Steps to the Perfect Sales Recruitment Hire
When it comes to recruiting a new salesperson for your team, the questions and considerations faced can become overwhelming – from whether the individual is a good fit for your team, to their ability to sell through the infinite and ever growing number of channels now used by modern customers and clients.
As a sales recruitment agency, our job is to help pair your business with the right candidate to breathe life into your sales strategy and bring your goals to fruition. Working directly with clients, we uncover the core selling points of both the role and your company as a whole; before embarking on our discovery phase with candidates whom we have identified through thorough networking of the “passive market” (potential candidates that are not attracted through job boards etc.).
This “discovery” allows us to understand exactly what the role involves including sales process, sales cycle, average order size, targets, activity, support and market perspective. We then talk through the requirements from a candidate background, experience, qualifications and cultural fit perspective. This process is then repeated when we are in front of the candidate, to uncover what they have done, how well they have done it, why they are looking to move role and what they are looking to do next.
But how do we know what to look for? In this article, we uncover eight of our insider secrets in identifying and pinpointing the perfect sales recruitment hire.
1. Understanding the gap you are looking to fill
This is one that we can help you with as a sales recruitment agency, but it helps if you as the client have some understanding as to the gaps inside your business and the kind of position that you are looking to fill. Contrary to popular belief, not all salespeople do the same job – sales professionals have specialisms and unique talents, with the most successful companies knowing where their talent lies and which areas of sales talent they are missing. It really pays dividends to speak to a more specialist recruiter such as Sales Recruit UK for more technical and specialised roles, as our detailed understanding of the difference between a telesales operative and business development or sales manager and their differing skill sets, enables us to really deliver a consultative service to clients and candidates alike.
Once you know what you are looking for, the hiring of a new salesperson becomes much easier to navigate.
2. Write a concise job description before crafting the vacancy ad
If you’ve ever been asked the question “What will my daily responsibilities include?” by a candidate in a job interview, then you will know how important a thorough job description is. By outlining the exact responsibilities before reaching out to potential candidates, you will find that your sales recruitment process is much more deliberate and targeted – and therefore more successful.
Fill the job description with information which is relevant to the role and precise – for example, let the candidate know how big the wider team is if applicable and what the typical KPI’s of the role are, so that they can establish if they are right for the role. A candidate who is versed in lead generation for example, perhaps won’t have the right skill set for closing six figure deals. Being clear on expectation is vital and again, we will advise you the best course of action relative to your business and objectives.
We often help our clients draft their ads/job descriptions, as an extension of our clients’ expertise in their field.
3. Find the right candidate
We shouldn’t always assume that the perfect candidate will come to us – sometimes you have to go after them, and that becomes much easier if you know what you are looking for (using a combination of the previous two points).
Every high volume, high street commercial agency has access to the same pool of candidates, whereas we prefer and opt for the approach of finding the best candidates who might not even know they’re looking for a move, as a specialist sales recruiter, we deploy a more focussed tactic to acquiring candidates that are not available to the wider market.
The sales recruitment process can be ruthless and energetic, and you might find that sometimes you have to reach out to candidates who aren’t actively seeking new roles but who may be perfect for your team.
We excel in these lesser known, “mystical” strategies to find and attract the best possible candidates for you.
4. Be Strategic
The unedited CV is really an interview aid for us. The CV’s we send clients will have our detailed interview notes on each CV which covers how they present themselves at interview, their relationship building skills, general sales ability, key wins, successes, level of hunger/desire, needs/wants etc.
We also offer personality profiling during the recruitment process to uncover further information on individual character, cultural fit, sales style, suitable sales environments and motivations/drivers.
5. Create a streamlined interview process
This involves following the same steps for every candidate that you interview, allowing for direct comparison and giving you a well-rounded sense of how well suited each individual is to the job role. The role of a salesperson involves strong presentation and communication skills, so embed this into the interview with a structured and formal presentation that the candidate has time to prepare in advance. A strong interview process should also include a more informal discussion as well as standard interview questions, this is a key area where we can help our clients really nail down the most effective interview process for their business.
6. Interview with purpose
The perfect sales recruitment hire follows a strong interview process – and the best way to ensure this is to frame questions with purpose. Make a list of the ideal qualities that you need your perfect hire to display and ask questions which directly relate to these core qualities.
Some of the most important points you will want to consider include self-management, persistence, reliability, confidence, company knowledge,
7. Make an offer and be prepared to negotiate
Of course, the recruitment process doesn’t end at the interview – it doesn’t even end at the offer, though this is an obstacle you need to get past in order to complete the process. Be prepared to negotiate with the right candidate and recognise that a strong ability to negotiate their way to a higher salary does actually display the qualities you are looking for in the perfect sales team fit.
One of our top recommendations to all our clients is to make an offer to the right candidate as soon as possible – don’t hold back or wait unnecessarily. If required, we can act as intermediary at this stage, helping both parties get the best deal.
8. Onboarding!
This is the final stage of the perfegolden arrows hitting gct sales recruitment process – onboarding your successful hire. This involves integrating them into their new team and communicating your expectations in a way that reflects and honours what was discussed at interview and in the offer that you made them.
This is the stage where your successful hire will be made aware of their goals and responsibilities, and where it’s up to you to lay out your expectations as early as possible. Arrange any training they need and keep an open line of communication during their induction period to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible – and so that they feel confident in going out and representing your company as your newest sales recruit and company ambassador.