Work from Red Canary

I Do! Offers that Start a Good Sales Marriage

Lee Salz — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:36:03 GMT

When companies negotiate offers, while they may "win" the candidate, they damage the relationship. This person is on-boarded with the worst scar tissue of all, a lack of trust

After a lengthy screening process, the hiring committee feels they have found the right sales candidate for the company. Now comes the tricky part, how do you design an offer and go through the offer stage of the process without damaging the relationship with the candidate? Damaging? Many companies are not prepared to go through the offer step of the process and, due to that, damage the relationship with the candidate. This leads to one of two unfortunate conclusions. Either they lose the candidate or the candidate comes on-board, but with scar tissue. Applying some of the best practices from the sales world into a sales talent screening program helps to avoid that scenario. The offer stage of the hiring process parallels the proposal phase of sales. Best practices in sales say that you don't present a proposal until a thorough needs analysis has been completed. If a sales person is presenting a proposal to a prospect, he has acquired the information needed to design a solution, has discussed budget, has a full understanding of their solution requirements, and has set an expectation on pricing. This is certainly the case if the sales person is going to be successful in winning the account.

Many sales talent screening programs focus exclusively on screening the candidate for fit, but do not consider the needs for the offer phase of the process

Looking at this process in contrast to the offer stage of the sales talent screening program, many of the same best practices from sales hold true. During the screening program, information needs to be gathered from the candidate to determine their financial requirements. Unfortunately, many sales talent screening programs focus exclusively on screening the candidate for fit, but do not consider the needs for the offer phase of the process. This leads to a last minute scurry to mine the information from the candidate or they design the offer blindly. Neither of those are best practices for the offer stage. In sales, it is said that if you are going to lose, lose early. This prevents you from making a huge investment in a relationship that will not generate revenue. The parallel to screening sales talent is understanding the financial requirements of the candidate early enough to stop the process before over-investing in the relationship. There is no point in continuing a process with a candidate that requires a compensation level 25% above what you can offer. This probably seems logical, but hiring executives rarely focus on this as a de-selection element early in the process. Just like discussing pricing with a prospect, the financial needs discussion requires finesse. The candidate knows that you are asking questions about their financials, just like a prospect knows a sales person is fishing for budget information. The better-skilled sales people tell their prospects, "I don't want to waste your time by getting you excited about a solution that will not fit in your budget constraints…"

The compensation plan should be reviewed at the point where you have a genuine interest in pursuing the candidate and they have a complete enough understanding of the company that they will be able to comprehend it

In much the same way, this discussion can be had with the candidate, "I don't want to excite you about an opportunity that might not be a match for your financial needs. As you look at making a change in position, what thoughts have you given to your compensation requirements?" With continued finesse, you can dig further into the mix of salary versus commission. Some candidates may rebuff this discussion as they feel the information will be used against them. In some instances, they are justified for having that concern. Hopefully, that is not the case in your company. We'll come back to this point later. The bottom line is that the two goals of this phase are to gather information that allow you to formulate an offer and to de-select those candidates whose requirements exceed your financial package. In sales, the proposal phase should not be like a magic show. The prospect should not be shocked by what is included in the proposal. In essence, the proposal is the documentation of what has already been discussed. No surprises. The same holds true for candidates. The time to review the compensation plan details is not after they are hired, or even at the offer stage. The compensation plan should be reviewed at the point where you have a genuine interest in pursuing the candidate and they have a complete enough understanding of the company that they will be able to comprehend the compensation plan.

Develop an offer based on what was learned from the candidate that represents the best offer you are willing to make

One of the core requirements associated with any process is that it is measurable. The offer phase of the sales talent screening program should be measured statistically to determine effectiveness. The key statistic is number of offers made versus ones that are accepted. If the acceptance level is less than 80%, the process should be reviewed by asking the following questions. 1. At what point of the process are the candidate's financial requirements reviewed? 2. When it is known that the candidate's financial requirements exceed the package, is the candidate removed from the process? 3. At what step is the compensation plan reviewed with the candidate? 4. In what level of detail is the compensation plan reviewed with the candidate? 5. How often is the initial offer to the candidate rejected, and subsequently, negotiated successfully? The last bullet in the list above ties back to my opening position about damaging the relationship. Again, this ties back to lessons that can be learned from sales. Many years ago, a procurement training specialist shared a pearl about the counsel he gives to sales people who ask about pricing strategy. He said, "Provide us with the best pricing that you feel comfortable providing and either way you are happy." This always puzzled sales people so he explained further. "If you provide your best pricing and are selected, you are happy because you won the account. If you are not selected because we found lower pricing elsewhere, you are happy because you would not have been happy at that price point. Again, either way you are happy." Consider this when making an offer to the sales candidate. Develop an offer based on what was learned from the candidate that represents the best offer you are willing to make. Early in the process, tell the candidate that you don't negotiate offers, but rather put your best offer on the table upfront. It demonstrates a professional message to the candidate and reduces their fear of attempts to lowball them. When companies negotiate offers, while they may "win" the candidate, they damage the relationship. This person is on-boarded with the worst scar tissue of all, a lack of trust. The sales person will always be on the look out for the company to try to cheat them. As with any component of the sales talent screening process, preparation is the key to success. Organize your team and design a process that achieves your desired results. This will allow you to create longlasting, fruitful sales marriages.

Lee B. Salz is a sales management guru who helps companies hire the right sales people, on-board them, and focus their sales activity using his sales architecture® methodology. He is the President of Sales Architects, the C.E.O. of Business Expert Webinars and author of “Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager.”

Lee is an online columnist for Sales and Marketing Management Magazine, a print columnist for SalesforceXP Magazine, and the host of the Internet radio show, “Secrets of Business Gurus.” Look for Lee's new book in February 2009 titled, "The Sales Marriage” where he shares the secrets to hiring the right sales people. He is a passionate, dynamic speaker and a business consultant. Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitecture.com or 763.416.4321.

Why So Much Software Stinks

Alyssa Dver — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT

All too often in the software industry, we have CEOs that are the product’s original parent. As a subordinate PM, its pretty impossible to tell that CEO what to do or what their baby should grow up to be.

In an age where customer is king, why does so much software fail to meet our expectations? After more than 30 years perfecting the science of software development, why is this industry still so amused by its own “opportunities”? Applications are often buggy, inflexible and incomplete. Programs are often difficult to use and ugly to look at. And are so full of features and so empty of usability that even the help files need help. I’ll give you one good reason: poor product management. I have spent more than a decade teaching people how to be better product managers. Between my book and presentations, I have reached well over 30,000 people, so if there is anyone to blame for poor product management – especially in software – its probably me. But I dare say, poor PM is rarely due to a lack of knowledge. It’s usually due to a few things that are more the fault of the company than the product manager.

Why Product Management hits the wall

1. First, product managers need to be empowered – and yes, this starts with having a product manager that has the confidence and existing respect to do the job right. By promoting the lowest man on the totem pole into the product management position, this isn’t a plan for success.

