Page 99 - DMGT205_SALES_MANAGEMENT

Unit 7: Selection and Placement of Sales Personnel

Interview Decisions Notes

The following important decisions have to be taken by the management regarding interviews:
Who: The usual practice is to interview several persons and evaluate each applicant. In large
sales organisation, district or branch sales manager handles the interview while in small
organisations the responsibility lies with the top personnel of sales and marketing department.
Where: Similarly the place of interviewing also depends upon the size and degree of
decentralisation in the organisation. In large and highly decentralised organisations the
responsibility lies with district/branch/regional level sales department while in centralised
organisations it lies with top personnel of sales and marketing department.
When: A short interview is generally used at the initial stage of screening process as preliminary
interview, while a detailed/depth interview is used at a later stage in the selection process.

Interviewing Techniques

Mainly four kinds of interviewing techniques are used in a sales organisation. These are:

Non-Directed/Non-Structured Interview: This kind of interview does not follow a standard
format of questions, instead it involves a relaxed discussion. Some personnel experts say that a
non-directive technique yields maximum insight into an individual's attitude and interests.
This method is perhaps the best way of probing an individual's personality in depth. The main
drawback is that administering the interview and interpreting the results demands specialised
instructions.
Patterned/Structured Interview: In this method the interviewers are given a prepared list of
questions or a specific outline of questions designed to elicit a basic core of information.
McMurray explains why the patterned interview is likely to improve the judgement of the
interviewers: First, the interviewer works from definite job specifications, he knows what
qualities each job requires. Second, he has a plan, he knows what questions to ask. Third, he has
been trained in the techniques of conducting an interview. Fourth, prior to interview, he has
checked with outside sources and already knows a great deal about the applicant. Fifth, the
interviewer himself has been carefully selected to assure that he has adequate intelligence and
is emotionally well adjusted.
Interaction (Stress) Interview: It is a highly complex technique. In this the interviewer assumes
a hostile role towards the applicant. He deliberately puts him on the defensive by trying to
annoy, embarrass and frustrate him. The interaction interview simulates the stresses the applicant
would meet in actual selling and how he would react to them.
Rating Scales: In this method results are obtained from comparable ratings of the same individual
by different interviewers. The rating scales of the interview are so constructed that interviewers'
ratings are channeled into a limited choice of responses. For instance, in evaluating the attitude
of the candidate an interviewer is forced to choose from one of these answers: negative and
complaining, pessimistic, positive and healthy, strong loyalty.

!
Caution Employment test refers to a procedure, technique, or measurement instrument
for ascertaining characteristics such as aptitudes, capacities, intelligence, knowledge, skills,
or personality.

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