Pub. 10 2020 Issue 1

9 Who should do the interviewing? Your top manager, based on performance. The skillset needed to be the topmanager aligns well with the skill set needed to interview prospective salespersons. Therefore, put your best foot forward and have your top manager interview. Who’s following up? Merely placing an advertisement does not ensure success. Someone has to do the thankless, menial follow-up work, including monitoring the emails and the follow-up phone calls. These tasks should be assigned to someone who is meticulous and enjoys high attention to detail. One of the biggest complaints by job applicants is that the company “didn’t get back to me” or the company “interviewed me but never let me know where I stood.” Now for more details on the process. First, any process is better than no process. Put differently; you did not plan to fail; rather, you simply failed to plan. Second, a good process is better than a bad process. Finally, even a good process can be improved. Below is a sample process: 1. Place an ad on a site (and there are many) such as Career Builder; 2. Conduct a phone interview with all the applicants; 3. Before interviewing the applicants in person, have them take a Predictive Index or DiSC; 4. Interview the applicants with a set of pre-planned questions; 5. If i nterested i n a par ticular applicant, check his/her references for success in current and past jobs; 6. If a particular applicant passes the reference check, have them interview for the second time with the remaining managers; 7. Follow-up with all the applicants, even the ones youdidnot interview, as they are potential customers for your store. Recruiting is not only a daily process but also the lifeblood of your store. All of you will have top performers quit, move out of state, and/or retire. While we can hope that none of your sales staff ever leaves, the odds are overwhelmingly against you. Therefore, be prepared. After all, by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. A final suggestion to you would be to meet each week with your managers to find out who they interviewed and are excited about onboarding when the time is right. NADAputs this simply. Recruiting and hiring a new sales professional is a $10,000 investment. With our margins shrinking, let’s get this right! Today’s preparation determines tomorrow’s achievement. Now that you’ve hired your “superstar,” what’s next? Please contact us if you have questions on moving forward.  For more information, please contact Francis Fagan with Automotive Development Group at 312-608-4979 or ffagan@adgtoday.com . Francis is the Regional Training Director for Illinois and Indiana. At Automotive Development Group, we emphasize training. Visit our website for our training calendar and to meet our nationally renowned trainers. www.AutomotiveDevelopmentGroup.com w w w . T h e R e d m o n d C o . c o m YOUR FULL-SERV I CE PARTNER: CONSULT I NG RE AL ESTATE BROKERAGE BRAND I NG DES I GN CONSTRUC T I ON L E T R E DMON D B E YOU R PA R T N E R Redmond works as your advocate in the implementation of the Manufacturer’s Facility Standards. By blending experience with insight and innovation, Redmond helps clients elevate their efficiency, cost-savings initiatives, and impact in the market. Contact Redmond today! 262.549.9600