Most product plans are built from the idea forward instead of the sales opportunities back

Often times, the CEO or hiring manager doesn’t know what a product managers does – or worse yet, they don’t want to hire anyone that may challenge their own standing. All too often in the software industry, we have CEOs that are the product’s original parent. As a subordinate PM, its pretty impossible to tell that CEO what to do or what their baby should grow up to be. This can be equally hard when the engineering management is overly opinionated or the sales team has the company by its ‘ears’. Therefore, organizations should make sure that they take time to hire the right product manager and then give him/her the opportunity to bring forward relevant data and the wisdom of the multiple crowds that the PM is chartered to interact with. 2. The second reason product managers can’t get the job done well is due to panic. Organizations tend to panic when the competition moves or the market shifts. Companies also panic at the possibility that if they don’t change the current course and stay ‘agile’, that one demanding customer could cause the company to sink. This panic happens in all sized companies and in all economic conditions. Why? Because most product plans are built from the idea forward instead of the sales opportunities back. Rarely are products built after market requirements have been gathered and understood and built into a well thought out and committed vision, strategy and roadmap. Because without a vision, a strategy and solid roadmaps, implementation is a result of reaction, and reaction is a first cousin of panic. 3. And the third reason product management is forever in a no-win zone, is that as an industry, we still don’t teach and support product management as a profession. We continue to pull people out of supporting roles such as pre-sales, engineering and other functions which are like the backup singers to the front man. Ironically what makes a product manager so great is that they are in fact, a bit like divas. They actually like to have the microphone and spotlight which is how and why they can carry off such a precarious role. This is why product managers often move on to be entrepreneurs and CEOs. So while professional product management is getting more and more organized through the many books, classes, certifications, and conferences happening these days, it is far from a consistent discipline from company to company and many CEOs still question its value.

Few benchmarks and high expectations: product management is easy to target as the reason why software products continue to miss the mark.

As long as product management isn’t appreciated and supported by corporate leaders, it will continue to contribute to the failure of so many software initiatives. Products will continue to be loaded with features that no one ever uses. They will continue to be late and unstable. Cross functional teams will remain dysfunctional as documentation will always be in catch up mode and the sales team will free wheel it by committing to things that aren’t in any existing business plan. And marketers will continue to position their products as the most robust when all the customer really wants is the one that is most reliable. It all points to the lack of good product management – sometimes because of the product manager but more often, due to a lack of support from the company they keep.

Kicking the bad habits of Software Project Management (VIDEO)

Craig Fitzpatrick — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:51:11 GMT

Craig Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Devshop gives a 50 minute talk on how to kick the bad habits of project management.

Developer Compensation: A New Reality?

Suzie Dingwall Williams — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:04:31 GMT

"Software developers are in the same position as automotive industry workers 20 years ago. They are frustrated that their skills no longer garner a premium, yet hamstrung by few options currently available."

Borrowed from the blog Venture Law Lines Suzanne is a partner at Venture Law Associates LLPThe compensation plans we have been designing for our later stage software clients have become increasingly light on employee retention and incentive features, such as stock option grants. The trend is an inexorable one, best explained by one client as follows: "Software engineering has evolved from being highly prized to being just another skill set, and compensation has been adjusted accordingly." In contrast to emerging industries like clean tech and biotech, the skills needed to scale a software business are widely available in many parts of the world. Recruiting employees is no longer driven by the need to attract specialists from a scarce candidate pool; now, it is largely driven by cost. (This is not great news for Canada, once the near-shoring alternative for the US, unless our dollar take a tumble). Where does that leave employees? One HR professional summed it up: "Software developers are in the same position as automotive industry workers 20 years ago. They are frustrated that their skills no longer garner a premium, yet hamstrung by few options currently available." In this new software reality, how SHOULD compensation schemes incent software employees? We're working on it.

Are You Decent? The Naked Truth About Product Management Performance

Alyssa Dver — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:43:47 GMT

The risk to a PM is that they really aren’t an all-star, but a mediocre meddler...how do you know if you are respected or simply tolerated?

It takes an ambi-brained individual to be a great product manager - someone who understands and explains technical and financial data while being creative and communicative enough to develop new product ideas, innovative marketing plans and better sales tools. The question is: how do you know if you are a respected PM or simply a tolerated one? Do you know if your peers and managers think you do a good job? How do you compare with other PMs in other organizations?

PMs and snowflakes: no two are the same

Let’s first consider some facts. There are no college degrees in product management and few accredited classes. Up until recently, there were few professional certification programs or educational conferences which still may not be widely accessible for many existing or aspiring PMs.

it is difficult to say that there is a “correct” way to do product management. Given the fuzzy job description, it is difficult to measure whether a particular PM is doing a good job.

In December 2006, Pragmatic Marketing released the results of its annual Product Management and Marketing survey. As usual, the survey was chock full of interesting data such as how a PM typically spends his/her time, how much they earn, and who they report to. Every year, the survey points out the fact that there is a lot of deviation between how organizations implement product management. In researching organizations for my book, Software Product Management Essentials, plus working with and presenting to hundreds of PMs, it is clear that no two PMs operate the same. In fact, two PMs within the same organization will prioritize and implement different things that reflect their own experience and knowledge. For example, some PMs do pricing analysis multiple times per year, others rarely. The frequency is not tied to the type of product or market but rather the level of importance precise pricing is to the PM and the organization. Some PMs use packaged software tools to collect and manage requirements. Yet other PMs rely on Microsoft® Excel® or Microsoft® Word® to get the job done. This is not a measure of the organization’s size and budget, but a matter of the individual PM’s style and preference. Some organizations outsource product management (or at least parts of it). Other companies are completely against this idea. Indeed, it is difficult to say that there is a “correct” way to do product management.

Talk with key people in all the functions you interact with: Engineering, Finance, Marketing, Support, and most importantly, Sales.

Given the fuzzy job description, it is difficult to measure whether a particular PM is doing a good job. We all know that individual performance reviews can be biased by political and personal relationship issues. Don’t ignore reviews, but definitely factor in whether the person reviewing the PM has prior PM experience in order to really understand what a PM does. It isn’t like Engineering where the code gets done correctly, on time or not. It isn’t like Finance where the balance sheet balances. It isn’t Sales, Marketing, or Support, either. It’s a little of all of the above yet never quite as quantifiable. PMs are not usually measured on anything tangible. Success is measured using subjective criteria tied to how well the PM was able to get the other groups to do their own jobs. However, if you are a PM, here are some very practical ways to measure your worth within an organization.

1. Tell me honestly, does this job make me look bad?

Sounds so obvious and easy but most people don’t do it. Ask your colleagues outright how they feel about your work and contributions. Ask them what they think you do and if that effort is valuable to them personally. Have a face-to-face lunch meeting or coffee break—don’t use email to do this! You need to see body language as much as hear verbal feedback. Talk with key people in all the functions you interact with: Engineering, Finance, Marketing, Support, and most importantly, Sales. Talk to your manager and other managers. Ask for honest feedback and let them know that you are interested in ensuring you are contributing valuable, priority product management services. Be prepared for criticism and listen! Remember that you don’t have to agree but you do need to listen with an open mind. You can respond to the comments with your own perspective but don’t get defensive. Listen and learn what other people think. Again, you don’t have to agree with them but like gathering product requirements, carefully note the feedback. Decide later what to accept and change. Don’t just ask what they think about your job performance, ask why. If someone says you should be more decisive, ask them why making more timely decisions is better. Ask what the impact of your lack of timeliness has been. You may not be aware of some critical things that may or may not be due to your own actions. If your colleague’s feedback is that you are not a good communicator, ask why they feel that way.

Who is the best PM you know? How can you be more like that person? Can he/she be your mentor? Has another PM asked you to mentor them?

Hopefully they can offer examples of times when they felt that you didn’t communicate well. Ask for suggestions. At worst, he/she may realize that being a good communicator is easier said than done. At best, they may have some great ideas or experiences that you can benefit from. The magic in asking people about your product management performance is that you not only learn from the voice of your actual customers, you make them feel important by asking their opinion. This is a subtle way to gain and build relationships and the other person feels that you care enough about them to ask for such an intimate favor. Asking someone’s opinion is a true form of flattery. Use it to your advantage to gain valuable information and allies.

