Newsletter
October 2021
October 2021
Recruiters for the Copier Channel® for more than 30 years, Copier Careers® has been the only recruiting firm exclusively dedicated to connecting Copier Channel employers with experienced service technicians, copier sales representatives, sales managers, service & operations managers, controllers, support staff, and MPS/MNS experts. Start your month off right with Newsletter October 2021: Copier Channel news and career advice. Search copier jobs now.
IN THIS MONTH’S NEWSLETTER
Interviewing Sales Managers
Supply Chain Warnings
Sound Off: What’s the most important service tech quality?
Monthly Poll: What’s the most important sales manager quality?
Interviewing Sales Managers
The #1 takeaway from our 2021 Mid-Year Update was the resurging job market. Hiring in this industry has never been busier, more competitive or more challenging that it is right now. That makes streamlining the hiring process more important than ever!
Welcome to our Interviewing Prep series, where we share the most important questions employers and candidates need to have answered before the first interview. This month, we’re covering Sales Managers:
Questions for Employers Before Interviewing Sales Managers
- What is the base salary range for this position?
- Is this a Selling Sales Manager position? If so:
- What is the personal quota for this position? Is there a ramp-up period?
- What is the personal commission structure for this position?
- Are there any bonuses in place based on quarterly or annual performance such as OEM spiffs, President’s Club awards, etc.?
- What is the territory range for this position?
- Does this territory have any existing accounts to work with? If so, what is the ratio of existing accounts to net-new business?
- What is the team override? Is it based on total revenue or gross profit?
- What would a candidate’s first-year total compensation be in this role?
- Do you offer benefits?
- Do you provide a car allowance, cell phone, and/or laptop?
- What is the current size of the sales team to be managed?
- How many additional sales reps would you like the new Sales Manager to bring on?
- What is the current sales team’s quota?
- Is the team currently at-plan, why/why not?
- What is the sales team’s current territory?
- Will the Sales Manager be managing a fully in-office, fully remote, or hybrid sales team?
- How has your company expanded your portfolio to keep up with advancing technology? Has that evolution accelerated during the pandemic?
- Are you open to relocating candidates? Would you offer any assistance?
- What is the typical interview process for this role? What is your hiring timeline?
- Does your company do a formal background check and drug screening?
- What is your company culture like? What are you seeking in a candidate to fit with the rest of your team?
Questions for Sales Managers Before Their Interview
- What would it take for you to consider a new opportunity?
- What are you looking for in your next position?
- How many years of management experience do you have?
- What was your career path to management?
- For your most recent management position, what was your sales team’s size when you started? How many new sales reps did you hire? How many did you let go?
- What are your numbers and/or those of your sales teams, both throughout your career and during the most recent month/quarter?
- If you and/or your sales team are at-plan or above, what skills have helped you achieve this success? If you and/or your team are not at-plan, why not?
- During the pandemic, how much of your/your sales team’s sales were net-new business?
- Have you and/or your sales team earned any sales achievement awards?
- What sets you apart from other candidates?
- What are your most successful sales strategies?
- What are your most successful management strategies?
- Do you have a non-compete? If so, how will it affect your ability to move to a new company?
- How quickly would you be able to switch to a new position?
- Are you open to relocation? If so, is your household on the same page?
Interview Prep Series:
Sales Representatives
Technicians
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Supply Chain Warnings
Several news outlets are reporting on the increasing instability of the global supply chain. The very real concern stems from a recent open letter from the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and other industry groups to the United Nations.
The letter reinforces the industry’ repeated pleas to international leaders, calling for “freedom of movement for transport workers, for governments to use protocols that have been endorsed by international bodies for each sector and to prioritize transport workers for vaccinations” per the WHO’s recommendations.
If swift, decisive and coordinated changes are not made to support the “already crumbling global supply chain,” they risk a “global transport systems collapse.”
In particular, the letter cites the risk that personnel shortages pose: “It is of great concern that we are also seeing shortages of workers and expect more to leave our industries as a result of the poor treatment they have faced during the pandemic, putting the supply chain under greater threat.”
Sound Off
Last month we discussed important questions for candidates and employers to prepare before an interview for a service technician. This is part of our ongoing Interviewing Prep series to help you get the most out of your next interview (whether in front of the desk or behind it). So we were curious to hear what you thought was the most important service tech quality. We had a solid turnout of 13,366 votes this month!
We had another runaway winner this month with “problem solver mentality” taking 72% of the vote. As techs spend their days diagnosing and solving problems, this shouldn’t surprise anyone.
However, we don’t want to discount the next service tech quality of good customer service (21%). As many of the comments below affirmed, customer service skills are vital for the most customer facing members of your team. Techs interact with their customers the most, they provide the products and services the customer bought, their technical and interpersonal performance can make or break customer retention.
The remaining two qualities definitely supplement the top two but stress tolerance (5%) and strong communication (2%) only took the remaining 7% of the votes.
POLL QUESTION:
What is the most important service tech quality?
- Problem solver mentality (72%, 9,610 Votes)
- Good customer service (21%, 2,820 Votes)
- Stress tolerance (5%, 720 Votes)
- Strong communication (2%, 216 Votes)
Loading ...Some comments from y’all:
- “We always ‘joke’ at our office that it’s the salesman’s job to tell the customer what we can do and the service techs job is to prove it. I have been the top sales guy at our office for 5 years running, and as much as I would love to pat myself on the back, people do not buy from me, they buy because of our service. I will semi-routinely buy the service team lunch or I will always send a company-wide email when I hear good feedback from a client on how much they love the service guy. This not only builds great moral internally but also makes the tech look out for me as well with leads, problems, and going above and beyond for my customers.”
- “Good customer service usually can’t be taught. If you give your customers your best they are more likely to work with you when there is a delay in getting their equipment repaired. I have been in the industry over 25 years and there have been times where either I wasn’t able to get to the call the same day or had to leave a machine down due to having to order a part. In these instances because I was already considered reliable and had established a rapport with the customer, they were willing to wait.”
- “Techs too focused on problem solving often don’t take the time to confirm that they are working on the correct problem. That is why we put a lot of emphasis on relating and communicating with our customers.”
- “If you can find one of the unicorn techs who encompasses an amicable and attractive demeanor, presents themselves well, has exceptional people, communication and troubleshooting skills while also being capable of thinking out of the box, you should be prepared to ask them what their salary needs to be and then PAY IT without regret or reconsideration. You also may want to provide an actual career pathway for those who show potential. Those 2005 wages aren’t cutting it anymore and it really shows in the rank-and-file who also happen to be the face of your companies.”
Newsletter October 2021 Poll
What's the most important sales manager quality?
- Decisiveness/good goal setting (42%, 5,079 Votes)
- Coaching focus (23%, 2,806 Votes)
- Strong communication (19%, 2,315 Votes)
- Integrity (10%, 1,222 Votes)
- Reliability (5%, 601 Votes)
- Transparency (1%, 107 Votes)
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