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Small Cell Industry Trends & Talent Predictions

March 24, 2017 by Lacey Walters

Trend #1: Outdoor Small Cell Growing 50% Faster than Indoor Solutions

The original purpose of small cells was to efficiently reuse spectrum as a capacity solution – not as a replacement for cell towers. However, outdoor small cell use as a coverage solution has grown significantly, both in rural areas and dense urban areas. While DAS and low-power small cells are well suited for indoor applications like office buildings and open-air venues like stadiums, high-power small cells are gaining ground in outdoor applications. Carriers have found that it is cheaper to densify and reuse spectrum rather than buy new blocks of spectrum for macrocell coverages. The major takeaway is that network providers and customers are taking a more nuanced view of coverage that includes a mix of small cell types and power levels to provide efficient, reliable coverage and a better handling of capacity.

Small cells still cannot beat the distance and power of macrocells (1 macro tower equals 10-30 small cells), but small cells are a cheap and effective way to patch coverage holes (at least for now — the maintenance and backhaul costs are still significant). Verizon is investing heavily in small cell densification in preparation for 5G and to support larger capacity demands. It has announced that it will begin commercial deployments this year.

Chart: Small cells include a mix of indoor/outdoor and high/low power solutions. Small cells improve network coverage and/or capacity. Wi-Fi is included for comparison, but is not considered small cell.

Only two-thirds of new small cells are indoor, and the rest are deployed in outdoor environments. The United States is a hotbed for telecom innovation, but international demand is growing strongly as well. In the next two years, outdoor small cell is projected to jump 600%. By contrast, indoor/in-building solutions are projected to grow only 400%.

One important point to note: this small cell definition includes femtocells, whose cell radius is usually less than 50 feet and can service about 5 users at once. While femtocells do technically qualify as DRAN small cells, their application differs from other members of the small cell family.

Trend #2: Wi-Fi Starts to Slip

It is surprising to think of Wi-Fi as an obsolete technology, but industry trends show that Wi-Fi may be on a downward slope. It used to be that only a lucky few had access to unlimited data plans, usually grandfathered from years past. Today, unlimited data plans have made a comeback. T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T all offer unlimited data plans. Slower speeds have replaced overage charges for heavy data users.

LTE’s biggest advantage over Wi-Fi is that LTE can be taken anywhere (and Wi-Fi, which is an extension of LAN, will never be as mobile as LTE). As data usage climbs, people expect to use all of their devices everywhere, and finding a Wi-Fi hotspot becomes more of a burden. Coffee shops and public areas are less enthusiastic about footing the bill for Wi-Fi when many customers only buy a cup of coffee and use the network for hours. Wi-Fi technology is fussy and less secure than LTE. As security becomes more and more of an issue, customers are likely to demand LTE-based solutions over Wi-Fi. This trend will accelerate as expanding technology offers more options for less money.

Unlicensed and Licensed Spectrum

Overview of key differences in LTE-U, LAA, and MuLTEfire by Qualcomm.

Image: Overview of key differences in LTE-U, LAA, and MuLTEfire. Source: Qualcomm

Unlimited data is not the only competitor to Wi-Fi. Carriers are rushing to densify networks and expand unlicensed spectrum coverage, a family that includes LTE-U, LAA, and MuLTEfire. Wi-Fi is becoming more of a niche technology than the go-to. LTE-U (deployments in the US, Korea, and India) and LAA (deployments in the EU, Japan, and others) use unlicensed spectrum aggregated with licensed spectrum as a Wi-Fi coexistence strategy. They improve the signal without interfering with Wi-Fi. MuLTEfire, by contrast, is LTE realized fully in unlicensed spectrum, and it poses the most serious threat to Wi-Fi. The technology may advance to the point where customers can install a private LTE router in their homes, just like Wi-Fi but with the added benefits of LTE. If the price is comparable to Wi-Fi coverage, this could make home Wi-Fi coverage obsolete.

All the way back to 1993, data usage has never dropped. Growth has accelerated year over year as carriers continue to throw money into network expansion, mostly on outdoor small cell technology to keep costs down and allow for future compatibility with 5G devices.

5G is projected to unseat (or at least compete strongly) with Wi-Fi, especially when it comes to connected devices. Connected devices are compatible with Wi-Fi and LTE, but 5G is specifically designed for compatibility with connected devices. This may prove to be the downfall of Wi-Fi. One opposing viewpoint is Wi-Fi is not going anywhere. As new technology emerges within LTE, Wi-Fi technology is also evolving. New Wi-Fi technologies are closer to carrier-grade — and carriers still rely heavily on their ability to offload on Wi-Fi.

