7 Things we look for in Sales Applicants Finding a job in today's economy is no easy chore. As companies downsize, file for bankruptcy, or shut down completely, the number of employers hiring naturally decreases and the byproduct is that we also have more people looking for jobs. Unfortunately for the employee, employers can now afford to be more selective when hiring. Despite the woe of the general perception on the economy, companies are still hiring. This week I attended a job fair hosted by a local WaMu branch that is closing their doors on 400+ employees. At this job fair, there were 30 different local companies all looking for qualified candidates to fill open positions. Certainly there are fewer options available right now in the job world, but there are options. Reply! is gearing up for 2009, expanding our sales teams dramatically. We're receiving resumes from a variety of people with all different backgrounds. While different companies and different positions all have their own requirements, here are some things that I typically look for, or overlook when interviewing inside sales candidates. To Cover Letter, or Not to Cover Letter?

They say you can never be over-dressed for an event. Whether or not the posting you're responding to requests a cover letter; submit one. Keep it precise and give the reader a quick synopsis on why you should be considered. In today's market, most managers don't have the time to read every cover letter and yours won't be read if it's intimidating to the eye. Avoid long paragraphs and save the rapport building for the interview. At the same time, not sending a cover letter is a mistake; it wreaks of "resume-blasting."

Do Your Homework

Time is money and in today's world, managers are commonly being spread thin. Department heads are busy, and their time is more valuable to their company than ever before. Learn as much as you can about the company and the position you're applying for, before you show up for the interview. It blows my mind when I ask an interviewee "how much do you know about our company" and their response is "not very much, I was hoping you could tell me more about it today." You lose credibility and your lack of research translates in to lack of desire. I don't like wasting time - yours or mine.

Cross Your I's and Dot Your T's

Yes, I did that on purpose... So many resumes are submitted with out being spell-checked, but it can't stop there. Spell check not catch improper use of "too, two, to, etc." The same applies to proper punctuation and capitalization. It won't leave a lasting impression on your potential future employer when there are fifty other applicants who know the difference between proper nouns and nouns. After you've triple-checked your resume, have three other people read it. If the third person still finds an error, get a fourth person to read it.

Include Length of Employment for Each Position

Many resumes are submitted with only the year range of employment provided versus the month and year. When a resume says "Senior Sales Executive........2007-2008," it gives the indication that perhaps you only held this title from December 2007 to February 2008. If there were jobs you held for only a brief stint, be honest instead of trying to mask it through exclusion, as it will most likely come to question during the interview. If you've had a streak of working for failed start-ups, honesty is the best policy. And if the position was less than four to six months, it's probably not worth mentioning.

Bullet Points, Not Life Stories

Many candidates provide details on previous responsibilities and accomplishments; use 3 - 5 bullet points for each job and include quantitative information. Long paragraphs intimidate readers and I'll usually end up not reading it at all. Just give me the bottom line and support it with date. Instead of saying "I was a very hard worker, I was always on time, and I exceeded my quota almost every month in 2007," try saying "Dedicated, punctual employee, met 125% of 2007 sales revenue quota." It's easier to read, but also shows that you measured your own performance.

C-Level Applying for Entry-Level?

I'm a skeptic of resumes laced with President, Founder, CEO, EVP, or other titles that would make any employer question why a former executive is applying for an entry-level position. I appreciate an entrepreneurial candidate that wants to join our sales force; if you ran your own business and truly were the President or CEO, try changing your title to something like "Entrepreneur, Self-Employed, or Sole Proprietor." Unless you truly do have a history of senior or executive management, a resume that goes from "Bank Teller, Washington Mutual" to "President and CEO, Johnson Holdings, Inc." will be scrutinized. Unless you're applying for a lateral move, humble yourself and pick a less suspicious title.

Invest In Your Paper, Invest In Your Future

Always, always, always bring multiple copies of your resume to an interview. Showing up without a resume is amateur behavior. Assuming you've got that part down, remember first-impression is everything. Invest in some quality paper to print your resume on. Use paper that is heavier than regular copy paper and carry it in a hard portfolio that won't bend or crumple the paper before you show up. Off-white colors are okay too, but keep it subtle. And use a laser printer; if you don't have one, Kinko's does. I've been accused of being a picky interviewer, but I'm impressed with people that bring resumes on nice paper. It shows attention to detail, but more importantly the resume stands out in the stack that piles on my desk each day. In a sales call, you have thirty seconds to make a first impression, and you never have a second chance. Submitting your resume is the true window for first-impression. You give what you get; if you want to be considered for employment in today's economy where there are more resumes floating around than actual work, you need to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Practicing what I preach, I've condensed fifteen pointers down to seven hints. Hopefully these hints provide some insight on we look for when recruiting for inside sales. I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Rudd Lippincott

Few things in life bother me more than management teams of various companies conveniently blaming their shortcomings on the macroeconomic environment. Never mind that before the slow-down their company wasn’t in a much better situation.

