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

The science and art of selling has perhaps changed more in the last ten to fifteen years than it has through all of time. Daniel Pink’s latest book, “To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Persuading, Convincing and Influencing Others” covers this evolution and is well worth a read. Continue Reading

What makes someone a great sales person? It’s a question we’re asked a lot by clients.While there is no definitive answer to the question there are personality traits we see in a lot of Kingman Lennox candidates. Inquisitive is one,some might call it plain nosey. There is a driving need for information and knowledge, a die hard interest in learning how dots are connected.They need to understand situations and business politics, how it all works. Goal oriented is another. Could be a sales target, a meeting with a certain CEO, or sitting in a chair on the board. There is always a goal and there isalways a plan in the making, working out ways to reach it. Contrary to popular belief, not every salesperson is gregarious. Their success is often based on their clients’ respecting their views and accepting their leadership. Personality traits aren’t the only thing great sales people have in common. At the end of the day character will take you so far. The rest is an approach to work that gets results. After a quick pow wow with the Kingman Lennox team we agreed on five of the ways good sales people get really good.

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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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Scotland’s Oil and Gas industry enjoys a global reputation for dynamism, drive, vision and innovation. Decades of experience recovering oil and gas from the challenging North Sea environment has given Scottish companies the expertise needed for oil and gas production and exploration. The Scottish Energy community has had a major impact in the global market place thanks to unrivalled innovation, knowledge and competence. The Energy industry has a strong entrepreneurial culture. Scottish companies harvest the gains from trading internationally and international companies use Scotland as a central business base.

This is one industry in the midst of a jobs boom. According to Price Waterhouse Coopers research, the Oil and Gas sector needs to recruit 120,000 new employees worldwide over the next decade. Companies in the sector are pushing hard to attract employees into this interesting, exciting and well remunerated industry. Continue Reading

My sales career has spanned 20 years and counting. In my career I’ve developed sales territories, key accounts and sales teams. The last few years I’ve been selling talent. My goal is to build a reputation for supplying high calibre sales people to Scottish businesseswho need help to drive sales and capture market share. Good sales people are a precious asset. While there are similarities in skills each sales person has a totally unique way of selling and getting their customers to sayyes. See ‘The Ten Greatest Salespeople of all Time‘ I know what makes sales people tick and I know what they need from a workplace to thrive. When I take a job brief from a client looking for a sales star its followed by a conversation which probes the environment the sales person will be working in. I want to put people in companies which won’t mess them around. Kingman Candidates represented by Kingman Lennox are those who can reach their targets, deliver business development strategies and win new business in highly demanding and competitive environments. These are the types of skills we’re known for sourcing. Continue Reading

I recall reading the book “Hope is not a strategy” by Rick Page a few years back – a decent read for those in complex sales environments looking for some ideas on effective structure. Anyway, whilst that book is about sales strategy rather than sales recruitment, the fundamental principle is undoubtedly the same – to ensure success you need to have an effective and repeatable structure based upon sound reason.

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Many, if not most, recruiters will say that candidates are their life-blood, therefore it’s extraordinary just how often we hear complaints from candidates about the very poor level of service they have received from other recruitment agencies.

At Kingman Lennox we pride ourselves on providing a truly exceptional level of service to our candidates.  We place genuine value on each and every candidate relationship and aim to build a relationship that lasts throughout your career.

With that in mind we have pulled together a basic guideline to follow to ensure that you get the most from your relationship with Kingman Lennox, and therefore ensure that we are advising you on the best opportunities and opening doors with prospective employers. Continue Reading

As the ‘war for talent’ continues to heat up across many industry sectors it can be a real challenge for employers to recruit top talent – perhaps especially so across sales & business development disciplines, where it has traditionally always been tough. With this in mind some employers run the risk of losing potentially great hires by being too rigid about only wishing to see candidates who ‘tick all the boxes’ of their brief.

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Behavioral Interviewing, a style of interviewing that is increasing in popularity due to its effectiveness, can be an intimidating activity. We have assembled a comprehensive list of sample behavioral interview questions. This guide is intended to help both candidates and hiring managers alike in their preparation for an interview.

Check out our guide on how to answer behavioral interview questions, and then use this list as a “study guide” of sorts to make sure you are as prepared as possible! Continue Reading