We took time out to talk about why our clients keep coming back to us …

With shareholder value directly linked to growth the pressures on businesses to deliver sales growth is a constant. Enabling this growth is therefore one of the key priorities for all senior managers – or at least it should be. It’s not just the responsibility of the Sales Director or VP to deliver the numbers – every function has a part to play in this. Continue Reading

Prior to entering it myself I had a very poor view of the recruitment sector. This was based on my experiences as a hiring manger and also as a Consultant working with businesses to transform sales effectiveness. What I saw were agencies that had little to no idea about the role I was looking to fill, who didn’t take the time to really understand my needs and were focussed on getting me CV’s in the quickest possible time so that they could get their fee – quality didn’t really seem to be a consideration. Continue Reading

As an HR Director one of your responsibilities is in ensuring that your organisation hires the very best talent – and for the most part I’m sure that your team does this very well. However if there is one area where your recruitment strategy is perhaps not so effective, the chances are  it will be with Sales roles where you just don’t seem to be able to achieve the same results, despite the fact that you duplicate the process you use for filling other key positions.  The reason is, Sales is different – it requires a different process, different mindset and different tools. Continue Reading

Recruiting and retaining good sales people is part and parcel of driving revenue. Managing and motivating them takes experience, dedication and energy. Even when your sales team is happy it’s inevitable some of them will want to move on. More money, different products, a management position. Changes to the status quo can also makesales people review their positions. Either way, at some point, you’re going to need to replace them and recruitment mistakes can be very costly

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Online recruitment is a  numbers driven fickle, fickle world. How many of you have seen a position you’re well qualified for, registered, uploaded, ignored the ‘due to high number of applications’ message and ten minutes later got a call from an enthusiastic sounding recruiter? If you’re lucky you will have got through to an interview before your recruiter went on radio silence. Often, the optimistic chat about how good a candidate you are is the first and the last interaction you’ll have.  The reason you’re not getting great job opportunities isn’t you, it’s your job seeking strategy. Continue Reading

Most people have had times where they’ve hated their job, it’s normal when the balance of what we like to do and we don’t like to dois loaded the wrong way. Sales and Business Development are high pressure roles. Tough times can definitely take their toll. Long hours, getting stuck in airports and at train stations missing special occasions, managing difficult clients, months of work nearing a close and then falling at the finish line. Throwing in the towel and walking can be hugely tempting. There are reasons you shouldn’t throw your toys out of the cot, why you should plan your resignation. Continue Reading

Myself and the team at Kingman Lennox like the start of a New Year. December is a frantic push to get interviews scheduled before our clients are on their Christmas breaks. January, February is a month for setting out on the path we’ve mapped out at our end of year review with the energy that comes from recharged batteries and a new year optimism.

When we started Kingman Lennox we knew our biggest challenge would be attracting the calibre of candidate we wanted – consummate sales professionals. Great sales & business development people are always hard to find and businesses with great sales people are eager to hang on to them. Equally, successful sales people can understandably be reticent about taking a chance on new businesses. We had a strong client base, there were jobs we were looking to fill, we needed the right people to fit them.To attract the candidates we want to build our reputation on, we worked on the way we ran our recruitment business. We focused on selling ourselves to candidates. As with any industry there’s no shortage of stories about unethical recruitment practices.Non existent vacancies, references being used for leads, commission driven pressure, recruiters lack of knowledge about the target industry. We wanted to be chosen by top class sales people so we had to step up and deliver a service that stood out.

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How much does your company care about its online image? The Internet is full of tips helping job seekers craft an online persona that will aid their search, but the other side is largely ignored. Does your website attract or repel top talent?  What do star candidates see when they look your company up online? Continue Reading

When you interview candidates, how often do you trust them to truly tell you about themselves?  Do you really expect them to tell you their actual strengths and weaknesses, or do you often foresee a well-rehearsed speech?  (“My greatest weakness is that I am a perfectionist?”)

Behavioral interviews make it much harder for candidates to put their spin on their responses because they employ a totally different mindset from traditional interviews.  Behavioural interview questions demand facts rather than opinions and this allows you, as the hiring manager, to make your own opinions of your candidate’s work. Continue Reading