2. Don’t just look sharp, be sharp

Luckily, there are a finite number of product management organizations and companies. There are two national organizations: the Association of International Product Management and Marketing and the Product Development & Management Association. PDMA also has a number of regional chapters. There are regional chapters of the product management associations like Silicon Valley Product Management Association and Boston Product Management Association (BPMA). A small number of schools, like University of Washington, also offer a product management program. Now you know where to look, the next step is action. It’s not so hard to do and the amount of information is not overwhelming. Sign up for association and vendor-sponsored newsletters and conferences. These groups also offer webinars and local seminars. Make time to attend one or two national events. Read the handful of books on product management and other related areas. Many product managers are writing blogs and most of the product management associations maintain discussion forums. By doing these things, you become aware what other PMs are doing, what their concerns are, and which best practices are used in other organizations. Don’t be bullied by the media or the marketing people trying to sell you new product management products or services. It’s natural to assume that you aren’t doing enough. The reality is that you may be doing as much as any other PM does. Don’t be swayed by a non-PM, self-proclaimed industry expert to talk about the importance of market requirement documents and use cases. It’s another to know that the vast majority of PMs rarely do any formal market research. Really! That’s not a good thing but it is common. You might even find some PM buddies in or outside of your own company who want to compare notes and share ideas. Maybe you can start a small, informal product manager’s cocktail club in your “spare” time… It’s a wise investment to focus on your most important product—YOU!

Being a PM requires you to prioritize, manage and change an overwhelming number of things. It is a constant challenge to stay informed about organizational issues, industry changes, new technologies, best practices and benchmark data.

3. Assess yourself in a measurable mirror

Ask yourself the following questions: • How many sales calls have you been invited to attend? Is that too many or not enough? Do you decline invitations because you are double-booked? Why haven’t you been invited to more? Is it because Sales has other people who are talented and know the product/market as well as you or is it because the salespeople see you as a liability, not an asset, with customers and prospects? • Do you prioritize a customer meeting over an internal meeting or other diversion? Are you getting in front of as many customers as possible to get product input and better yourself as a PM? • Of the sales presentations/meetings you’ve attended, how many have led to closed sales? You ask Sales to do win/loss reports—ever do one for your own performance? • Can you list three things that you could do better as a PM? Do you have a plan for how to measure and improve those things? • Who is the best PM you know? How can you be more like that person? Can he/she be your mentor? Has another PM asked you to mentor them? • Have you ever been invited to an executive meeting or Board meeting? If not, why? If so, have you been invited back since? • Would your boss hire you again if he/she went to another company? Would your colleagues act as good reference to your future employer? • Why did you become a PM? Have you achieved the vision that you had coming into this position? Do you like the work? Would you recommend the job to others? If not, why? Is it you, or the company, or the work?

Alyssa Dver’s book, “Software Product Management Essentials” has sold over 10,000 copies worldwide. She is regularly interviewed as a product management and marketing expert and has been published in Forbes, BusinessWeek, and Entrepreneur.

4. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

There are no standards for product management and expectations run the gambit. Some organizations want the PM to write technical specs. Others want PMs to write marketing plans. Find out what your organization expects…and if you didn’t do it when you took the job (or got volunteered to do it), it’s never too late to ask. The reality is there are many different expectations in an organization making it impossible to please everyone. Remember that the organizational tone is always set from the top down. Don’t ignore the head as the body will follow! Talk to senior managers. You’ll learn a lot, build rapport and help set the proper expectation for you and others who will someday fill your shoes. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the best PM of them all? Being a PM is no doubt tough. It requires you to prioritize, manage and change an overwhelming number of things. It is a constant challenge to stay informed about organizational issues, industry changes, new technologies, best practices and benchmark data. Not everyone is cut out to be a PM and those who are, aren’t cut from the same cloth. Bare in mind that your product management career is one of your most important products. Manage it much like you would your other products. Gather honest feedback, be diligent, stay informed, and you’ll see the reflection of a great product manager…even naked!

What Are You People Signing? When Americans Hire Canadians

Suzie Dingwall Williams — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:50:07 GMT

Borrowed from the blog Venture Law Lines Suzanne is a partner at Venture Law Associates LLP Accepting a job from an American employer who wants to hire development talent here in Canada? Remember to weed out the Americanisms from your employment contract. We've talked about the differences in termination pay and notice in other posts. Another provision to watch for is the pre-release. This is a term that requires you, if you are terminated, to sign a release before you are entitled to receive your termination pay. The release typically applies to all claims, including ones you ay have as a shareholder. Resist this term. You are entitled in Canada to your pay, release or not. Here's another emerging trend to watch for: some American employers are adding waivers to their agreements that require employees to sue their employers within 6 months of a particular incident. This means that, should you be harassed by your employer for a period of time, and ultimately quit, you will have waived any right to sue unless you bring action from the first date of harassment. Is this reasonable risk management by corporations? Perhaps. Is it enforceable in Canada? Likely not. Before signing up to this provision, make sure you assess the impact of this Americanism on your rights here in Canada. Even if it's likely not enforceable, you probably should not agree to it. Why become the test case?

Tech sales: compensate to motivate

Lee Salz — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:36:02 GMT

In a nutshell

• Sales people do what makes them money, so sales compensation plans should align with company goals
• Plans should motivate on daily basis
• Long sales cycles require special attention
• The Sales Behaviorial Objective aligns action with results over time
• Starts with assimilation quarter, then bonus/points system

One of the most common complaints I hear from executives is that their sales team is not doing the things they feel are most critical to the success of the company. I then ask to see their compensation plan. After a thorough read, I share my impression of what their plan motivates their salespeople to do -- and ask if this is their intention. They usually look at me blankly and say, "No, our intention is for our sales people to…" And thus the disconnect is exposed.

Sales people invest their time on activities that drive their compensation. Plain and simple.

As one executive shared after going through the exercise, "We want our sales people to focus on selling our new product to our existing clients. Yet, we are compensating the sales people in a way that they are better off pursuing new clients." He got it! The incongruence of sales compensation is one of the biggest disconnects in companies. Executives sit in a board room with strategic plans of grandeur, but the plan collapses when they don't address the compensation for the sales troops. It is a very simple equation. Sales people invest their time on activities that drive their compensation. Plain and simple. The thought that sales people will actively and consistently perform activities that are not in their best financial interests is naïve.

When structuring sales compensation plans, a company should strongly consider the goals for the company. Working backwards, the goals for the company drive the structure of the sales compensation plan.

Further complicating matters, there are instances where sales people are compensated for delivering certain results while their managers are compensated on a different set of results. Thus, the sales managers are driving their team consistently with their compensation message, but inconsistently with their sales team members. It creates the visual of the sales manager pushing a boulder up a hill trying to get their team to focus on activities that contradict their income. Best of luck! When structuring sales compensation plans, a company should strongly consider the goals for the company. Working backwards, the goals for the company drive the structure of the sales compensation plan. Thus, they should be directly aligned. If the company's goal is to gain adoption of a new product in the marketplace, the plan should reward sales people for accomplishing this feat. If the goal is to increase revenue with their current clientele, the plan should reward for that. Anyone should be able to read the plan and derive the intended message. The second consideration, when structuring sales compensation plans, is that sales managers and sales people should have alignment with their respective results. If one is compensated for adding new clients and the other for selling a new product to existing clients, and it does matter which is compensated for which, the incongruence causes a paralysis of performance. Making this more daunting is that in complex sales environments, those that have protracted buying cycles, the standard salary and commission model does not create enough of a framework to ensure that the sales team performs the right activities every day. How do you structure the plan so that the team is motivated to do the right things every hour of every day?