When was the last time Chevrolet, Ford, or Chrysler produced the best-selling car in the country? Over the last ten years—besides the massive, gas-guzzling SUVs that lacked any significant innovation—what other claims to fame do these companies have?

Is it really that complicated to figure out that the market responds positively to cars like Accord, Camry and Prius? How many millions of these models do Toyota and Honda need to sell in order for the domestic manufacturers notice the trends?

Interestingly enough, I see similarities between the problems plaguing the domestic "big three" and a company in a very different industry, Yahoo. They all try to solve their problems through deal-making, rather than turning to innovation and a long-term, viable, differentiated strategy. Combining Chrysler and GM for the cash is a horrible premise and, for synergies associated with volume and size, is an even worse idea. You get to the right volume by introducing models that consumers want to own, not by combining models that should have been cut long ago and will continue to lose market share.

Here is a 5-point plan that I think will go a long way toward putting the American car makers back on the road:

1. Own a product-line that’s made up of winners
   Car makers produce cars to make money, period. They should shut down all money-losing models, now. There should be no loyalty to any brand because one of the executives gets nostalgic when he rides in one. Kill the money-losers and cut enough elsewhere to become cash flow positive now—this quarter.
2. Simplify your plan and, in the short-term, only commit to proven strategies
   Cut the consultants and simply listen to the market. Don’t get too fancy with your products for the short run (the next 2 to 3 years). You need to have your own Camry, Accord, and Prius.
3. Communicate a killer strategy for the next 10 to 20 years
   As a nation, we like big ideas and big thinkers. Take a big bet and act like a visionary—become a visionary. For heaven’s sake, you guys have been in this industry for over 300 years combined. Where do you think the industry will go in the next 10 to 20 years? Solidify and communicate a differentiated, growth-oriented, and exciting strategy. Not only will your employees get fired up, but your customers will come along for the ride.
4. Bring in new, driven, motivated leaders
   Bring a CEO from a distant industry and a distant geography. Let’s see, people in what state buy a lot of foreign cars? California? Great, bring a CEO from that state. Steve Jobs would be great. You need a visionary, not an operator. All of you have excellent operators.
5. Deal with UAW
   The Union needs to wake up and understand that you can no longer be an employer that also produces cars but, rather, you are a car maker that employs qualified, professional, and hard-working people so you can make the cars and always earn a handsome profit. These employees should get paid a wage that represents their fair market value, and should be treated as your most valuable asset. You need to have the right to increase or decrease the size of your employee base as the market changes and opportunities arise or vanish. Any other type of relationship will not allow you to build a sustainable company for any of the parties involved.

To get the above done, you don’t need money from the government. In fact, I suggest that you stop wasting your time in Washington, and instead focus your efforts on fixing your own problems and cut enough to reach sustainability without counting on outside help. Own your problems and seek opportunities in the current market.

We have a nation of 300 million and a planet of over 6 billion screaming for cheaper, smaller, and more fuel-efficient cars. All car makers will be doing exactly that over the next 5 years. How will your approach be different than the simple, generic response we have come to expect form Detroit? Give it a try and surprise us with a response that does not further confirm the depressed nature of the industry but, rather, will uplift us by communicating your visionary strategy for the next decade or two and live up to your own, legendary past.

We’ll all be there to cheer for you and will drop our Toyotas and Hondas so we can once again own a symbol of American ingenuity.

My sincerest wishes for your success.

Payam Zamani, CEO, Reply.com & A founding father of the online automotive industry

