During the Covid-19 pandemic, companies tend to act very carefully when hiring salespeople. Why? Business and sales leaders are very well aware that hiring a salesperson can be very tricky and hiring the wrong candidate will cost them dearly. And that “dearly” consists of salary, expenses, not closed or lost sales and reputation, among others. These costs often amount to € 100.000,00 or much more a year.
You can find yourself torn between two needs: first, you need a robust performing salesperson or sales leader; second, you are not so confident in finding and selecting the right one. And with cash being scarce, you need to invest wisely.
So, is it a gamble? If wrongly approached, chances are it will be a gamble. If done the right way, you reduce your risks dramatically and achieve business growth.
There are best practice approaches to attract and hire the right sales candidates for any organization. Let us look at some examples of what to avoid and what to have to succeed when recruiting salespeople.
What to avoid:
Hiring candidates “who know your business” just because they know the business. If you decide on this, you should practice caution. The reason is that the candidate might have a mindset, which might not be successful in your organization or market approach. They might also not be willing to change their perspective.
Choosing a candidate who will fit in your team. This one can be risky. If you have a high-performing team, this could be the right decision. If your team can do much better, you need to be looking for someone who can help upgrade the team. Look for someone who can inject a positive impulse into the team.
We need to seduce them to come and work with us. The question is, why? If your offering is good and people can profit from your business environment, they would be happy to work for you. Just make sure that your message inspires candidates to apply. Use a positive Value Proposition for the job offer!
Falling in love with the candidate. I mean with this, having the perception that you have the ideal candidate in front of you and forgetting to do all the checks and balances. Many factors make us like someone. But liking someone does not mean they will perform for you. On the contrary, their “niceness” might distract you from the beginning. By the time you discover that they are not performing, it might be too late.
Searching for sales candidates who are “cheap and good.” Real-life shows that this is a utopia. Successful salespeople earn fair wages and deliver high performance.
What to have in place:
First, have a sales-recruitment process in place that will guide you step-by-step through the whole recruitment journey. It will save you time and money and also help you avoid costly hiring mistakes.
If you publish your job offer, make sure you set up an ad that will attract the right salespeople you are looking to hire. Do realize that boring ads attract mostly dull candidates. Inspiring and challenging ads usually attract candidates with a strong desire for success, ambition and performance.
If you choose to involve a recruitment agency, demand they use a sales-specific sales test. Why? Some factors influence the use of sales skills positively or negatively. These factors are difficult to identify. A sales-specific test will uncover these and much more.
Furthermore, sales recruiters usually tend to fill the position and leave the responsibility of choice with the client. By the time you realize that your new salesperson is not performing, everybody has forgotten who delivered them. A sales-specific test will help you avoid hiring the wrong candidate.
If you prefer to recruit the sales candidate yourself, it’s essential to tap into one of the best channels with a large sales audience. LinkedIn is leading when it comes to sales. With over 690 million users, the LinkedIn platform offers many options when it comes to recruiting. When looking for candidates, you can advert, search and approach sales candidates. The user audience of LinkedIn covers all levels of business and institutions.
I have covered some of the main do’s and don’ts in sales recruiting. I’m aware that there is much more to it. We can assist you in executing a successful recruiting project. If you want to know much more, I invite you to do the following:
Contact me on +31 (0) 642713033 or by email at robert@peterson-company.com
Register for the Live-Presentation hosted by Dave Kurlan, founder of Objective Management Group.
This takes place on Thursday, January 28, 2021, 11:00 am-11:30 am USA Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5).
If you live in Europe: 17:00 - 17:30 Central Europe Time CET.2021