Bridging the long cycle gap

Employers also face a challenge of hiring sales people who are concerned about the length of time of the buying cycle in contrast to their earnings. The standard solution is to bridge the gap with a draw.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the big buzz term was MBO (Management by Objective). What if you created a Sales Behavioral Objective?

As you probably know, there are two types of draws. There is the recoverable draw which is, in essence, a loan against the sales person's future commissions. Then, there is the other, the non-recoverable draw which is money, free and clear, to the sales person for some period of time. Nothing good comes out of either of these. The recoverable draw, almost always, puts the sales person in a financial hole. They wake up each morning knowing they owe the company money. No one enjoys the feeling of debt. The non-recoverable draw, often times, creates an earnings cliff. Let's say that the draw is for three months at $2,000 per month. In month four, the sales person probably experiences a significant fall-off in their earnings. The end result is relationship damage between the sales person and the company and a poor corporate investment. How do you structure the sales compensation plan to bridge the earnings gap when recruiting new sales people?

A Creative Approach to Compensation

The challenge of motivating sales people and bridging the sales earnings gap can be solved with a creative compensation approach. In the 1980s and 1990s, the big buzz term was MBO (Management by Objective). Business people were provided with a series of objectives, and, following a performance review, were compensated for achievement of such. What if the MBO concept was applied to sales compensation? What if you created a Sales Behavioral Objective or SBO? If you are reading this and think that I've just created additional sales cost, think again. I'm proposing a reallocation of the dollars paid to your sales team. A percentage of the dollars normally budgeted for commissions would be allocated for an SBO bonus. Consider this. A company has a typical buying process with its clientele that is six months long. They pay their sales people a base salary of $60,000. At 100% of plan, the sales person earns $90,000 or $30,000 over their base salary. However, no commissions are earned in their first six months of employment due to the buying cycle. The company, as a means of managing sales behaviors and attracting strong sales talent, budgets $15,000 of the $30,000 of commissions for the SBO bonus. The sales person is then eligible to earn a $3,500 bonus each quarter in year one. At the beginning of each quarter, the sales person has a formal review where the results of the prior quarter are shared and the mission for the second is presented. The SBO changes from quarter to quarter based on the tenure of the sales person and the needs of the business. The SBO is also not a "gimme." 100% accomplishment should be a stretch goal, but achievable for the sales person.

A Sales Behaviorial Objective walk-through

In the first quarter, the overall mission is getting the sales person assimilated into the company's environment. The measurements of success at the end of the quarter are: a business/territory plan, the ability for the sales person to call on prospects, and knowledge of the products.

Results are a function of doing the right things each and every day

As measurement of achievement, the company provides a written test on product knowledge, a scored, mock sales call, a scored, mock, sales presentation, and review of their business/territory plan. Based on the sales person's accomplishments, they will receive a percentage of the $3,500 up to 100%. In future quarters, a points system is put in place, making the SBO entirely objective, tied to performing the activities deemed critical for the success of the business. In each quarter, the goal is for the sales person to achieve 100 points. The main objective in the second quarter for this company is to have face-to-face meetings with qualified prospects. They are looking for their sales person to have twenty face-to-face meetings in the quarter as a way to jump start their sales pipeline. Thus, the SBO compensates five points for each meeting held. At the end of the quarter, whatever percentage the sales person delivers of the 100 points, with a minimum achievement of 75%, is paid as a bonus. This includes those who overperform. Why penalize them for doing more of the right things? What about quality? How do you know they are doing the right things in the prospect meeting? Hopefully, you measured their proficiency in doing those things in the first quarter. The SBO program, in future quarters, is designed by identifying key, measurable sales activities aligned with the needs of the business. Place weighting on the activities commensurate with your expectations of the sales person.

The Benefits of the SBO Plan

Some of you are probably thinking, "No way, I pay for results!" Well, results are a function of doing the right things each and every day. Results are not miraculous. They are formulaic. The reality is that you have skin in the game with the SBO. As a business executive, you and your team are tasked with determining what it takes for a sales person to generate the results you desire. If you have done your job of identifying the success metrics and the sales person achieves those, the results take care of themselves. The SBO is not just for year one since the challenge of managing sales behaviors is perpetual. One important key is to budget enough dollars for the SBO bonus that it gets the attention of the sales people, but not so high that it overshadows commissions. The bottom line is that the SBO program gives you the tool kit to channel the energy of the sales team toward achieving that goal. It also provides you with a mechanism to attract sales talent to your company where, right on day one, they need to perform to earn dollars over their salary. One other benefit of this program for those companies with lengthy buying processes, the SBO provides you with a way to assess the sales person's performance in a way that you can identify, more quickly, those who will not be successful in your company. One thing is for sure, the executive team of the company in the story knows that if they paid a sales person $15,000 SBO bonus in year one, year two and beyond are going to be stellar.

Lee B. Salz is the CEO of Business Expert Webinars, President of Sales Dodo, and author of “Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager.” Known as “The Sales Dodo,” Lee specializes in helping companies and their sales organizations adapt and thrive in the ever-changing world of business. He is an online columnist for Sales and Marketing Management Magazine and the host of the Internet radio show, “Secrets of Business Gurus.” Look for Lee's new book in 2009 titled, "The Sales Marriage… How to Hire the Right Sales People." He is a passionate, dynamic speaker and a business consultant. Lee can be reached via email at lsalz@salesdodo.com, or by phone at 763.416.4321.

Say what? Collected quotes from two+ years of canary duty

Trevor Stafford — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:39:26 GMT

Finding my favourite quotes in Red Canary was a lot like going through the shoebox of orphan photographs I keep in my closet.

That battered, polaroid-choked carton invokes a mix of grins and groans – and I felt the same rueful nostalgia while flipping through two years of articles.

But just as fashion 'indiscretions' slide into 'style', editorial right angles ultimately get hammered straight. And I think this iteration of Red Canary has found its voice. If I can offer any proof, it's in this selection of bon mots, as collected from interviews, comments, and individuals both more articulate and credible than myself.

Enjoy.

And always.

Thank You for visiting.

Humour

"The job candidate was waiting on the couch in reception…there was a fruit bowl on the little table in front of him. He took a piece and bit in…but it wasn’t what he had in mind, so he put it back."
Anonymous
10 Interview Horror Stories

"Rule number one: I don’t work with assholes"

Stowe Boyd
'Advisory' Capital

"I chose poorly when I got my first computer, a TRS80. I had to type in 50 pages of code to play hangman."
Craig Fitzpatrick, CEO, Devshop
Devshop: Shoeing the Shoemakers

"General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters"
Guide to Hiring Women, 1943

Start-up Lessons

"With technology now, your competition isn’t just coming from Mississauga or Scarborough, it’s worldwide. You don’t know half of your competition because they can’t be Googled. You think that you only have a few competitors and you just get smashed."
Bryan Kerdman
Smooth Ex-operator

"The final fight is in software. Apple is experimenting with a new business model. It could change how applications on the mobile platform will be distributed and monetised."
Tim Tang
iPhone, BlackBerry, and the Android

"Don’t ever underestimate the role that luck plays in your life...I’d be very happy to say that all of this is my own doing, but I can’t. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to meet the people I did (in the early days) my career could’ve gone in a completely different direction."
Leila Boujnane, CEO, Idee
Picture perfect: A profile of image-recognition company Idee

"Get out from behind John A. MacDonald’s skirts and get onto the world stage. Use a global yardstick not a "provincal" one!"

