Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog

Edited by Christina Krenek

One of the most important aspects when interviewing a potential job candidate is giving an accurate talent evaluation rating. Unfortunately, this is not always an easy task. Other factors besides performance often get in the way and influence the interviewer to rate too low or too high. Don’t make that mistake!

What do Larry Page, Tom Georgens, Steve Ballmer and Mark Parker all have in common? These outstanding successful leaders are all CEO's of America's Most Productive Sales Organizations.

The Profiles International Research Institute(PRI) recently launched Americas Most Productive Companies Large Sales Force Analysis Report for 2011. The report outlines the “Best-in-Class” organizations and details on what sets them apart from the rest.

Profiles Research Institute (PRI) analyzed both growth revenue and revenue profitability of over 227 companies in 17 industry groups, which covers over 150,000 sales people.

After analyzing this data to identify the “Best-in-Class” sales organizations, PRI conducted additional research on a number of these companies including literature reviews and interviews with select executives.

The findings aided in identifying some best practices for outstanding sales force productivity.

Do your rewards provide the proper employee motivation?

Recognition, incentives, and other rewards are supposed to drive employee motivation. When they work as planned, they provide opportunities for organizations to honor outstanding performance and achievements while reminding everyone what the company values. But if left unchecked, reward programs can also miss the mark, costing the company money and wasted effort while failing to motivate as intended.

Managing a difficult high performer is like raising a rebellious teen

For sales managers, dealing with these difficult high performers is a challenge and it takes some tweaking in your management style, but it can be done!

Selecting and hiring the perfect employee is a difficult task, but if done right, it is one of the most important moves you can make for your business. In an economy like todays, there is no room for bad hiring decisions! And the interview process plays a key role in hiring the best candidate for the job.    

In case you are catching up on your reading or just joining us, check out the hot topics in Leadership & Management.

During times of budget challenges and uncertainty, supervisors might be experiencing an increase in the number of difficult conversations with their sales people. These could include delivering bad news about an employee’s job, informing staff about work restructuring, or discussing other complicated and stressful work situations.

If a stranger asks you to rank your management team on a scale of one to ten in areas such as communication, delegation, etc, what would you say? Most people would rank them unrealistically high for fear that their answers would get back to their boss. How many of you can say that you would answer 100 percent truthfully in your own opinion?

Despite all the trainings and coaching that management personnel can put employees through, a true manager also knows that they themselves are not perfect and they can always improve their management skills. Most of us work with a variety of people, and all people require different levels and amounts of coaching and mentoring from their superiors. 

Everybody cares about what others think of them, it's human nature. But what if you could find out exactly how you were perceived as a manager in your organization? Think how you could use that information to motivate and engage your employees better.

Profiles International is proud to present the 2011 Large Sales Force Analysis of America’s Most Productive Companies. The report features a list of America’s most productive companies in sales and identifies best-practices for sales success.

Great Performance Starts with Great Expectations

No, by “great expectations,” I’m not referring to the Dickens book. Presumably when you hire or promote someone, you expect great things from them. You don’t think, “Yes, this warm body will be adequate enough, I suppose.” If so, then you’re probably not reading this article. Studies based on the Pygmalion Effect have shown that people will perform up – or down – to the level of expectations you set for them.

Edited by Christina Krenek

When you’re looking to fill a sales management position, it’s easy to just take the top performing sales person and bump them up to a leadership position. They have an outstanding sales record, they have that vibrant, go-getter attitude, and they deliver results; so obviously they’ll succeed as a sales manager right? Wrong, when it comes to hiring great sales managers, that is a common misconception. 

Nearly 60 percent of frontline managers underperform during their first two years and more than 50 percent would rather not manage people at all.

One of the highlights at this time of year has become news from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. This annual tech fest gives manufacturers and developers a grand stage from which to unveil their latest gadgets, gizmos, and you-need-to-have-this products. Not all of them succeed, but the pervasive theme throughout the show is innovation.

