Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 9
SELECTION, PLACEMENT, AND SOCIALIZATION OF SUCCESSFUL SALESPEOPLE

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The selection, placement, and socialization of salespeople are extremely important to the sales force and the new individual. This chapter should help you understand: The purposes, importance, and influencing factors of selection and placement. The predictors used to make selection decisions. The many forms of personnel selection, as well as their differences and similarities. That evaluation of selection and placement decisions is very necessary. With whom the final decision rests. The need to effectively socialize new personnel into their jobs.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

SELECTION AND PLACEMENT OF SUCCESSFUL SALES PERSONNEL

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 individuals skills, knowledge, and abilities, along with preferences, interests, and personality.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

IS SELECTION THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN FIELDING A SALES FORCE?

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.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

PURPOSES AND IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION AND PLACEMENT

Selection and placement procedures provide the fuel that runs the sales force.
Sales managers want to improve productivity.

The proper match between person and job can improve productivity and reduce operating costs.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 9.1 MAJOR INFLUENCES AND COMPONENTS OF SALES FORCE SELECTION

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

PREDICTORS FOR SELECTION DECISIONS

WHAT ARE PREDICTORS?
The various pieces of information about the person are often called predictors. They are referred to as tests when used to make selection decisions.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCES FOR COLLECTING INFORMATION

Skills, knowledge, and ability.
Preferences, interests, and personality.

Other category: employment tests, interviews, etc. Other characteristics: physical examinations, reference checks, etc.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 9.2 MAJOR STEPS IN SALES PERSONNEL SELECTION PROCESS

1 . A p p l i c a t i o n

6 .P h y s i c a l E x a m i n a t i o n

2 .I n i t i a l I n t e r v i e w
Y e s o D e c is io n N

5 .R e f e r e n c e C h e c k s

3 .I n d e p t h I n t e r v i e w s

4 .T e s t i n g
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

IS THE INFORMATION JOB RELATED?

Any information collected from the applicant should be related to the job.

Information classified into the other characteristics category usually represents minimum qualifications for a job.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

THE JOB APPLICATION BLANK
An orderly, convenient method of collecting necessary information for determining an applicants minimum qualifications.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

When reviewing an application blank, the sales manager should look for the following: Minimum job requirements. All dates accounted for. Number of jobs and length of time spent on each job. Reason given for leaving jobs.

Pattern of growth.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

THE PERSONAL INTERVIEW A ONE-ON-ONE SELLING SITUATION

The personal interview usually involves the oneon-one, face-to-face meeting of two strangers, both seeking to sell themselves to the other.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

TABLE 9.1 INTERVIEWS ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE SALES MANAGER AND THE APPLICANT

FOR THE SALES MANAGER

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

FOR 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

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

TABLE 9.2 THE INTERVIEW QUADRANT

SUCCESSFUL-LOOKING
The successfulPERFORMANCE looking failure FAILURE The unsuccessfullooking failure The successfullooking success PERFORMANCE The unsuccessful- SUCCESS looking success

UNSUCCESSFUL-LOOKING

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Types of Interviews

In a structured interview, the recruiter asks questions, often from a standard form. 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?.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nonverbal cues in interviews:

Body movements. Gestures. Firmness of handshake. Eye contact.

Physical appearance.
One of the reasons nonverbal cues are so powerful is that, in most cases, interviewers are not aware of them as possible casual agents of impression formation. Interpretation of nonverbal cues varies with each person.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 9.3 FIVE PHASES OF THE SALES INTERVIEW

1 . P r e p a r a t i o n

2. Opening the Interview 3. The Interview Proper 4. Ending the Interview

5 . P o s t i n t e r v i e w A c t i v i t i e s

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Four basic guidelines to interviewing:

Collect information that relates directly to job performance.
Consciously wait until the interview is over to make a final decision. Always remember that weaknesses can be offset by strengths and potential.

The interview is only one method of obtaining information on the applicant.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sales managers may decide the following: Not to use tests. To administer tests and interpret the results themselves. To administer tests and have someone else interpret the results. To turn the testing over to consulting industrial psychologists. The majority of sales managers use tests as only one part of the selection process. To be used successfully, tests must have reliability and validity.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Test subjects that are often used for selecting sales personnel include:
Aptitude tests. Intelligence tests. Interest tests. Knowledge tests. Personality tests.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

The major problems with testing are: Tests are misused and not understood. Applicants can become test wise.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

ASSESSMENT CENTERS
The assessment center is a centralized organizational unit within the firm.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

EMPLOYMENT REFERENCES
References are the names of persons from whom information can be obtained on an applicants ability and character.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS
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.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

EVALUATING SELECTION AND PLACEMENT DECISIONS

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.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Costs to consider include both actual and potential costs: 1. Actual costs. a. Recruiting and assessment costs. b. Induction and orientation costs. c. Training costs.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Costs to consider include both actual and potential cost:

continued

2. Potential costs.
a. Costs associated with hiring a person who subsequently fails. b. Costs associated with rejecting a person who would have been successful on the job.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Some of the benefits of an effective hiring policy:

Lowering the cost of turnovers and absenteeism. Lowering training time. Meeting individual territorial sales potential. Increasing customer satisfaction by having the same salesperson call. Improving morale. Because of these benefits, recruiting effectiveness increases, thus lowering the total costs associated with operating the sales force.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

THE SOCIALIZATION OF SALES PERSONNEL

Socialization is the process by which salespeople learn the sales culture and behaviors appropriate for their roles in the organization.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Properly done, the socialization process can help:

Increase performance and job satisfaction. Reduce job anxieties and the fear of failure. Reduce turnover. Impart a positive image of the company, job duties, and future expectations. Save the managers time and thus reduce costs.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

THE BOTTOM LINE

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.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.