Jim Murphy
One Red Question - greatest tech challenge

"There’s a lot of lessons learned in that first 30 months and a lot of mistakes made too. You have to make them and you have to learn by them, and adjust."
Kevin Dwyer
Interview: Kevin Dwyer

"Bear in mind that VCs spread their risk across several companies. You, on the other hand, only work for one company at a time. They’re not necessarily smarter than you—they just get to make more bets."
Mario Laudi
Know Thy VC

"A start-up is essentially an Agile business – you wake up every morning and never know what fire you’ll have to put out or what change of plans you’ll have to make"
Craig Fitzpatrick
Agile as a management method and organizational philosophy

"I think the Canadian headspace is that commercialization is viewed as a dirty thing whereas pure research is clean"
Charles Plant
INTERVIEW: Charles Plant, Advisor, Market Readiness Programs, MaRS

"Shut up and execute."

Roy Pereira.
Startup success: People, money and opportunity (Part I)

"I’m not so foolish to think that a website is the only aspect of technology marketing, but if the public face of your company looks like Jimmy Durante, then I have doubts about the efficacy of everything else you’re doing."
Trevor Stafford
290,307 reasons why this is the best marketing I've ever seen from a Canadian technology company

People

"Imagine a hill with two tigers, extraordinary players come with extraordinary expectations and extraordinary egos."
Ashok Kalle
Ashok Kalle: Benevolence and good business on the 'Pathway' to success

"Hire intelligent, creative, kickass people. You shouldn’t care about what language they know or whether you have a position that’s right for them."

Brad Sim, COO, Sandvine
The Sandvine Way

"90% of technology job descriptions are a lot like a bad blind date. They say the same things – in the same vaguely selfish way"
Trevor Stafford
It's not you, it's me: A blind date guide to job descriptions that don't suck

"Don’t shy away from uber-talent because of compensation. If Michael Jordan wanted to play for you, would you pay him for it? What’s winning worth to you?"
Mario Laudi
7 hiring tips for startups

"You cannot hire masses of asses and you can't settle for second-best."
Scott Broder
Mr. What's Next

"We’ve really used the mafia theory to hire: somebody needs to vouch for you...and then they’re responsible for you doing well."
Dave Wessinger CTO, PointClickCare
Profile: PointClickCare

"The raw material of technology products (whether services, software or hardware) is time. The product can only be as good as the raw material – the time and creativity of the people building it." Its best to start with great raw materials – which means hiring the right people"
Colin Toal
One Red Question - greatest tech challenge

"The cost of losing a first-year sales hire is more than $120,000. 60% of sales hires don’t make it past their first year."
Theresa Spengler
Startup Sales Talent: The Good, The Bad, The 2.0

Careers

"Because programmers don’t usually think in terms of careers, they often get blown from job to job like a leaf in a gale, until they find themselves in a dead end job with nowhere to go, and wonder 'how did I get here?"

Bruce Taylor
Career Plan for Devs? What's that?

"How drunk I am on weekends (as surmised by photos on Facebook) does not have anything to do with how I perform on the job"
Anonymous
Can you be Googled?

Why Are Good Product Managers So Hard To Find?

Alyssa Dver — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:33:10 GMT

Why would anyone want to be a Product Manager? They are responsible without being accountable. They have no staff, and rarely have any budget. They are the first to get the call when there is a product problem and usually last to be recognized for the success. Their email is stuffed with cc’s from every department. Their to-do list is well beyond realistic and because there is always another version being planned, they only see momentary light at the end of each release. Anyone must be crazy to do this job! Product Managers may not be “normal” in fact. They are a different breed. Both right- and left-brained, they need to understand technical information and be creative marketers – at the same time. They are master communicators acting as evangelists and educators while digested huge amounts of financial and technical information. They have the confidence to be product champions and at the same time, need to be great listeners.

Great product managers gather regular honest feedback from colleagues and management. They know that effective communication in all forms (verbal, written, body language, etc.) is quite possibly the most important skill to being a great PM.

Product Managers need to be tough enough to withstand personal and product criticism. After all, they are perpetually showcasing and defending their 'babies' against internal and external competition.

Product Managers: Born or Made?

Finding good product managers isn’t easy – just ask hiring managers or recruiters. Product Managers don’t come out of college with majors in product management or resumes that state it as an objective.

Outstanding product managers want to know what’s new and cool so they read prolifically, watch a variety of TV and subscribe to all kinds of e-newsletters. Regardless of their product type, they expolore new consumer gadgets and technologies.

Product Managers are often taken from the internal ranks of engineering or pre-sales support. Whether sequestered because no one else wanted to do it or they simply have a knack with customers (i.e. “a personality”), product managers are often created by the organization that just can’t find someone otherwise. As such, the biggest complaint among product managers and their executive bosses is that PMs don’t come prepared to manage the business. They lack financial skills as well as the ability to create and explain product visions or strategy. There is a long distance between ‘ifthen-else’ and product roadmaps. Additionally, the multi-tasking challenges of product management easily overwhelm these types of people who are at their best when focused towards delivering a definable, measurable job. Product managers can never be perfectionists nor can they be flustered by constant interrupts. The best Product Managers are liberal arts types. This doesn’t mean that they have liberal arts degrees, but rather they are well-rounded, intrigued individuals. They are interested in popular culture, people and new technology.

It may seem obvious that one must engage customers, prospects and internal personnel in the quest to be the best possible Product Manager. However, few Product Managers talk with these audiences in a planned and accomplished way.

Outstanding Product Managers want to know what’s new and cool so they read prolifically, watch a variety of TV and subscribe to all kinds of e-newsletters. Regardless of their product type, they explore new consumer gadgets and technologies. New product ideas are often triggered by or even borrowed from other innovations. Because of the overwhelming amount of work and technical focus on many organizations, it can be hard for Product Managers to stay fresh and innovative. Great Product Managers know that creativity is enabled when they are constantly exposed to completely different, paradigm-breaking ideas.

How a PM should spend time

Ideally, Product Managers should spend 50-60% of their time interacting with outside people (customers, prospects, consultants, analysts, etc.) and 15-25% with internal personnel. This may vary depending on the product development phase but overall, if paperwork or other administration is taking more than 25% of a Product Manager’s time, they probably aren’t adding great value to the organization. In fact, great Product Managers make it part of their job plans to take communications classes and gather regular honest feedback from colleagues and management. They know that effective communication in all forms (verbal, written, body language, etc.) is quite possibly the most important skill to being a great PM.

Needles and Product Haystacks

So how do you find great Product Managers? Here are some interview questions that may help identify a great PM: Why did you select the education path you did? An ideal answer illustrates someone’s interest in general learning. They may have a business or engineering degree, for example, but did they take other non-related electives? Are they generally curious and interested in the world or are they simply interested in getting a lucrative job? Is this person a constant learner or someone who just checks the boxes to gain advancement?

Your company may not make iPods but knowing how they work might give your PM some good installation or interface ideas for your company’s product.

