Having a strong sales team is vital to your organization’s success. Your sales people represent your brand and bring in the revenue you need to not only maintain your business, but to grow. Attracting top sales talent can be a challenge, but a solid hiring process can help you find top sales people and reap the rewards. Here are a few tips to revamp your hiring process and secure the right sales people for your organization.
Be a company that top sales professionals want to work for.
Before you begin scouting sales talent, take a look in the mirror. If you were a sales person, what would make you want to work for your company? The best way to hire top sales people is to be a company that they would want to work for. When your company is known as an industry leader that’s a great place to work, top sales people will come to you. Great sales people value a strong company purpose, chances for professional growth, competitive pay, a challenge, and respect. Make sure those are things you can offer before beginning the hiring process.
Know who you’re looking for.
Before you begin interviewing sales staff, do a job analysis on the positions you’re hiring for. Talk to your team and compile information on the qualifications and skills they feel are necessary to perform the role. This helps you create a better job description to attract the right candidates, and helps you pinpoint the must-haves for the job. You’ll be less likely to make a hiring mistake if you know exactly who you’re looking for from the start.
Define a hiring time frame.
The length of time you have for recruiting, evaluating, and hiring sales staff affects your recruiting options and determines how much money and effort you’ll need to accomplish your goal. If you need a sales person quickly you might consider making a temporary hire while searching for a long-term employee. If you have more time to spend on the hiring process, you’re able to spend more money on targeting the right candidates and on multiple rounds of interviews with people at varying levels of the organization.
Grab the attention of your top sales candidate.
Determine where and how you’ll attract the best sales people. List all of your options such as your HR department, outside recruiters, business affiliations, search engine ads, etc. Then, develop a marketing plan to reach the talent you’re looking for. Are your job postings easily found on your website? Who can see your posts on jobs sites? If you’re not talking directly to your target audience, you may be wasting time recruiting applicants that don’t have the necessary requirements. How do you handle walk-ins? If you don’t have a process for giving information on where to find available jobs, you may be missing out on talented applicants.
Consider professional recruiting.
If you’ve noticed that the applicants you are attracting aren’t top-notch, chances are it’s a result of desperation to find a job. In order to cut down on time spent reviewing resumes of unqualified candidates, consider outsourcing your hiring to a recruiting agency. They’ll source a preferred pool of qualified candidates and provide a second pair of experienced eyes to make sure you’re securing only the best talent for your sales team. They can even bring your opportunity to the attention of the best candidates in the market even if they’re not “on the market” for a new job.
Hiring top sales staff is one of the most important processes for your business, so make sure you treat it as so.
Need the help of Certified Staffing Professionals® to find top talent for your organization?
The experienced team at BOS Staffing is here to help. For more than 35 years we have helped clients throughout Northeast Georgia and nationwide complete work cost-effectively, hire smarter, and manage their workforces more efficiently. Give BOS a call today.