Voice vs. Data Usage since 2011

Mobile voice traffic has been flat since 2011, while data traffic has climbed 1800%

Image: Voice traffic growth has been flat since 2011, while data consumption has jumped over 1300%. Graph: Akamai’s Q2-2016 State of the Internet Report. data from Ericsson’s Mobility Report.

One opposing viewpoint is Wi-Fi is not going anywhere. As new technology emerges within LTE, Wi-Fi technology is also evolving. New Wi-Fi technologies are closer to carrier-grade — and carriers still rely heavily on their ability to offload on Wi-Fi.

Trend #3: Changing Government Regulations

Many regulations are outdated, obsolete, and have no guidelines for the newest technology, including small cells. This hits hardest at the local level, where budgets are tight and laws can be slow to change. Many local municipalities do not have the resources to keep up with telecom technology that is changing at lightning speeds, let alone revamp the regulations.

Carriers are expecting the FCC to streamline municipal telecom regulations this year to ease the administrative and financial burden of installing small cells, towers, and other network infrastructure. Currently, many cities classify small cells the same as macrocell towers, even though the two technologies have totally different footprints, sizes, and expense. A tower can be hundreds of feet tall, while a small cell can be the size of a lunchbox. However, some cities charge the same fees for both. Some companies have attempted to classify their solutions as public utilities to save themselves hefty permit costs and administrative roadblocks.

Despite some difficulties, there are success stories. The city of Orlando, FL recently accepted bids for a large-scale small cell installation to improve coverage in the city. Some municipalities, especially in tech-friendly large urban areas, are moving ahead with ambitious small cell projects. Laws are changing to better accommodate new technologies. The city of Philadelphia worked with AT&T and Verizon to deploy a 37-node small cell network in anticipation of Pope Francis’s visit in September 2015. The project took only 9 months from start to finish. It was able to proceed thanks to huge public demand and pressure for the city and the telecom companies to work together to achieve a mutual goal.

Predictions for Small Cell Talent

Network providers are facing many challenges for their projects, including a severe talent shortage. We predict the following skills will be in highest demand for 2017 and early 2018:

IoT/M2M and 5G

The distance between IoT and small cell is shrinking. As Wi-Fi dependence begins to drop, network providers will need to build more and more IoT/M2M functionality into network designs (especially as 5G comes closer to being a reality). M2M connections are expected to make up almost half of all connected devices by 2020. Specifically, companies will be looking for people with hands-on experience within the IoT value chain. This includes IoT platform design, smart object design, module design, and integration with 3^rd party applications.

Because of spectrum limitations, 5G will deploy on a very high frequency, including mmW. This means that traditional cell towers cannot deploy that spectrum, even with advanced beam-forming techniques. Small cells are the only way to deploy the mmW spectrum. This means carriers will have to deploy small cells—possibly on the order of millions—within the next 10 years. Since small cells have design, maintenance, and repair needs just like macrocells, there will be a huge uptick in field work, engineering, construction, and related job duties.

This is one of the biggest looming talent shortages. The IoT/M2M/5G space will create millions of jobs — some estimate over 4 million IoT developer jobs alone by 2020. However, experts also expect that IoT and connected device technology will severely disrupt the labor market. Millions of people who work low-level jobs in fast food, retail, transportation, and supply chain will be displaced.

Standardization & Infrastructure Sharing

Infrastructure sharing is a growing trend while the telecom landscape continues to shift rapidly. There will be a very high demand for employees who can understand and build strategy around shared infrastructure. This will be especially true in the next five years as networks complete coverage expansion projects.

European markets had another record year in 2016 for colocation data center capacity. Colocation promotes standardization and harmony between carriers’ data/voice technology, which is good for the consumer and the industry. Demand will continue to increase for employees with a sound understanding of existing 3GPP standards, as well as foresight for how standards may evolve to accommodate emerging technology.

Interference Mitigation Skills

In an increasingly crowded network, interference is one of the top challenges for high-traffic networks. Managing interference and higher spectrum utilization techniques will be a key goal for network providers, integrators, colocation facilities, and product developers, with applications at almost every level. Demand for this skill will rise fastest among design engineers and product managers. Expect strong demand for sales engineers who can explain interference mitigation technology to potential customers.

Public Sector Technical Sales Skills

While private sector companies are scrambling to upgrade their networks, the public sector is more uneven in its acceptance of new telecom technology. With the challenge of previously mentioned regulatory hurdles, telecom firms need to arm themselves with persuasive and highly knowledgeable salespeople. A strong salesperson can effectively navigate administrative roadblocks and match municipal requirements with network solutions that work. By contrast, some public sector entities are way ahead, aggressively updating building and fire codes with new wireless standards. Companies who win key installation deals early on are more likely to enjoy repeat business and maintenance contracts from the same customers.

