Recruiting Top Sales Talent

It is sometimes very difficult to discern a quality candidate when you are in the interview process. This is especially true of salespeople who communicate for a living. Most salespeople come across very personable and make it tough to decide whether they truly will benefit your organization or if they are just a nice person. It was once said to me by an old sales manager that all salespeople are “just a little bit off”……. after all who would honestly CHOOSE to spent their career being constantly rejected? Surprising several. These days, I definitely find truth in that statement and as a sales recruiter it is my job to separate the true talent from the truly desperate.
How I Find and Evaluate Top Talent

My Network. In sales it is all about who you know, who they know, and what people know about who you know. I look to the people I trust in business to send me the names of potential candidates before I do anything else. Once I have some quality leads it is easy to build rapport based upon the referring person’s recommendation. In this case, I have moved past sourcing active candidates and into recruiting passive candidates. These are the salespeople that are consistently #1 and #2 in sales rankings and don’t have time to talk with a recruiter because they are out closing so much new business. A great tool to use in this capacity is LinkedIn, Click Here (Check out if we know any of the same people!)

Candidate Referrals. Your best candidates usually produce your best referrals. Salespeople are ego driven and will certainly not pass along the name of someone that is not at least as good as them. It is key to ask early and often for referrals. I even compensate for these because they are so valuable.

Once I have located candidates, I have a method for qualifying them further.

Proof of Performance. Many salespeople love to talk about the success they have had….. It is my job to determine if it what they claim is really fact. Before submitting a candidate to my client, I ask for all supporting documentation of sales success. I want to know where the stand in the rankings, the biggest deal they’ve ever closed, and what they have forecasted to close. From here, I utilize my resources to verify as much information as possible. The truth really is in the numbers, at least from a sales managers perspective. If the salesperson has documented repeated success, chances are it was not by luck.

Creativity and Uniqueness. I challenges my candidates to answer questions around why they feel like they are better than the next salesperson. I am curious to know what they do differently then their peers and why it works. This involves everything from sales process to contract negotiation. I need to know why people buy from them and how they have adapted during challenging times. If I am not hearing new ideas, I begin to wonder about the long term success probability.

Manageability. I must truly understand the management style that my candidate is most successful under. It is amazing the diversity that I find in this area. If I cannot match a candidate with my client’s management style, I know this will not be a successful match for either party. It is also important to understand what may be going on in a candidate’s personal life that may end up affecting their performance. It is better to uncover these issues up front so management is aware and can react accordingly.

Professionalism. I feel that a salesperson must take pride in how they appear in business if they are going to be successful. Outward appearance is a direct reflection on how one feels about oneself and the confidence that they have about their company and/or profession. A positive professional appearance is essential in my criteria for evaluating sales success likelihood.

Why My Clients Work With Me

I have an infectious passion for the HR Services industry. I believe this is so because I love to see small businesses thrive. HR is a challenge for most small business owners and they depend heavily on HR service providers to keep them focused on their core business. In fact, many of these business could not stay afloat due to the complexity of compliance requirements associated with being an employer without the aid of trusted HR service partners.

My clients look to me to find the best solutions and best providers available to them and many times these partners are hard to find in the small business sector. I am very diligent in selecting my partners and continuously educate myself on various industry related issues that affect or could affect my clients. I take a proactive approach in sharing the education that I have with my clients so they are aware of trends that are on the forefront. My clients trust that I have their best interest at heart and know that I want to see them succeed. It is extremely important to me to be connected in the business community and I pride myself with the network I have created. I trust that my clients come to me first when they have an HR related issue or concern because they know I can find an answer. For this, I am truly grateful. Not only do I look for ways for my clients to improve the HR function as a means to long term growth, but also in bringing new business opportunities to them. As I continue to grow my business, I look for new challenges every day. I constantly seek out new answers and solutions to the ever complex domain of HR. My clients know and believe this and that is why I will have customers for life!

6 Criteria for Evaluating a Payroll Service

There are an array of issues to consider when choosing a payroll provider. Even though processing payroll doesn’t “add” value to the business, it can certainly create many problems if not done properly. An accurate and on time payroll are obviously the most important features but there are other key factors to consider when making this decision.

Key Factors for choosing a payroll vendor

Whether you are starting a new business that has never used a payroll service or considering a change in providers, you must consider all aspects. The first thing that you should do is create list of features that are “must haves” and “nice to haves”. If the vendor has functionality that you would have no use for, chances are you will be overpaying and the system will create user confusion. Once you evaluate and the basics have been met, look for additional features that you could implement into your current process that would save time and create more efficiency. I’ve created a list of the top 6 things to consider when partnering with a vendor.

