Dr. Denis Cauvier Interview

Following is an excerpt from a larger article on Dr. Denis Cauvier. I asked Denis to guest blog today and he sent me some great content on human resources and hiring sales people. Following us an excerpt from his interview in Bratislava Leaders Magazine. After Denis learned more about the blogathon he also pledged a considerable donation! (Thanks Dr. Denis Cauvier)

How has HR changed over the past 10 years?

HR has changed dramatically over the past decade. Some of the more significant changes are: demographics changes including the aging workforce and declining birth rates in most developed nations and at the same time exploding birth rates in most developing nations; the emergence of four distinctly different age groups working at the same time; the global nature of business with massive mergers and acquisitions as well as outsourcing of labour; plus technological advances affecting the need for skills and knowledge upgrading; the proliferation of internet recruiting, flexible HR policies, employment branding; plus an unprecedented talent and skills shortage that will continue in many countries for the next two decades.

What is the key to pre-screening and selecting the right people for a team?

The quick answer is to “pre-screen for competency and select for character”. What this means is that the entire pre-screening process should focus on answering the fundamental question, “does the person possess the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to do the job?” In other words, are they competent (able) to do the job? Once you are satisfied that the applicant possesses the requisite abilities then the selection process begins. It is here that you need to “select” the best candidate in terms of best fit with the company. To do this you must focus your energies on examining the person’s character which is made up of their attitude, and personality. The most insightful part of the selection process is the face-to-face interview.

What are some of the main reasons that some sales people are successful and others are not?

Contemporary wisdom suggests that the key to successful selling lies within the sales person’s skills, knowledge and selling techniques. Although I agree that these issues are all important, I believe that the single biggest contributor to selling success is the person’s attitude. Their attitude entails many elements, such as their attitudes: towards themselves in the role of professional selling, their attitude as it relates towards the selling process; their attitude towards the company they represent, the products and services they offer their attitudes toward their customers, and their team-mates. These attitudes will ultimately determine their level of selling success.

As a respected authority on customer retainment as well, how is it possible to turn a one-time buyer into a life-time customer?

People the world over complain to me that there is no customer loyalty and that a client will change suppliers to save even a tiny bit of money. I feel this is an over-simplification of the issue. Yes, people are always seeking bargains, but at the end of the day it’s value for money that will win out. I don’t believe that a company has to be the lowest priced provider; rather they need to fully understand the needs of their clients and then exceed the customer’s expectations. This is done by investing in client relationship building, having highly skilled and knowledgeable, sales, and customer service professionals, and constantly seeking ways to improve the life and or business of your clients. By adopting this “imbedded partnership mindset” you will become the supplier of choice for your key accounts.

In your best-selling book “the ABCs of Making Money”, what are some of the strategies that ordinary people can implement to create extraordinary wealth?

Actually, the answer to this question lies within the title of my book; it’s what I refer to as the “ABCs” approach and is doable by anyone who has the desire to succeed and is prepared to put the effort in. It all starts with adopting the right attitudes. By understanding the attitudes of successful, wealthy people, and then engaging in highly effective day to day behaviours (such as living within your means, investing your money at an early age, develop critical skills in the areas of selling, communicating, negotiating and priority management; and finally applying the principles of creating money by owning your business and developing numerous sources of passive income… the idea of earning money even while I sleep is very appealing to me!