If your company is searching for small cell talent, contact us for a free evaluation of your hiring needs. Reach our telecom specialist directly at mwalsh@bluesignal.com.

Before You Hire an AWS/Cloud Engineer, Read This.

March 10, 2017 by Lacey Walters

Cloud computing is growing faster than ever. The cloud market reached almost $150 billion in 2016, and is growing at 25% annually. Traditionally, companies’ top concern was security. But this year, the #1 challenge reported by cloud adopters is a lack of people with the right skills.

At the forefront is Amazon Web Services (AWS), the public cloud division of Amazon. Their business-friendly cloud options ranked #1 in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. AWS has been around since 1999, however, with the spike in cloud migrations, demand for qualified people has exploded.

The natural response is to scramble to get approval for a new top AWS/cloud migration expert. But many companies run into trouble by hiring the wrong type of person, hiring without a plan, or hiring before their infrastructure is ready. This leads to poor retention and an expensive cloud-based disaster.

How to lay the groundwork for a new AWS/cloud project:

What is the goal?

AWS has many modules; its tagline is “A platform for virtually every use case.” It is the CTO’s job to set a goal and narrow the focus. Too many companies jump into new technology because everyone seems to be doing it, but the reality is that no project can succeed without a clear, realistic goal.

The worst possible approach is, “We need to invest in cloud. What should we do with it?” The goal should address an existing problem that ties directly to revenue. For instance: streamlining a data center, improving security, speeding up data processing, or meeting compliance standards. AWS and cloud-based technology cannot solve every problem, but it brings many exciting tools to the table.

What are the options?

Cloud technology is not an all-or-nothing investment. After defining the goal, choose the features and modules that make sense. For many companies, a hybrid solution is best for their needs, especially for companies with existing infrastructure and assets. Smaller companies can simply rent or buy into existing cloud platforms and software, especially for data storage and security needs. Enterprises and companies doing large cloud migrations will more likely need to hire an expert.

Who is driving?

Without a clear leader to head up the effort, a cloud project will quickly fall apart and become a chaotic, over-budget mess. A director or department head may seem like the obvious choice, however it may not be the best choice if this person already has a totally full schedule, travels a lot, or does not understand the technology.

The best person to lead is someone who is highly project-oriented and a big-picture strategist who communicates well with many types of people. Someone detail-oriented risks getting lost in the weeds. Ideally, they have technical experience or manage technical people.

Now what?

With the groundwork in place, the hiring need should be clearer.

Before interviewing, know the right questions to ask, and have at least one interviewer who can ask technical questions on the AWS technology. This is for two reasons: it screens out underqualified candidates, and it gives the interviewing company legitimacy. Experts gravitate towards companies who have done their research and ask the right questions. It is an indication that the company will treat them well and respect their expertise.

Beware of hiring a complete team of outside people to manage a brand new big-budget technology project. Even if they are experts in the technology, they are not familiar with the company culture and team. Even the best person can run into problems if current employees perceive that an “outsider” is coming in and trying to change everything overnight. A more neutral strategy is to hire an engineer or architect who reports to a trusted leader within the organization who can act as the liaison.

Train some, hire some. Who can be retrained? Competition is so fierce that some companies will inevitably be stuck with a person who has the technical skills but is not the best cultural fit, or vice versa. Therefore, the lower the budget, the greater the need for flexibility.

Work to change technophobe attitudes before the project starts. Share responsibility and ownership in the project with the whole team, and get as many people as possible on board. Take their ideas and try them out, where possible. New technology can feel like a threat and a burden, so open communication does wonders to make current employees feel more at ease.

Lastly, have a follow-through plan. Once the cloud project is complete, have a plan in place for who will maintain it and run it. Hire or train them with plenty of time. Success in the early stages is critical for employees to get on board.

As with any complex project, it pays to work with a recruiter who knows the space well and can locate the best talent for the company’s budget. If your company is considering a large-scale cloud or AWS project, contact us for a free evaluation of your hiring needs. Reach our cloud specialists directly at info@bluesignal.com or give us a call at (480) 939-3200.

7 Subtle Motivation-Killers of Top Employees

February 17, 2017 by Lacey Walters

“Highly motivated” is a common requirement on job descriptions, but in reality, “built-in” motivation is a myth. While an employee’s internal drive is important, the other half of the equation is a joint effort by the employee and the manager to foster a productive workplace.