Are they open minded to learning new things or do they prefer to apply straightforward rules to problems that have absolute answers? Product Managers rarely obtain truly correct answers and rarely can apply proven decision making methods. What TV shows do you watch?Despite what educators tell you, watching some TV can actually relax your mind and open it up to creativity. Being tuned into popular culture, no matter what product you support, is important. Not only does it help you to participate in relationship building small talk (the chit chat kind!), but it also clues you into ideas that clearly have already won mass acceptance. What newsletters, magazines, etc. do you subscribe to (online and hard copy)?As part of constant learning, this highlights a person’s interest in knowing what’s going on beyond the obvious internal and industry news. There is no right answer here but rather a collection of different and thought provoking media is ideal. Knowing about new media and how hard/easy it is to use firsthand is great so a PM can evaluate whether it would be effective with his/her own audiences. Also knowing what one’s own audiences reads is helpful is so many ways including being better prepared to talk with/write for that press if the opportunity is available. What do you do to remain innovative? This is a tough question and relates to the above interest in staying abreast of news, innovation and a diversity of topics. However, few people do this deliberately. An ideal PM candidate will indicate that they are interested in a variety of things and make sure that they ingest all types of information to ensure their minds stay fit and flexible. How well do you communicate? A person who communicates well will know it from specific feedback and experience they have had. A great communicator works hard to constantly improve their craft by writing, presenting, and conscientiously interacting with people. Most importantly, the great communicator always seeks out feedback, quantitatively and qualitatively. Do you like interacting with people? Why? Many technical people will say that they are uncomfortable interacting with people. This is a red flag for PMs! To cull the well-rehearsed interview pitch from the genuinely interested PM, the answer to “Why” should include the ability to learn from other people, gain new ideas, and challenge their own communication skills – especially listening. What is your ultimate goal as a PM? Product Management is a great stepping stone to any other function within the organization. It is a great way to sample all the functions in order to determine one’s next career step. Often people enter Product Management to experience the heart of the business with aspirations towards being a CEO. Rarely people make PM their end goal which is not a bad thing.

Start-Up Overtime: To Pay, Or Not To Pay?

Suzie Dingwall Williams — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:20:41 GMT

Borrowed from the blog Venture Law Lines

I keep a running list on my desk of issues to watch. (I know, I know: it’s a pathetic substitute for a hobby. Maybe I should give Sudoku another shot.) Near the top of the list for the last two years has been this note: “watch for class action lawsuit against successful start-ups (and possibly VCs) for unpaid overtime.” Despite the well-publicized lawsuits by bank teller and others, high tech companies in Ontario largely remain in denial about the fact that laws regarding overtime apply to them.

Generally speaking, in Canada overtime is payable at a rate of time and a half for each hour worked in excess of 40-48 per week (depending on the province). This standard does not apply if you are in an exempt category, or in a category for which special rules apply. Here’s where it gets tricky.

In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act is full of special exempt categories. My friend and labour law god Dan McKeown likens the Act to “a big old Victorian house with lots of tiny little rooms.” One such tiny little room is a category called “information technology professionals…[who] work on information systems based on computers and related technology.” In other words, IT help desk and other support people.

Many high tech companies in Ontario are dancing on the head of the “IT professionals” pin and applying it to all of their personnel – code developers, product support, engineering etc. Another technique is to provide most staff with the appearance of a managerial or supervisory role (both of which also are exempt from overtime). It’s not clear to me that either is a good defense to a claim for overtime.

The situation in Ontario differs in British Columbia, where the province has decided, as a policy matter, to create a broad exemption from overtime for “high tech professionals” which would include workers other than IT support. A few years ago, CATA and other groups lobbied for Ontario to adopt a similar change, in order to create a business friendly high tech environment. That appeal has gone unanswered.

Where does that leave Ontario high tech? Larger public companies have, for the most part, have either mandated that there will be no overtime, or acknowledged overtime and, to manage cash flow, indicated that overtime is to be taken as vacation pay. Of course, nothing helps enlightenment like a class action suit; in 2006 a US-wide class-action suit was launched against IBM by its high tech staff, which encouraged IBM and others to address the issue.

But for many start-ups and VC-backed businesses, the issue appears largely unaddressed. As a company scales, this can become a ticking time bomb. There are a number of ways to address the matter early and often. Want information? Give us a call, or come to our workshop on offers May 26.

5 Ways your Career can Thrive in Turbulent Times

Alan Kearns — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:01:41 GMT

Currently you are hearing mostly negative news - lay-offs paired with the mortgage crisis incurring financial challenges, $106 a barrel of oil, the rising Canadian dollar and the "R" word - yes the recession seems to appear in all of the major news stories. This economic phase we are entering is more uncertain than those we have seen in a while.

George sensed that people were looking for more of an experience....he saw slow and green

You may have had a situation where your department was being outsourced, where the bank called in the loan on your business enterprise or you didn't get the promotion you were expecting. Many professionals choose paths such as working for the Government, teaching and medicine for some assurance of predictability and stability. Why do some people thrive in uncertain circumstances? Why do others really struggle, never seeming to reach their potential, especially after unexpected set backs in their careers? Do you know with certainty where your career is going this year? This week’s podcast features George Butterfield, the founder of a leading walking & biking touring company, Butterfield & Robinson. For over 42 years, his company has provided over 350 tours per year, from Texas to Tuscany. I will be sharing 5 key ways in which he has built his career and his company by seeing opportunity in unexpected places and events. George's Story George Butterfield grew up in Bermuda and was educated in Canada. He became a Rhodes Scholar and ultimately decided to attend law school. "My father told me doctor, lawyer or accountant. It seemed to me that a professional degree was a nice kind of insurance." During his time in school, he exercised his entrepreneurial spirit by launching both a restaurant and a travel company which specialized in taking students to Europe.

Follow your heart. You cannot make a plan for 40 years out.

Upon graduating from law school, he followed a traditional career path. He joined a mining company as an assistant to the president - the big corporate job. After spending two years along this path, something unexpected occurred. The company asked him to take a new role and move to a different country. He had a decision to make - should he move or should he follow his entrepreneurial spirit. Amidst the variables of this unforeseen situation, which was the best path to take? Where might the best opportunities lie? He chose to take the road less traveled and focused full-time on developing his travel company. My brother-in-law, who helped found the company, often asked George how he would make the rent. George walked to the beat of his own drum. "I will never see a dividend. Fortunately, I have been able to provide a great living for not just myself but the many people who are part of our organization". From the beginning, the company took a different approach. George sensed that people were looking for more of an experience, not the typical 24-hour buffet cruise experience. George saw a different kind of opportunity in European travel. He saw slow and green. Now remember, 40 years ago were different times, neither slow nor green were hip marketing tools. But George loved taking clients to Europe as a way of expanding their horizons and showing others the world from a different and unique perspective. "For me money is nice to have but not the driving factor. The corporate world was too constricting for me. I would do better under my own terms". When you take walking and biking tours, you experience the culture first hand - a very different way from bus tours in which you are shuttled from one site to the next. While yes, it is more predictable, you miss out on great experiences like smelling fresh manure, watching cows graze, battling a flat tire or waiting for sheep to cross a road. His guides play a crucial role in managing events and facilitating the best overall experience. George's company also tends to bring clients to visit areas of the world that have not yet been popularized or overrun with tourists - places with their natural charms in tact. Here are some key things that George's firm does that enables them to succeed in the highly competitive and ever changing world of travel. 5 ways to thrive: 1. Expect the unexpected: George's guides know that every trip will bring a new challenge, something completely unplanned. What is your mindset when you are faced with the unexpected? How do you react when things do not go as anticipated, when you do not get promoted, face a layoff or move from a location? As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that working for you?" Action - Create a Plan B scenario based upon the unexpected, such as having to leave your job. 2. Plan: Carefully think through every detail of each possibility. What is your career plan for the next 3 years? I am amazed at how much work people put into vacation planning but how little they put into career planning. Action - Construct a 3 year plan of what role you would like to have and the steps you need to take to get there. 3. Slow down, watch, and listen: Most of life's best experiences happen when you slow down and connect with people and nature. Action - Take one afternoon this month and go somewhere you normally wouldn't and just think, paying attention to the opportunities of your current situation. 4. Guides: The key to George's business is his guides. They have taken all of these trips before. They understand the culture and the country. Because they bring context and wisdom to their work, they are able to manage the unexpected and help create memorable experiences. Yes, there is the internet, and yes, there are books, however, nothing beats the personal advice of an expert. Action - Meet with a career expert this year (yes, that is a shameless plug). Professionals like myself understand the career planning terrain and culture and may help facilitate a memorable and thought provoking career transition. 5. Enjoy the ride while you are on it: Vacations are wonderful in that when you are on them, time feels infinite. Time is not now, not yesterday nor tomorrow. We tend to smell the roses, notice the scenery and enjoy the moment. Action - Ask yourself, "What do you appreciate about where you currently work?" Action - Next time you read the headlines, take a deep breath, slow down and ask yourself what is great about this? His final piece of advice - "It sounds trite: follow your heart. You cannot make a plan for 40 years out. Whatever you like doing, you will be pretty good at it." By being true to himself, George has influenced thousands of clients for the 40 years that his company has been in business. You need to have courage and smarts. Like George, it is not only good for your soul but your soles as well. Looking to create your own journey? Join our free 1 hour workshop . Call a 800 number from the comfort of your own desk or book an initial consultation for a personal guided tour of where your career can go. Walking along the road with you! Alan Kearns