I’ve been in the online lead generation industry for four years now and, in our business, it makes me a senior citizen. I’ve worn many different hats at Reply!—from starting out on our retail automotive sales floor, selling to single dealerships, to managing our entire Retail Automotive business. I’ve also worked with real estate agents, selling face-to-face at the National Association of Realtors Convention in 2004. While I’ve never directly sold cars or real estate, I speak to lead buyers all day long. In all the feedback I’ve received, there’s one thing I hear time and time again; Internet leads only work when they are worked. Most lead buyers are constantly hiring and firing lead providers because "the leads don’t close." Six months down the road, they get a call from the provider they left, and the salesperson discusses changes to lead generation techniques and validation processes. The dealership or real estate agent gives the provider another chance—six more months pass and the leads "still don’t close," and the cycle repeats. Why don’t leads close? Is it the lead buyer not properly working the leads, or is it the leads themselves? I believe the answer is, "Both." Some of our clients tell us our leads were a waste of time, while others depend on us to hit their monthly sales targets and are very profitable. Both are right, depending on how leads are called and nurtured. The lead provider has two responsibilities: setting the right expectations and offering controls for the buyer to segment. It is the provider’s job to communicate that Internet leads need to be worked and, when a buyer closes 10 of 100 leads, the other 90 will never transact. It is the provider’s job to explain the follow-up process that is most successful when applied to Internet leads and discuss that lead validation is imperfect, so the lead buyer understands invalid leads are part of the game. Ultimately, it’s the provider’s job to send leads that are intentful. Assuming the right expectations are set, the buyer has the responsibility for working the leads. Our most successful clients tell us that Internet leads are no different than floor traffic or face-to-face appointments—they need immediate attention. Their auto-response emails are immediately sent to the consumer, and a phone call is placed within five minutes of a lead being received. Often, three to four phone calls at varying times of day are required to reach a consumer. Following the initial contact, the consumer should be placed in a drip campaign—coupled with phone calls—until an appointment is set, with continued follow-up until the lead buys or is unworkable. From time-to-time, one of our customers becomes angry over "poor lead quality." I have a rule that I follow before I call a client back. I take a snapshot of the last ten leads we’ve sent, and I call them myself. The same result happens every time; I’ll be unable to reach one lead, leave voicemails for six, and I’ll speak with two to three people that want to talk about a car or real estate transaction. Two to three appointments set from ten leads should ideally result in one sale, and we arrive at our 10% closing ratio. If you’ve decided to invest in online, performance-based marketing, create a game plan regarding how you’re going to work the leads. One of our top clients is a Toyota dealer in Southern California that closes 14% of their leads each month! They call every lead four times-per-day, and keep the consumer in their database for up to six months, with frequent contact that is gradually reduced as time passes. Our top real estate agents work leads for much longer; for most agents, one sale will cover their marketing costs for an entire year. Many variables can affect your experience with Internet leads. One thing is clear—Internet leads are a predictable and measurable marketing investment, and will only work for you if they are actually worked. Happy selling. Rudd Lippincott, Senior Manager, Sales & Service -Automotive Reply.com

I wanted my first post with DrivingSales.com to be something fun. Normally, I will be posting information regarding automotive lead generation, online marketing and the utility of lead exchanges to elimiate advertising waste. But, to kick things off, here are 18 interesting sites to help with car & fuel maintenance. Original article on Mashable.

1. 1. DriverSide.com - DriverSide can help you find a car and maintain it once it’s yours. The site provides news about recalls, when to get your car serviced, helps you find out how much parts cost, and they will even help you sell it. Covers pretty much the entire life cycle of an automobile.
   2. Ownersite.com - Ownersite is a subscription plan service that helps you keep track of your car’s maintenance, costs and reminders of when you next need service.
   3. RepairPal.com - RepairPal assists you with getting estimates for repairs, finding well reviewed shops and keeping track of your car’s maintenance.
   4. ServiceBeacon.com - Keep track of your car’s maintenance schedule, receive email reminders and schedule appointments with your dealer online.
   5. TheAutoLog.com - Set up a profile for your car, track its maintenance history and display it for others to see.
   6. TheCarTracker.com - Track your car’s maintenance, as well as modifications and costs that you have incurred.
   7. YourGarageOnline.com - Keep track of your car’s information, repair history and easily see when you need to go in for your next check up.
   8. Fuelly.com - Fuelly allows you to enter data on your vehicle before you start tracking it, then you can compare how you are doing with other owners of the same model. You can also enter data from their iPhone site, participate in forums, see how much you have spent over time and more.
   9. MPGTune.com - Track your MPG, your annual fuel cost, see the top mileage of other users with the same car and more.
   10. MyMilemarker.com - Enter anytime you gas up via their website, phone or Twitter, and My Mile marker will give you reports on your gas mileage.
   11. AccuFuel - Tracks your fuel usage over a number of years and allows you to switch to other units of measurement besides gallons if the need arises.
   12. FuelGauge - Customizable fuel consumption iPhone app that allows you to set volume measurement, currency, enter historical data and more.
   13. Car Care - An iPhone application that allows you to track fuel economy and reminds you of regular maintenance requirements.
   14. GasHog - An iPhone and iPod Touch application for keeping track of your gas mileage that supports multiple vehicles and exporting data amongst other features.
   15. Gasmate - An app just for tracking your gas mileage over time.
   16. iPhoneMiles.com - An iPhone site that allows you to keep track of your miles easily instead of on slips of paper.
   17. Miles.Dynadel.com - iPhone optimized site to keep track of the fuel efficiency of your car.
   18. GarageSeek.com - Finding a reliable and honest auto repair garage can be tough, but GarageSeek attempts to provide you with reviews of garages throughout all of North America.

Brian Bowman
Chief Marketing Officer
http://www.reply.com