Employee engagement is a top buzzword of recent years, and there are many obvious killers of motivation: below-market pay, crushing workload, delayed wages, unfair management practices, and oppressive bureaucracy. But for highly paid top performers, some team managers miss more subtle killers of motivation. In an increasingly competitive job market, these top employees have more options than ever, so it is important to address motivation killers and build a productive, healthy environment that lets high performers shine.

1. Unclear advancement plans

In the modern high-level interview, hiring managers often ask for a prospective employee’s career goals. Not everyone wants to go into management, so this interview question is critical in uncovering what motivates the employee. However, many managers never follow up on this initial conversation.

Regularly discussing where the employee wants to go and how to get there is important, but it is only the start. High achievers are good at setting and reaching goals, so they need to have measurable targets to hit and a specific timeline. If an employee feels they are indefinitely treading water, or that they have no prospects for advancement at their current company, they will move on. Tip the balance by giving top performers a realistic idea of their growth timeline and what they can expect as a reward for their hard work.

2. Unaddressed conflict

High performers often have well-rounded communication skills and are good at coping with set-backs and frustrations. That said, a toxic work environment will quickly frustrate someone who is trying to focus on achieving good results in their job. A sudden change in an employee’s performance or an abrupt drop-off in communication is a telltale sign of a toxic situation. Toxic workplaces kill employee engagement.

Promptly address conflict. Meet face-to-face with involved employees and be prepared to discuss what is bothering them in honest, blunt terms. Many times, good communication with a mediator will take the fire out of a bad situation. At other times, more drastic measures are required. Either way, when a top employee is sending distress signals, ignoring the problem destroys trust along with motivation.

3. Lack of feedback and/or indifference to new ideas

When employees come up with new ideas and find new ways of doing things, it is a sure sign that they have good motivation and are engaged in their jobs. A quick way to kill that motivation is to gloss over their ideas. Even if the idea is totally unworkable, enthusiastic acknowledgement of their effort is critical.

Meet regularly with high-performing employees, not just to assess performance, but to build trust so that the employee feels confident enough to share new ideas. Top performers often provide advice that is just as good as a pricey consultant.

4. Poor industry reputation

A company rarely has a bad reputation without something else being wrong. Negative press or a poor financial outlook can cause employees to start searching before a crisis hits. This correlation is stronger with senior executives. Executives are generally more in tune with market conditions and the company’s industry reputation. Senior employees are also impacted more strongly by performance-based bonuses and budget cuts, so a stream of bad press can jumpstart a new job search.

Interestingly, the past few years have seen the market become much more politicized. In a report titled “The Dawn of CEO Activism,” KRC Research found that almost 40% of American consumers say CEOs have a responsibility to publicly address hot-button political issues. Depending on whether employees support or oppose their company’s views, political involvement can bolster or kill motivation. Senior executives in particular may come under fire for comments by the company, or have to clean up messes as a result of an unpopular comment.

In fast-moving industries with shorter tenure, especially technology, top performers look ahead to make sure that the experience they are building now can get them a job down the road. Tech professionals have learned the hard way that even giants like Myspace and Netscape can hit hard times and turn a star resume into one that looks dated and unfashionable.

5. Being passed over for a key promotion

Top performers are less of a flight risk than underperformers. However, sudden departures are often due to missing out on a promotion or award. If a hiring manager is interviewing internally and interviews three top performers for a juicy promotion, and only one of them gets it, the hiring manager risks losing his other two top performers. The solution is to take time to give them a good explanation as to why they were passed over. Reevaluate their career path within the organization together with them.

Ironically, top employees sometimes leave because of a promotion or salary increase! The HR analytics software Workday found that a significant percentage of high-performing employees had a higher risk of leaving the company after a promotion.

Several scenarios can cause this phenomenon:

After transitioning into the new role, the employee runs into one of the problems above.
The employee takes on more responsibility than they could manage.
The promotion or raise comes too late or fails to meet expectations.
The new job title or award makes the employee more attractive to recruiters or motivates them to explore even better options outside the company.

When interviewing internal candidates for a high-level position, it is critical to spend time with the rejected candidates to reevaluate their growth plan within the company, so they do not take it as a sign to move on.

6. Insufficient mentorship or development opportunities

Networking is still the #1 way that people get a new job or advance at their current one. It is important to help top employees build mentor relationships within the company.

A mentor fulfills many roles in an employee’s professional life: they coach, train, give advice, brainstorm, encourage, and correct. Having strong professional relationships within an organization is a powerful incentive for a high achiever to work hard and stay with the company.

By contrast, companies who fail to invest in their top employees’ growth lose twice. Their top people gravitate to the competition, and they fail to attract top employees to replace them. Today’s employee knows that demand for new skills is fierce. Top employees have to reinvent themselves several times in the course of their careers. If an employer is not investing their skills, they lose the motivation to invest their best effort in growing the company.