One Red Question - Is your company lucky to have you or are you lucky to have them?

Trevor Stafford — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:25:00 GMT

Last week I wondered aloud if the reason that job descriptions are so company-centric is that organizations (or perhaps their leaders) develop a kind of hubris in terms of their company being an attractive place to work. So let me put this to you, my fellow workers in software, (to paraphrase Leonard Cohen): Do you feel that you're lucky to have your job...and the company that subsidizes it? Or are they lucky to have your talent or experience? Or is it somewhere in between? What does this mean for how we relate to our jobs and our careers? (remember, you can log in and reply anonymously with the username 'anonymous' and password 'redcanary'

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Product Managers

Alyssa Dver — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:38:37 GMT

You can listen to Alyssa's webinar on this subject here.

Product management is the most contradictory of all professions. Product Managers (PMs) need to be product experts and perpetual students. They must be creative, articulate multimedia marketers, and yet able to speak technology, finance, and legal-ese. No wonder there are so few great Product Managers. After 20 years researching and working with all types of Product Managers, I've boiled down what distinguishes a good Product Manager from a great one into 7 key attributes: 1. Great Product Managers know their product but also knows their own limits. Obviously, a PM needs to know as much about the product as possible including the customers and their use of the product, the competition, the pricing, etc. This doesn’t mean that the PM should know the details of the code or database schema. Nothing ticks off engineers like a know-it-all PM. Yes, the PM should be aware of the overall architecture, what language or toolkit was used, any standards supported, and interoperability requirements. However, leave the development details to the pros. A PM will be more respected for it. 2. A great Product Manager listens first. A PM’s job is to evangelize but the biggest failure in doing this is to assume too much about your audience. Engage and educate people by listening to them first. A great PM will find out specifically what their audience wants to know and the best way to deliver it. 3. Great Product Managers ask why, not what. Great PMs know not to jump on every suggestion made for a product enhancement or pricing adjustment. They ask why the change is important before expending valuable time and resources. Only the answers to “why” can expose if there is already a less obvious solution or if there are other ways to address the opportunity. 4. Great Product Managers are decisive. PMs must make decisions regularly and as such, they should be firm and ready to defend their decisions. Great PMs get data when it’s available and if not, they acknowledge that it is the best decision under the circumstances. They also are prepared to change their decision if more information becomes available and the change is yet positive. 5. Great Product Managers are responsive. Let people know that you aren’t ignoring them. When unresponsive, people assume you are unorganized, pretentious, or incapable. Great PMs are conscientious about their own image and reputation as they are about their product’s. 6. Great Product Managers communicate frequently, concretely, and concisely. The hardest talent may be to say a lot with only a few words. A great way to do this is to use charts, graphs, and other pictorial representation of complex information. Another way is to spend time becoming a great writer and speaker. These are not natural gifts but rather practiced arts which when mastered, are the means to gain and sustain attention and credibility. 7. Great PMs manage passion. Passion is critical and can’t be faked. However, too much passion is annoying. Great PMS are enthusiastic but they don’t lose an honest perspective that not everyone agrees that their baby is beautiful. Great PMs never lose their temper at a colleague or superior. They are the ever level-headed negotiators and influencers. Their opinions are strong but they also strive to obtain win-win. This is an art form as much as it is a personality trait but great PMs have the confidence to do the right thing and do it with style.

It's not you, it's me: A blind date guide to job descriptions that don't suck

Trevor Stafford — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:06:54 GMT

This is a fabricated blind date between a job description (JD) and a potential candidate (TS). TS: Hi there! I'm Trevor, nice to meet you JD: Yes it is. Before you sit down I have a list of things you need to be able to do. TS: Sorry? (reads bulleted list of responsibilities) Uh, well I can do all of these things. I even... JD: Wonderful. As part of your dating obligations you'll be expected to take care of my essential needs -- creativity and innovation are important to me. You also need to work hard, because I'm the best date that you're going to find. I'm such a knockout that I don't even shave my legs. TS: So that's what was in my drink. You know, I'm really looking for a relationship where I can build on what I've learned and explore some new ideas with the right partner. JD: Don't worry, I'm incredibly dynamic, fast-paced and challenging. It says so right on my t-shirt. TS: You know, you remind me of an ex of mine... JD: That's hardly the positive attitude I'm looking for. This relationship requires a 'can-do' approach and great communications skills. You need to innovate and be creative while you work independently in a team. TS: You said some of that already. JD: It's important that you understand my needs. TS: Your needs sound like everyone else's. What about me? How will we grow and what will we share? JD: This isn't about you. I'm a stunning success story, haven't you heard? I just put out a press release! TS: That's great, but what are you like JD: Look, you'll love meeting my demands. Please show me your qualifications. TS: Oh hey! I forgot about my double root canal, I have to run. JD: When you come back we'll evaluate your suitability. Do you have strong problem-solving and communication skills? TS: Cheque please! (runs away) JD: Call me! (shouting) On second thought, just send an email to this generic address!

Sound familiar? It should, because 90% of technology job descriptions are a lot like a bad blind date. They say the same things -- in the same vaguely selfish way. In fact, the impression I get from most job descriptions is that I'd be joining a work gang in service of the great leader. My guess is that a parallel of this scenario plays out out on tech job boards and career pages across the country. Viewers click. They scan. They leave. It doesn't have to be this way.