1. Service. Make sure you understand who and how you will be serviced after you begin processing. In most cases, customer service inquires are considered urgent, so it’s important to understand how accessible the provider is in order to set proper expectations for your employees. Will your checks be processed locally or delivered via mail? Who do contact if you have a problem? Is this a call center? How quickly can you expect your calls to be answered and/or returned? What are the hours of operations? Are online inquires supported?

2. Tax Filing. One of the key reasons that companies choose to outsource is to shift liability for employer tax filing. Does the vendor file in all 50 states? How are tax inquires handled? How quickly are tax issues resolved? How are tax tables updated via the software? Is this tax software internal or the product/service of a third party?

3. Accessibility. Is the payroll tool software or web-based? If it is on the web, what is the uptime guarantee? Are you able to view gross to net totals prior to processing? Are reports available instantly after processing? If it is software based, is the tool only available on the PC that it is loaded on or can it be placed on a network server? Will upgrades to the system lock you out or will they be done behind the scenes? Will you pay fees for additional licenses?

4. Reporting. What reports are considered standard? Are you able to duplicate all the reports that you use today and then some? Can you create your own reports via a report writer or do you have to contact service if you have a special request? Are the reports delivered via the web or only in paper format? Can you export reports into Excel and PDF? Can multiple users create and run their own reports?

5. Interface Capability. Is there import and export capability to all necessary systems such as accounting and time and attendance? Who is responsible for creating the interfaces? Does the vendor charge extra for this?

6. Cost. You certainly get what you pay for but you certainly don’t want to overpay for features you don’t use. A bundled pricing model may not be the best solution simply because it is convenient. Make sure to ask for ancillary costs upfront such as new hire reporting, adding new states for taxes, W2’s ect.

With the increasing number of payroll providers, it is important to choose a partner that has a scalable tool that can grow with your business. The decision you made to outsource was to be more efficient, so you must ensure that the vendors is flexible enough to accommodate your unique needs.

For more information, contact Centripetal Consulting Group to help in the decision making process:

Contact Us:
Amy Grimmer
agrimmer@gocentripetal.com
(214) 824-4439

Evaluating a PEO

There are an array of issues to consider when evaluating a co-employment arrangement. The business owner will receive great value from such a relationship if they are able to discern a few key items.

As a business owner, it is imperative to understand the parameters in which you are being measured by a potential business partner. In a sense, are you helping or hurting “the pool” you are about to join? If insurance arbitrage is your goal, I urge you to consider if this is truly a long term solution for your business. Here are four things to consider:

1. Did your health insurance rates rise more than 11% in 2006? The national average rate increase was 11%, either you beat that or fell victim to a heftier increase than the average. Do you see the Professional Employment Organization (PEO) as a way to hedge that increase? It may for a year or two, but consider all of the other companies that also are joining the PEO for the same exact reason. Eventually, you will become the healthier risk in the pool yet paying the same rates as the unhealthy groups. On average, the rate increases that most PEO’s are experiencing are right in line with the national average.

2. Have you experienced significant claims within the last 2 years with regards to workers compensation? If not, the same risk pool concept applies. You are bearing the brunt and potentially overpaying in premium to insure riskier groups that may have unsafe practices. If you have had substantial claims, this may be a strategy to consider as a way to hedge future premium increases. Provided the PEO will underwrite your group favorably and accept you as a client, you gain access to the PEO’s expertise to form a sound safety plan and implement better practices for the future and at the same time shield yourself from the high premiums. Once the risk has been improved and you leave the PEO, you gain a brand new experience modifier as if you were new business with no prior workers comp experience.

3. What is your State Unemployment Rate and will the PEO provide credits once the limits are met? Once again, is your rate better or worse than the PEO? If it is worse, you can save significant dollars in utilizing a PEO to shelter your from SUI tax. If your rate is better than the PEO, you are helping them lower their rate for the rest of their clients and paying more than needed if you were not on a PEO. Usually the SUI limits are met fairly early in the year, in fact, employers are taxed on the first 9k of wages for each employee. Will you stop paying SUI after your company meets these limits within the PEO?

4. Will the PEO break out the cost for each service in your proposal? Will you be able to see the cost of benefits, workers comp, and administration separately? Is this broken down as a percentage of payroll or a flat dollar amount? If the PEO will not break fees out as a flat dollar amount, ask for a credit in fees. You shouldn’t have to pay more in fees simply because you give your employees a raise. With the increasing complexity of business decisions, partnering with the right PEO solution is a strategic decision that may enable the growth of your business. Consider the PEO a partner to your company rather than a mere vendor of services but make sure to understand all of the aspects before making this decision. In this light you will be growing the value of your employees and your business to your customers.