7. Too little work or uninteresting projects

A mediocre employee will happily take a paycheck without enough work to keep them busy. Top performers want to be challenged. Even if an employee believes wholeheartedly in the company’s mission and loves their work, they will quickly become frustrated if they are bored or perceive that their work is unimportant.

If a high performer is consistently hitting goals without much effort, they have outgrown their current role. It can be tempting to keep them where they are to save the cost of replacing them when they move up the ladder, but this will frustrate the employee and usually lead to a drop in performance or a resignation letter. Reward employees’ growth by helping them to reach their desired career goals.

Many employees would rather leave than complain, so pay attention to early warning signs. Do not rely on employees to set their own workloads. It is the manager’s job to invest time in the employee to match their workload to their ability, drive, and personality. Find out what aspects of a project or of a client the employee enjoys working with, and seek out ways to maximize it for that employee. The investment is well worth it. Motivated employees who like their jobs will happily go to bat for their company to get the best results.

Change is difficult, and even top employees are reluctant to jump into a long job search process that may or may not pay off. A high performer will send many signs before they feel frustrated enough to start job-searching. Employee engagement takes an investment of time, thought, and resources. But the reward is that a manager who engages employees will have far better results to show than a manager who focuses on the results instead of on the people who produce them.

Why Successful People Take Recruiters’ Phone Calls

February 8, 2017 by Lacey Walters

Recruiters sometimes have a reputation for reaching out at inconvenient times. It can be tempting just to delete the LinkedIn message or reject the call. But overcoming that natural aversion and taking the call can pay big dividends.

Many companies cannot keep up with the flood of resumes in response to their job postings, and they use recruiters to fill their most critical openings. Many of the top openings are never even posted on job boards. Successful people know that a good recruiter can hold the key to their next great role.

Here are 10 more reasons that successful people take recruiters’ calls:

Successful people are proactive.

There are four professionals that everyone should know before they need them: a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, and a recruiter. A crisis is not a good time to be looking for one of these people! Take a call when things are good. Candidates who wait until they desperately need to change jobs often find themselves boxed in without many great options.

They get free market intelligence.

Some recruiters are generalists, but most have a specialty focus. Recruiter who hire within a specialized niche are tuned into which parts of the market are growing, and who will be hiring or firing in the near future. A good recruiter relies on industry news to drive their business. They can pass on that industry news to hard-working candidates who might not have time to catch up on the market trends.

It’s a good investment of time.

An investment of 10 minutes can turn into a dream job. Not only that, it can pay big money. Employees get an average pay increase of 8-11% when they change jobs. This is a lot more than the 3-5% annual raises offered by most companies. Young workers see the biggest gains when they change jobs.

Consider the opposite. If proactive candidates are changing jobs and getting those pay increases, there is less money available for the people who stay put. Occasionally changing jobs has become more common

Recruiters work for free.

The hiring manager’s company pays the recruiter, so the candidate benefits from a recruiter’s hard work for free. It never hurts to listen. Searching for a job is stressful even in the best of times, but a recruiter does a lot of the difficult leg-work, including getting the attention of the hiring manager, negotiating salary and relocation packages, selling the candidate’s skills, and coordinating all of the logistics.

Passive talent gets the best jobs.

“Passive talent” is a buzzword that has gained popularity in the recruiting world in recent years. Hiring managers have come to understand that top performers almost never need to leave their job, and are more likely to be passive in their job searches. Often, hiring managers are willing to pay more for passive talent. Not only are they willing to pay a fee to a recruiter, they often have higher salaries than advertised job postings.
Many companies cannot keep up with the flood of unqualified applications that come with job postings, so often a recruiter is their best path to top candidates.

They can double-check their career strategy.

Successful people have a set of written goals to map out their career. However, no one has a perfect perspective of the industry. Many employees have no mentor for their careers. A recruiter’s job is to talk to a lot of people, usually at a high level. They can give valuable insight on what is happening in the industry, as well as general workplace trends. Is it too soon to ask for a raise? What technologies are up and coming? Is it better to change jobs for growth, or stay put to avoid job-hopping? A specialized recruiter can answer these questions and more.

Recruiters often know industry salaries better than the hiring managers.

Managers who do a lot of hiring often have a very good idea of the market rates. However, most hiring managers only hire a few people per year, and many have limited information about current salary ranges. Since it is in the recruiter’s best interest to get the candidate the highest possible salary, candidates can learn where their salary falls with regards to the market rate. They can also discuss what salary range to ask for.

While some jobs naturally develop good negotiation skills, like sales, candidates in industries like technology and engineering often do not get as much opportunity to hone their negotiation skills. A recruiter can not only give them salary information, they often do the negotiation on the candidate’s behalf.