“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr., New York Best Times bestselling author.

Good character: that is what sales managers need to keep in mind when hiring top performing sales reps. It’s important to hire sales people who have the right competencies and characteristics, and who will perform on the job even when you’re not looking over their shoulder.

Wednesday, 11th January saw the official kick off of our client summit titled: 2012 Growth, Performance and Sustainability of Talent Conference. The event is being held at the Hyatt Regency, in downtown San Antonio. The 2012 GPS of Talent Conference is hosted by Dwight Crain and the enterprise solutions team at Profiles International. With a jam-packed agenda full of training sessions and presentations by industry experts, this year boasts the highest attendance of a Profiles client event to date.

"Whether it's pre-hire or performance management, Profiles' presenters and guest speakers illustrate best-in-class practices to help sculpt high-performing workforces," said Dwight. "The interaction with other companies is invaluable. It amazes me how people from different industries are all battling such similar issues, and using Profiles solutions to help."

Attendees were up bright and early for breakfast and registration at 7am. Every session of our client event covers in-depth explanations and trainings on every element of the employee life cycle while using Profiles International assessment solutions. Once clients understand the product and how it works, the sessions continue with how best to apply and use the solutions in any organization.

Profiles International is hosting their 21st Annual Global Conference this week in San Antonio. The five-day event, themed "Winning Together," brings together Profiles International clients, partners, and national directors from over 120 countries including the US.

One of the main highlights of the event is certification training conducted by Profiles International headquarters staff, in particular, the scientists responsible for designing our solutions.

At these sessions, hosted by Dr. Scott Hamilton and Dr. Ben Shaw, clients and partners receive in-depth training that outlines all elements of the science behind assessments. Attendees learn how to use the products for maximum impact in their own organizations for activities such as benchmarking their employees.

This year marks the 21st Profiles International Global Conference. The event is being hosted in the luxurious Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown San Antonio. Over the week, we will be posting daily blog articles to keep you up to date with the goings-on at our client, partner and national director events.

We want to hear from you! Make sure to 'Like us' on Facebook and 'Follow us' on Twitter to get instant updates and see pictures from the events. You can also 'Tweet with us', use the hash tag #PIConference2012 to share your experiences, photos and more.

In case you are catching up on your reading or just joining us, check out the hot topics in Leadership & Management.

Effective sales managers need to A.C.T. – Assess, Compare and Train

So you hired a new sales rep. He seems highly qualified: great resume, very personable, relevant work experience, and he nailed the interview. Now months go by and he just isn’t delivering the numbers. What’s going on? Is it time to let him go? Or can he be coached?

Assessments are valuable tools that provide insights into candidates for managers, especially when used in the pre-hiring process. Pre-hire assessments can determine how an individual will fit in a specific job, identify their thinking and reasoning styles, and highlight relevant behavioral traits.

Guest Post by Ali Schwanke

Growth is a constant topic of conversation these days. Executives want to grow their leadership skills. Health conscious folks want to grow their own food. Bodybuilders want to increase the size of their muscles. Companies desire to exponentially grow their sales numbers.

But, in our fast paced society, do we really understand what it takes to grow?

In case you are catching up on your reading or just joining us, check out the hot topics in Leadership & Management.

Be a part of the solution, not the problem

Companies have made significant cuts, which almost certainly weigh heavily on those employees who remain. To get the job done, companies rely on a core group of employees whom they trust and believe in. How can you keep these people motivated and engaged to perform – and for how long?

In a sluggish economy, would you rather boast a good sales force or a great sales force? Managing a sales force can be trying at times, but remember just because employees are producing good results and the company is making money, don't settle! Why be good, when you can be great?

As the calendar turns to a new year, it is time to reflect on successes and failures of the past year in order to grow and improve in the next. New Year’s resolutions are infamous for being abandoned before the goals are met. They sound good, but are often unrealistic. Some people’s goals are too lofty while others set too many.