Four ways to improve your job ads • Write down what your role offers the ideal person. Create a paragraph with that information and call it 'The opportunity' • Don't say what you want them to do. Say what they will get to do • Speak in second-person (you'll) so that they can visualize themselves in the role • Talk positively about your company and its recent wins or product developments

What HR can learn from Advertising There are headlines left, right and centre about Canada's technology talent shortage. So how do you succeed in a lean market? By differentiating. Most technology job descriptions do not differentiate, they ignore three golden rules of advertising: 1) Identify your ideal (target) candidate 2) Put yourself in their shoes 3) Speak to their specific needs and desires (make it more about them and less about you) And if I might add my own pet peeve: 4) Speak well But a job description isn't advertising! Yes, it is. Particularly when there's slim pickin's in them thar fields. A job description is the first (and usually only) contact between your company and your 'perfect' candidate. It's an advertisement for the position and indirectly for your entire company. If you were to have a conversation with a candidate, would you read a job description aloud to them? Of course not. You'd tell them what they'd be working on, introduce them to who they'd be working with, and generally try to help them feel positive about the role. Why don't job descriptions do that? Most technology jobs ads read like instructional movies from the 1950s. Just substitute a toothy 'hey, that's swell!' grin with 'we're fast-paced, dynamic and challenging', and add shiny phrases like 'problem-solving' and 'written and verbal communication' skills and you have half a tech description. How to turn what you've got into something they want You don't need to be a combination of Hemingway and Seth Godin (would that be Sethingway?) to write a good job description. I write 90% of the jobs you'll find on Red Canary and most of the time I'm able to excavate the interesting bits of a job from the sediment. Things get even easier when I know something about the company. My approach? Take that doughy, 'roles and goals' doublespeak and squeeze out the opportunity. Exhibit A Here's an example of a Senior Product Manager role for CiRBA. The original job description is actually pretty decent, I'm merely using it here as an example of how 'decent' can very quickly become 'compelling'. All it took was a visit to CiRBA's website and some interior decorating. Old Description

This privately held, VC-backed vendor of Systems Management solutions has a growing number of Global 3000 clients. Serving industries as diverse as Financial Services, Telecom, Oil & Gas, Technology and Managed Services, CiRBA enables cost-effective virtualization and consolidation. We are seeking a Product Manager to join the Product Management Team. As product manager, you will articulate product features from existing ideas, and help to develop new ideas based on your consolidation and virtualization industry experience, and your contact with partners, customers and prospects. You must possess a unique blend of business and technical savvy; a big-picture vision, and the drive to make that vision a reality.

New Description

Put your stamp on a sizzling product and company that isn’t simply leading its market, it's shaping it. This role blends long-term vision, strategic decision-making, and hands-on tactical savvy. Your industry experience will give you perspective; feedback from partners, customers and prospects will help turn perspective into ideas, and your expertise will turn ideas into well-executed success. It’s the kind of job that has you racing to work on a Monday morning. There are a dozen reasons why CiRBA has been recognized as the #1 virtualization vendor to watch in 2008. Your gusto, big-picture vision and tactical skill could be reason 13. About the Company Few companies are hotter than CiRBA right now. With another round of funding behind it and top-tier partners lined up alongside, this company is out-thinking and out-executing the competition. The executive team are proven veterans and the company expects to grow by almost 100% in 2008. Serving industries as diverse as Financial Services, Telecom, Oil & Gas, Technology and Managed Services, CiRBA’s cost-effective, optimized virtualization continues to attract global interest.

What changed? Where this job description said 'you must', I helped it say, 'you get to' at a company where 'you want to'. The old description told the candidate that they would be joining a team. The new one says they will be valued. I asked myself "what would the right candidate get, career-wise, from this job?". The answer: they get to take a young product to market for a hot company. If I was a product manager I'd be drooling. Why? Because this is the kind of role that would prep me for an even more senior or executive-level job. Bottom line: a description shouldn't hand the reader a ransom note with a list of demands. It should get them excited about the opportunity in front of them.

The single-best reason to write a good job description Chances are good (especially on Red Canary!) that the person reading your job ad is gainfully and even happily employed. Some of them will be 'A-league' talent that's not really looking, but might be curious if the job could improve their career or offered a challenge. Your description needs to be extra enticing if you're going to get even a glimmer of interest from what could be an excellent candidate.

The Counter-Argument Section But we'll be swamped with unqualified applications if we lower our standards! Just because you demonstrate why a job is great doesn't mean you can't also be stringent about what you're looking for. Good candidates want to know they will be challenged. If the job is technically demanding, say so! Besides, would you rather receive 50 resumes that are terrible and one that's perfect, or 10 resumes that hover between rotten and average? But this position is dull! So what! Is the company dull? Is the group dull? Are the customers dull? Is there no room for promotion or professional growth? There's always something about a job that's cool or promising. For example: • Would a junior find growth and professional development in this role? • How much responsibility and/or autonomy would they have? • Would a developer be building from scratch? Would a sales person benefit from a strong support team or good comp plan? Would a product manager get to own a roadmap? • Would they get to work with a particularly accomplished mentor? (Note that young musical prodigies are often described as having 'studied under Maestro so-and-so'.) • What's great about your team or product or methodology? • How is the company doing? Is there job security? • How many people have you hired recently? • Is there a good chance of promotion? • Do you have an example of someone who has moved up fast? Can they comment on the position? Are all jobs sexy? God no. Do all jobs have aspects that might tantalize the right candidate? Absolutely. I don't want people who think we owe them something It's possible that you think your company shouldn't have to write attractive, candidate-focused job descriptions. It's possible that you think people should earn their jobs and that applicants are lucky to be accepted as employees in the first place.

Don't let your job description grow up to be vapid and self-serving

Go ahead and feel that way. I'm challenging some fundamental assumptions about the nature of this whole work-for-pay thing, I admit that. I also think you're dangerously wrong. If you're saying 'but we're so-and-so company and everybody wants to work here' and your company name doesn't rhyme with frugal or dapple then I think you've been dipping into the company kool-aid.

It isn't difficult to re-write a job description. I can do it in less than an hour and my guess is that you could do a much better job with insider information. If that hour is the difference between a great candidate and one who thinks that your company is demanding and self-centred, then it is time well spent.

Job Offer Etiquette and Strategy

Mario Laudi — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:02:49 GMT

When it comes to hiring, it's wise to begin with the end in mind. Making an offer of employment is your first chance to motivate your soon-to-be employee.

If you don't have a lot of money at your disposal, manage this reality at the interview stage. Get it out in the open early with the candidates that intrigue you.

The trouble is that too many managers want to haggle as if they were browsing a flea market. It's one thing to get the best deal on a pashmina scarf; its quite another to bargain with a human being from whom you hope to get 110% effort and dedication. The scarf won't let you down. But a disgruntled employee might find a way to get even when you can least afford it. 'A' Players and 'B' Budgets When it's time to consummate the relationship with an offer, many employers think they should table as little as possible. 'A' players want to bring their passion to work, and you want them to do so. Just don't ask for a vow of poverty as well. If you're getting away with lowballing in this market, you're either hiring mediocrity or have truly exciting career opportunities. If it's the latter, you're on borrowed time until someone comes along with a comparable job for better money. If it's the former, you'll inevitably end up offsetting your team's lack of talent by having too many players instead. Its the penny-wise and pound foolish story.

More Offer Etiquette •Stay in touch with your preferred candidates throughout the selection process. • Share your timing and pro-actively communicate any changes • Before you make a formal written offer - do it verbally. • Confirm that the terms are acceptable - then put it in writing. • Be sure to put an expiry date in your employment offer.

If your verbal offer will come up short on any parameter. Don't send an offer. Talk about the gaps in person. If you don't have a lot of money at your disposal, manage this reality at the interview stage. Get it out in the open early with the candidates that intrigue you. Don't let it rear its ugly head when you make the offer. Doing so will save everyone a lot of time, interviewing and anguish. When the recruit plays both sides: Candidates often have multiple offers. I love this part of the business. We get to see players weave and bob. Some give. Others take. One thing is certain: how they consummate their deal will have a major impact on their relationship. We'll take a look at this process next time around.