They want privacy.

Online job applications require a lot of information—name, current company, and often salary. Working with a recruiter adds a layer of privacy for candidates in small industries. Ask a recruiter on the first call what their confidentiality policy is. Good recruiters work with NDAs and can run protected searches that keep the client and/or candidate names confidential throughout the process. It pays to work with recruiters with strong confidentiality policies and to have a signed confidentiality agreement in place to protect everyone involved.

They know what upgrades they want.

No job is perfect. Top employees know the benefits and shortfalls of their current role, so that if something significantly better comes along, they can quickly evaluate it and act decisively. Every candidate has slightly different priorities: work-life balance, shorter commute, salary, benefits package, company culture, location, or more exciting projects. Candidates who talk to recruiters regularly are more likely to know what they want and to have clearly defined career goals, preparing them to handle any crisis that might come up.

Not every recruiter’s call will lead to a job change, but that is not the only benefit. Candidates owe it to themselves, their families, and their careers to keep an open mind about potential opportunities. It is a time investment that more than pays for itself.

Salespeople: How to Sell Yourself Better in a Sales Interview

February 1, 2017 by Lacey Walters

When it comes to interviewing, salespeople have a natural advantage over employees in other departments: they talk to people every day, they are naturally persuasive, and they have a strong internal motivation. That means that any time they interview for a sales position, the competition is stiff.

Not every salesperson is good at pitching themselves, but this is no reason to get tongue-tied. It is not worth leaving it to chance that the hiring manager will notice all shining qualities from the resume. Before an interview, after doing research on the company, salespeople can tweak their mindset to put themselves in the best possible position to sell their skills effectively to a hiring manager.

6 Interview Tips for Salespeople:

1. You are a solution, not a product.

Salespeople sell products and services every day, but many of them find it distasteful to think of “selling” themselves to a company like a product. Products get used up and eventually thrown away, and they are static—not a great way to describe a person. Instead, take a page from the modern sales playbook and sell a solution, not a product. In this interview, the employee is the solutions package. Tailor the pitch of the “solution’s” features and capabilities to match with the company’s business needs, and show them why they should expect a good ROI if they make the hire.

This also helps to dampen some of the personal feelings that can creep into interviews. Interviews are stressful, but their purpose is to determine whether or not a candidate is a good fit for the job in question. Analyze the job’s goals and present the solution—you. There are no hard feelings if the job ends up not being a good fit.

This shift in mindset sets the best possible tone for the interview, and puts the interviewee in a position to speak from firsthand experience and practice.

2. Tell a story with a timeline.

Every employee should have a set of career goals and a career timeline (if not, start one now). In the interview, the interviewee should tell a story that shows the hiring manager where they started, what goals they have already reached, and what goals they hope to reach at this new position.

Be honest and be flexible. Anyone who is hiring a salesperson is going to be able to see past a fluff response.

The solutions selling mindset is the starting point. Salespeople who practice consultative solutions selling know that a static, rigid solution will eventually become obsolete and lose its value. People are not finished products; they grow and change. Likewise, a good hiring manager recognizes that to attract the top talent, they will need to provide growth opportunities for their people. Be ready to describe what that looks like.

3. Have numbers ready.

Many departments struggle to quantify their ROI. Not sales! Salespeople are fortunate to have easy access to the impact they have had on their company’s bottom line. Most companies publish regular reports showing rankings, quotas, revenue, and other metrics. This is a key advantage because it is direct proof of success.

Start with these numbers:

Percent achieved of quota
Number of financial quarters of hit/exceeded quota
Ranking amongst other salespeople in the company
Records hit (e.g. Presidents Club)
Revenue generated
Marquee clients or biggest contracts signed
Travel percentage (local, regional, nationwide, international)

These metrics will not have their full effect when fired out all at once. Use another sales tactic here: incorporate these numbers into a narrative that tells the story of career growth.

After the interview, crunch the numbers the hiring manager provides. Consider the OTE vs. base salary split, any commission caps, the ramp-up time, sales cycle length, and other factors. Avoid negotiating hard during the interview, when the pressure is on.

4. Go above and beyond references.

Hiring managers generally contact references after the second interview, when they are fairly sure they want to make the hire. Don’t wait that long! Get colleagues, managers, and star customers to write endorsements on LinkedIn (this is good practice even for salespeople who are not interviewing, as it gives legitimacy when a prospect looks them up). Verbally quote satisfied customers in the interview. Consider sending a letter of recommendation from a marquee client or a senior management executive.