For more information, contact Centripetal Consulting Group to help in the decision making process: info@gocentripetal.com (214) 824-4439

Paperless Payroll – Everyone Wins

Paperless pay means eliminating paperwork in every phase of the payroll process, reducing costs, and delivering faster, more convenient employee service. It also means eliminating paper waste and doing our part to preserve the environment. Electronic payroll: the first step Paperless pay means using today’s enabling technologies to pay employees without printing or distributing paper checks and advices. Although electronic payroll is at the heart of paperless pay, there are other essential components that collectively offer the prospect of eliminating every piece of employee-directed paper surrounding the payroll process. Gaining efficiencies throughout the payroll process Paper-based payrolls have many distinctive steps that earmark this traditional process as a great candidate for streamlining through automation. Payroll and HR executives are realizing that manual time collection, distribution of paper checks and the irritation of escheatment administration, all represent excellent opportunities for gaining efficiencies and reducing costs. Paperless pay uses electronic methods to replace paper and capitalize on employee self-service to reduce the need for manual labor in handling time reports, delivering conventional paper pay advices, distributing W-2s, and so on. Paperless pay is also a way to reduce the errors that plague paper-based processes, since real-time access to accurate data ensures employee-initiated transactions and inquiries are all validated and verified. Accessibility to all Today’s best-practice paperless pay solutions are available via the Web or telephone, so employees have convenient access to their pay information and employers are able to meet differing state requirements for accessibility. Incorporating the payroll card option means every employee can electronically receive their pay even if they don’t have a checking account. A well-designed paperless pay implementation plan can address each state requirement. Benefits for the employer and the employee The benefits of paperless pay initiatives are enormous. Cost reduction in the production and delivery of pay to employees is the key driver for many organizations. Employee service levels are also boosted by secure access to personal pay information as well as self-service transactions such as reporting time, managing direct deposit, or changing W-4 information. Paperless pay has come of age, with a mix of options that can eliminate the paperwork choking the payroll process. Even further, employers benefit from not having to house endless file cabinets filled with paper payroll reports. Employers can access the report they need via web without having to dig through the files. Many payroll service provides will also host and archive payroll reports – so the IT department doesn’t have to! I recommend Perquest Payroll’s “Go Green” service. For more infoClick Here

Centripetal Consulting Group Services

          

Centripetal Consulting Group is a dynamic organization whose prime focus is maximizing the value of human capital. Designed to assist the under serviced small marketplace, CCG eliminates the guesswork when choosing the right partners for managing your most valued asset – your employees.

 

Our customers seek our services to help them evaluate their needs with all aspects of the HR function. This includes service needs analysis and vendor selection. We have partnered with over 35 service providers in these areas:                           

• Outsourced Payroll/Tax Filing                            

• HRIS

• Time and Attendance

• PEO/Co-Employment

• Administrative Services Outsourcing

• Employee Health Benefits

• Industry Specific Recruiting

• Drug and Background Screening

• Workers Compensation

• Applicant Tracking

• HR Compliance

• HR Strategy

• Retirement Plans

Our services provide an unbiased opinion in helping small business determine and select the right HR services partners as their business evolves. This is done at no fee to our clients.

 

Best of all, CCG also provides recruiting services for professional salespeople for these same alliance partners. We get to know the sales people intimately before they ever even meet our clients.

What’s in it for me?

So many salespeople make the mistake of not putting the needs of the customer first because they are selfishly thinking of their own needs. If you can’t meet a need for your buyer, there is no sale. If you can meet a need, you have found a customer for life and a trusted referral source. Customers don’t care about what the salesperson gains – its the value that salesperson brings for the betterment of the buyer. Being customer centric is a core value of mine in both prospecting and networking. Mutual gain must be had for any succesful business relationship or transaction.

10 Rules of Centripetal Consulting Group

I created the “10 Rules of Centripetal Consulting Group” as a guide for my clients to understand the values that govern my business and its culture. These ideals are what I aim to achieve in every business transaction or experience that I have with my clients, prospects, and alliance partners. I believe that this sets me apart from the rest because each business interaction creates a unique experience that is centric to CCG.

1. Treat every business contact with respect regardless of the benefit that they may have on the business.
2. Always use professionalism even when someone may not. Don’t let frustration damage your desire for excellence.
3. Take a consultative sales approach to deliver value and credibility.
4. Always be a student of your profession, your greatest asset is yourself.
5. Constantly seek innovative mutually beneficial business alliances that build synergy and value to the client.
6. Always act with a sense of urgency and meet deadlines in advance.
7. Make the client or candidate feel as if they are your most important call that day. Every call is returned timely regardless of immediate benefit to the company.
8. Challenge convention, constantly reinvent to amaze and delight the client.
9. Keep an external focus, always understand a client’s need before delivering a solution.
10. Maintain personal accountability. Take credit for what is deserved but take even more credit for learning from mistakes.

Winning in Business and Life

Winning is an art form I love to focus on in business and life. Not only is this a core value for me but I enjoy coming alongside people to realize their maximum potential. Thank you for visiting my site where I will be sharing my passion, advice and knowledge. My hope is that it will encourage you to seek winning as a way of life in your own business.