rather then just talk about them. Our hiring process is almost backwards .where the final interviews and reference checking takes place while the new candidate reviews the employment contract.
Our screening process eliminates individuals who are just sending out resumes and brings those looking for a new career to head of the line. We have a questionnaire, and sales survey that take roughly 30 minutes to complete. The investment in time will demonstrate the candidate’s intelligence and understanding of the sales industry for trade publications. Successful candidates to this point of the screening process will then be invited to participate in a paid working assignment where they will contact members of a target industry or trades involved with certain projects to generate sales to show what they can do instead of just telling us.
The assignments given will range from easy to difficult but we are looking for the rep to identify the key contacts to follow up with to generate results instead of pounding the phones. In some cases a candidate will reach out to their existing client base to create a few sales to demonstrate skills.
After the candidate shows us their skills and passes the reference stage the next three months are key for the rep to generate both short term results while at the same generate leads to develop and relationships with key industry members. Some new reps get stuck in the pounding the phone stage and do not start to develop relationships until they are almost in the desperate stage of generating results. The forced attempt kills off any potential long lasting relationships built on trust.
How to you find new talent for your company? Where do you post your openings? Are you looking for a new career and can generate sales in the publishing world? Share you experiences or send your resume me to me chase@cnrgp.com.
Chase is the director of marketing and client relations for the Construction News and Report Group as well as the associate publisher for the GTA Construction Report, Ontario Construction Report and the Canadian Design & Construction Report. He can be reached by phone at (905) 228-1151.