Coach references before submitting them to the hiring manager. Many people are not sure how to give a good reference over the phone. At a minimum, provide them with the job description, resume, and key facts that the hiring manager needs to hear.

Be sure to adhere to all privacy agreements, both of the current employer, customers, and hiring company. Violating the privacy of a customer or employer is grounds for termination.

5. Sell “brand value.”

When pitching a solution to a prospect, salespeople have to differentiate their solutions package from the competition. Whoever presents the best value to the customer is usually the one who wins the deal. Not all customers are looking for the lowest price, but almost every customer wants good value for their money.

After getting their attention with sales numbers, move to demonstrate personal brand value. Highlight key differentiators such as niche market knowledge, experience, and any unique approaches that fit well with the company’s goals. People outside of sales sometimes see salespeople as interchangeable. Prove them wrong with a demonstration of why this is the best possible investment they can make for this position.

Some companies incorporate a mock sales presentation into their interviews. If so, take full advantage. Do intensive research on the company’s products and solutions. If they have an online trial, spend time getting to know it. Find out their customers and pain points. Prepare a sales presentation and show them unique and exceptional sales skills.

6. Overcome objections

Top salespeople have to be big-picture and detail-oriented at the same time. When it comes to closing high-profile deals, they need to anticipate a prospect’s objections and overcome them with solid, compelling data. The same rule applies in an interview.

No one is perfect, so find weak spots in job history or skills and have a defense ready. Ask for the objection, and then overcome it enthusiastically. This gives the hiring manager further evidence of how they can expect their customers to be treated if they go through with the hire.

While many employees have to learn a totally new set of skills when they go into an interview, salespeople have a tremendous advantage with highly developed interpersonal skills in negotiation, solutions proposals, needs analysis, and overcoming objections.

An interview is a hiring manager’s opportunity to make a decision about an investment in a person. What they need in order to make this decision is evidence that the salesperson can deliver on their promises, uphold the company’s reputation, and close deals. Give them the proof that the person sitting in front of them is the best fit for their job.

Looking for a new sales job? Check out our open positions here.

The 6 Best Executive Search Firm Interviews of 2016

January 18, 2017 by Lacey Walters

Competition is fierce for high-performing leaders who can manage the ever-changing market. Since the recession of 2008, the job market has shifted from an employer-driven climate to an employee-driven market, and this is reflected at the top levels of leadership. C-level tenure is dropping, and many industries are crowded with brand-new billion-dollar companies with inexperienced leadership. More unplanned leadership successions occur than ever before.

As the market takes an expanded global outlook, it poses new challenges for hiring at the executive level. These include unprecedented scrutiny from shareholders, pressure to demonstrate ROI growth, increased politicization of the marketplace, and new technology disruptions in industries across the board.

Executive search firms have seen their own disruptions: an increase in networking sites but a drop in quality engagement, changing search algorithms, and the rise of social media recruiting tools. We gathered the six best interviews given by executive search firm professionals this year. They describe how the executive recruiting industry is changing and how to achieve success in the future.

Lou Adler - CEO, The Lou Adler Group

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Lou contends that the majority of top performers are not looking for a lateral job change. Most employers assume a surplus of top talent. In reality, there is a top talent shortage. “If your company still posts jobs that emphasize must-have skills, experiences and personality traits, you're assuming there's a surplus of talent,” Lou says. Fast and cheap are not goals to have when hiring, especially for companies vying to prevail in the talent war. Lou explains in detail how to shift into a mindset of attracting, hiring, and retaining top candidates.

Mark Oppenheimer - Managing Partner of Marlin Hawk Group

Mark foresees more change in the executive search industry in the next few years than the past 10 to 15 years combined. Why? “If you look at search firms, it’s always been very much a reactive mentality to find potential roles in the market,” Oppenheimer says. He advocates seeing the hiring process as a talent ecosystem instead of a set of procedures. Attracting and retaining top talent depends on deep analysis of candidate potential and ability rather than a static list of skills and experience.

George Davis - Leader of CEO search at Egon Zehnder

George Davis

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The formal succession plan of many companies does not comprehensively address replacing C-level executives. Further compounding the issue, most boards of directors have experience in their industry, but not specifically in a CEO transition.

Davis points out that stock prices and shareholder confidence suffer when a succession is unplanned. He therefore emphasizes the need for an experienced executive search firm when conducting a C-level transition; he contends that internal candidate retention is a key issue in this kind of search. “In the days of working for one company for decades and receiving a gold watch when you retired, you didn’t have to worry about internal candidates being disappointed and leaving if they were not selected, or not selected fast enough,” he explains. In this era internal candidates who miss out on a position are at a high risk for leaving.

Tracy Wolstencraft - CEO of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles

McKinsey & Company - The Changing Nature of Leadership

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Wolstencraft points to the growing need for authenticity in an increasingly crowded, uncertain, and unpredictable world. Today’s talent enjoys unprecedented access to a potential employer’s information, and top candidates can be infinitely more informed before making job change decisions. What is the best way to resonate with top candidates while maintaining integrity? He advises, “It gets back to communication. You have to strike a balance between being confident and assertive, while helping folks realize, ‘Here are the risk factors.’”

Emily Parker Myers - CEO of Myers McRae Executive Search

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Myers, who specializes in higher education leadership searches, notes that technology has significantly changed the face of recruiting. New tools allow recruiters to make more connections at a higher speed and interview remotely, which previously was very difficult. However, she emphasizes that relationships are the foundation of a good recruiter. “The foundational key to a successful placement is the interaction you have with a prospect and your client,” she says.

While technology makes communication easier and quicker, there is no substitute for developing a good business relationship with clients and candidates—something that internal search teams cannot offer.

Keith Mullin - Mullin International

Finally, Keith Mullin of Mullin International collected data for over 30 years on thousands of employees making job changes. He found that networking accounts for the most filled jobs at the senior executive level. While search firms are number two, they are a great option for firms whose networks are immature or who need additional help when bringing on a C-level replacement or making a complex leadership transition. See more of his data here.

Recruiting By Job Level

Image: The rate of success drops sharply for traditional job boards, networking sites, and company websites at the executive level and above. However, recruiters account for a consistent percentage of hires across the board, including the 8-10% of hires at the executive level and above. Only personal networking has a higher success rate.

Data from Mullin International, 2016.

How to Improve Your Talent Recruiting Strategy

December 28, 2016 by Lacey Walters

Why is a talent recruiting strategy important? No matter the challenges of the economy and the market, hiring managers need to attract top talent to move their business goals forward. Without good people at every level, the company will miss out on its top potential. This isn’t something that can happen overnight, it takes a unified long-term plan.

Company Website

Start with the company website. This is the first place most candidates will go to learn about a company. If there is no Careers page, create one. It should be a user-friendly invitation to learn about the company as a whole – not just be a list of job openings. The Careers page should tell a story about all the great reasons to work for the company.

Paint a picture of what the company offers as a total experience: the company history, office culture, value of products, employee testimonials, and the geographical setting. Demonstrate why the company is good to work for through social media, photos, company news, industry awards, company events, and employee testimonials. Talk about what the company offers, not just the openings.

Job Ads

Analyze job openings advertised by the company. Is the focus on requirements or on selling the highlights of the job to top candidates? In a candidate-driven market, top talent is likely to pass over job postings full of must-haves and buzzwords. Instead, write job descriptions to highlight challenges, experiences, authority, and advancement opportunities. Attract and sell first, screen second.

Consider passive candidates who are working for the competition right now. What do they want to hear? What opportunities can the company offer them that they are missing out on right now?

When posting an ad, have a current employee apply for the job through the site and report back if they had any difficulties. Some online forms are long and difficult. Candidates do not want to go through pages and pages of manual data entry when everything is already listed on the resume. Streamline the process as much as possible.

Internal Referral Programs

An internal referral program is a low-expense and high-reward talent recruiting source. Internal referrals have the highest percentage of successful hires of any sourcing method.

Firstly, offer an incentive bonus to employees when they refer a candidate. Make sure that the employees know the program exists, and remind them of it often. It shows employees that their contribution is appreciated.

Second, thank employees publicly for referrals. Take time to seriously review referred resumes and follow up with the employee who referred them. While an incentive is important, most employees make referrals because they think someone is genuinely a good fit for the company.

Lastly, keep in touch with exceptional employees who have left the company. They are often a trustworthy source of referrals.

Third-Party Recruiters

Recruiters are an effective way to source high-quality candidates, but they need information from the hiring manager in order to succeed. Take time for an in-depth consultation call so they completely understand the requirement. Make sure that they know the top selling points of the job and have a compelling story to present to candidates.

Trying to find a good recruiter on a deadline during a crisis is not a good idea. Build a relationship with a recruiter ahead of time. A good recruiter will always be open to potential future job openings, and they will have the benefit of extra time to get to know the company before a job opening comes along. Choose a recruiter who knows the industry well and who has a strong pipeline of candidates that could fill the company’s tough positions.

Track the effectiveness of all talent recruiting channels. Measure the number of hires, the cost per hire, the tenure of the employees hired, and if possible, a cost and revenue analysis. This puts the company in a better place to set appropriate budgets and prioritize methods that work.

Need to get your candidate recruiting strategy on track? Contact us at info@bluesignal.com.